20 reasons to leave everything and go to Portugal
1) THE BEACHES
You just have to look at a map. Portugal There are kilometers and kilometers of coastline that the Atlantic gives away to fulfill all your possible beach wishes. There are long stretches of sand dotted with umbrellas and wooden walkways (as in behaves ), there are semi-deserted hidden coves (such as those in Alentejo ) and chic, old-school vacation-style urban beaches (as in Cascais ) . From the north to the Algarve passing through the islands, there will always be a new Portuguese beach of those that you thought no longer existed on this continent about to become your favorite.
2) THE CLOSENESS
The more neighbor of neighboring countries , the nose of the profile, is literally one step away. A maximum of 1.5 hours by plane and suitable for those afraid of flying (options include train, bus, car or a ferry across the min ho ), there are no excuses for not approaching at any time, when you finish reading this text itself.
Tres Irmaos beach in Algarve
3)PORTO
Porto is hills, clothes hanging, francesinhas, the view of the cellars of Vila Nova de Gaia , the most fairy-tale bookstore in the world, authenticity on all four sides and discovering its decadent beauty.
4) LISBON
Lisbon is post-earthquake buildings, neighborhood tall and Alfama full of rollaco, yellow trams, water always on the horizon and above all an incredible white light that makes it the most beautiful city in the Iberian Peninsula.
The legendary tram 28
5)COFFEE
Ah, coffee lovers, another hotspot on your (our) map, and here we are talking about the product and the place. Some magnificent coffees are prepared (remember to call it a based in Lisbon ) in the cona coffee machines and are served in classic and stately cafes such as the Majestic de Port or in new essentials of modernity such as the Kaffeehaus in Lisbon. And the best thing is that you don't have to be in a beautiful place to have a good coffee; in the humblest bar will be delicious.
6) WINE
How well the Portuguese are doing their job. Port wines or Madeira are known throughout the world (thanks in part to the collaboration of the British Navy) and around them they have set up wine tourism routes that leave almost any other in diapers. Farms, warehouses, wine resorts made to understand that wine goes beyond the moment in which it is drunk, it is culture, it is tradition, geography and country . In addition, they have not limited themselves to exploiting (always in a respectful and non-massive way) their flagship products, but more and more the vinho verde or those from Alentejo are heard outside their borders. A stay in one of the incredible hotels based on wine culture or a visit to a contemporary winery will broaden the horizons of the palate and redefine our concept of the exclusive.
7) THE BREAD WITH BUTTER THAT THEY PUT BEFORE EATING
And the olives . And the oil . And the little cheeses . It's clear: all the jerks that serve to whet your appetite before the caldo verde arrives, the roasted frango or the bacalhau that we have ordered to eat here tastes tastier and makes us feel better than anywhere else. PS: the keep , of course, always with salt.
Modern cafes like Kaffeehaus in Lisbon
8) ARCHITECTURE
From the tiles (that decorative element that is already a national symbol) of a church in panties to House of Chá de Matosinhos of Alvaro Siza , from the Porto Music House in the Manueline style of Batalha Monastery , Portuguese buildings exude their own style that makes them unmistakable. Touring the country finding humble and beautiful rural churches or palaces as mysterious as the Quinta da Regaleira of Sintra It is one of the best plans that can be organized.
Bom Jesus do Monte in Braga
**9) SHOPPING **
Gone are the days of traveling to Portugal to renew towels and table linens… or not. It is still a magnificent place to buy household goods but also antiques, products gourmet , fashion or design . Its stores have just the right point to maintain the traditional mixed with innovation and creativity, and always with impeccable good taste. And in addition to the avant-garde shopping malls, never forget the street markets mix of flea market and mixed bag in which to dive in search of hidden treasures.
Good taste as the design of infinite Fabrico
10) IT IS ANOTHER WORLD
Yes, the distance is no longer as long as it was in the 90s, when crossing the border (with your DNI always) was like jumping back in time, but sometimes you come across situations in which time seems to have stopped, such as when you see the fishermen arrive at the port and sell their merchandise right there, the freshest product in the world , or you find that the main streets of the cities are still not completely taken over by the same commercial chains that make them indistinguishable from Paris or Madrid. The hours are different , the people pick themselves up earlier, they don't yell … a world of difference at your fingertips.
