20 Things You Cannot Miss in Portugal

Portugal is small enough to cross in a day and layered enough to keep you busy for a month. This list is the short version: twenty things that, between them, cover the country's coast, wine, food, history and daily rhythm.

## The classics 1. Walk Belem in Lisbon, with the Jeronimos Monastery, the Tower of Belem and the Padrao dos Descobrimentos in one riverside stretch. 2. Taste a warm custard tart in Belem, where the recipe has been made since 1837. 3. Ride through Alfama, Lisbon's oldest quarter, where the street plan survived the 1755 earthquake. 4. See Pena Palace in Sintra, the 19th century Romanticist palace painted in red and yellow above the forest. 5. Stand at Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point of mainland Europe. 6. Cross the Douro on the Dom Luis I bridge in Porto at the end of the afternoon. 7. Visit a port wine cellar in Vila Nova de Gaia and learn why the wine ages on that side of the river.

## Wine, food and the table 8. Spend a day in the Douro Valley, the world's oldest demarcated wine region, recognised by UNESCO. 9. Try vinho verde in the Minho, a young wine best drunk cold and close to where it is made. 10. Eat grilled sardines in summer, the smell that defines Lisbon in June. 11. Order a francesinha in Porto once, and share it. 12. Sample cheeses from Serra da Estrela and Azeitao with bread and olive oil. 13. Have a slow lunch in Alentejo, where the food is built around bread, pork, herbs and time.

## Landscapes and towns 14. Walk the walls of Obidos, a medieval town kept almost intact. 15. See Nazare in winter, where the canyon offshore produces some of the biggest surfable waves on record. 16. Explore Evora, a UNESCO city with a Roman temple in the middle of it. 17. Visit Tomar and the Convent of Christ, built by the Knights Templar. 18. Drive the Algarve coast between Lagos and Sagres for the cliffs, not only the beaches. 19. Take a boat along the Douro river between Regua and Pinhao. 20. Leave one afternoon completely unplanned. In Portugal that is usually the part people remember.

## How to fit it together Most travellers try to do this in seven days and end up spending half the trip on the road. Ten days gives Lisbon, Sintra, the centre, Porto and the Douro a fair share. Thirteen adds the Algarve. If you have less time, cut destinations rather than shortening each day.

If you would like this turned into a private itinerary with your own driver and guide, tell us your dates and group size and we will build it around you.