11) STILL AN UNKNOWN
We share kilometers of border, a common past and a similar history, but we live with our backs to them. In Portugal everything is known about Spain and famous locals even appear on their magazine covers, but absurdly, Portugal is not thought of much from this side of the peninsula. Few could name living Portuguese who are not from the world of football, Durao Muddy either Maria de Medeiros , and it is not traveled enough. It is incredible that a **destination so close can be an exotic place to discover** and that still so many people are surprised to see that that ultra-modern restaurant is not in Antwerp or that hotel in a tree house in the middle of the forest is not in Sweden. Seize it.
A cabin one hour from Porto, with your partner or your friends
12)COD
alchemy what do the portuguese get cooking the codfish is one of the main reasons why we love this country so much. We already talked here about some of the infinite ways to prepare it, and that is to hear “ boogers ”, “ bacalhau with cream " either " to bra ” and begin to cry longing for the inland or coastal bars and restaurants, in a city or a small village, in which we have enjoyed some always delicious, always salty, cod dishes.
13) SWEETS
Of course we are thinking of the super-famous pasteis de nata (with a touch of cinnamon and, if possible, taking them in Belém, in the famous shop that is already a tourist attraction), but also of the very sweet papos de anjo, the queijadas or the farófias . The heritage of the convents with their love for gathering sugar and yolks He did a lot for the gastronomic tradition of the country and for the state of our teeth.
Bacalhau pataniscas
14) SIMPLICITY, ELEGANCE AND TRADICTION
Visible in the smaller designs (the soaps, the British-inspired crockery, the rooster of barcelos , toothpaste Marvis …) and in the largest buildings, such as the sempiternal Pousadas (the Portuguese equivalent to the Paradores and the place where you can always hit the mark when it comes to taking your most classic relatives or taking yourself now that you know how to appreciate the timeless) or the new hotels that raise our bar for calm and chic. Luckily we have Portugal left.
15) THE COLONIAL INFLUENCE
Brazil became independent more than a century ago but places as exotic as Goa, Macao, Angola or Mozambique were Portuguese colonies until the day before yesterday , And that shows. From the echoes that resonate in fado to the explanation of why there is so much good coffee and such good chocolate.
Madeira and its beach where it is always spring
16) PRICES
Plain and simple, Portugal is one of the few European countries that are as screwed up as we are and that are still affordable for the average Spanish pocket. Here the concept of "value for money" becomes visible, tangible and enjoyable.
17) THE ISLANDS
Splashes of land in the Atlantic, the most important insular territories of Portugal are one of those destinations that you never think of and always surprise. Beyond the wine or the famous anticyclone, Madeira and the Azores archipelago they offer a dazzling green, crops that are born from volcanic stones, beaches where it is always spring, traces of the age of discoveries and a continuous call to freak out with nature, in the form of an exotic flower or a whale that submerges before our eyes.
18) THE WAVES
It is not about becoming mystical like Pocahontas but about something much more earthly: the wind and waves of the wide portuguese coast make it the ideal place to practice surfing, kitesurfing, windsurfing and all kinds of derivatives with different levels of difficulty. Loops, giant waves, tubes and other examples of ocean engineering for the fun of the most intrepid.
Sagres: surfing, yoga and sunsets like no other
19) THE VILLAGES
In every town there will be (at least) a church, a square and a cafe, and nestled next to a river or on a cliff, white houses covered with tiles that are the best refuge of that authenticity that emanates from the country. We can make several selections of the most beautiful and essential, or invite us to visit others thanks to the fact that they are home to some of the best and most modern hotels, but Portugal is inexhaustible; there are so many remarkable corners that, no matter how much we return again and again, we will always be surprised to find a a spa, a park, a sanctuary or a medieval ruin evocative that we did not count on.
20) SYMPATHY AND EDUCATION
If you go two days in a row to the same Portuguese bar, third day they will greet you by your name and with one smile . We no longer remember the time when this happened in other parts of the world, and in some places it never happened. Gestures like these are the type of tourism promotion that wins us over forever.
*** You may also be interested in...**
- 100 things about Lisbon you should know
- Ten great songs from Lisbon for those already initiated - Viewpoints of Portugal: everything is better from above - Surfing in Portugal: let yourself go with the flow - Ten reasons why we will return to Portugal in 2014 - The cod route (in Portugal) - Design Hotels in Portugal
Portugal, there are always reasons to return.