Évora
Adjacent to the cathedral, in what used to be the archbishop’s palace (built in the 16th century), is this elegant museum. The cloistered courtyard…
Must-see attractions in Portugal
Sintra
This museum features a small and manageable collection of contemporary and modern art, around 80% of which is dedicated to local works. The permanent…
Braga
A guided tour grants access to the cathedral’s three most striking chapels: the showpiece Capela dos Reis, home to the tombs of Henri of Burgundy and Dona…
Mértola
Next to the alcáçova (citadel), this interpretation centre is an accurately sized replica of an Islamic residence dating from the 12th century. Key…
Funchal
IBTAM is the organisation that oversees Madeiran embroidery production – anything bearing their hologram label is guaranteed to be the genuine, locally…
The Douro
Older than Portugal itself, Lamego’s striking sé has been declared a national monument. There is little left of the 12th-century original except the base…
Évora
For a lovely tranquil stroll, head to the light-dappled public gardens (with a small outdoor cafe) south of the Igreja de São Francisco. Inside the walls…
Belém
The monolithic Padrão dos Descobrimentos, looking like a caravel ship frozen in midswell, was inaugurated in 1960 on the 500th anniversary of Henry the…
Évora
Just northwest of the Igreja de São João is the 17th-century facade of a much older palace and castle, as revealed by the two powerful square towers that…
Monsaraz
Housed inside a fine Gothic building beside the parish church, this museum includes a rare example of a 14th-century secular fresco. The striking work…
Tomar
These bucolic 39-hectare gardens – linked to the Convento de Cristo – were founded by the Order of Christ and once served as a contemplative space and…
Faro
Faro’s domed 16th-century Renaissance Convento de Nossa Senhora da Assunção, in what was once the Jewish quarter, houses the town's local history museum…
The Algarve
Loulé's restored castle is the setting for its municipal museum. The archaeology section's homo erectus kicks things off, and via dusty collections of…
Coimbra
This former prison for misbehaving students sits in the basement of the Biblioteca Joanina. Originally located beneath the Sala dos Capelos, it was later…
Casa-Museu Frederico de Freitas
Funchal
Built by the counts of Calçada in the 17th century, this tasteful mansion was purchased by a local lawyer, Frederico de Freitas, in the 1940s. An avid…
Funchal
Housed in the former 16th-century bishop's palace dominating the south side of Praça do Município, Madeira's most fascinating art collection is a major…
Museu Nacional de Arte Contemporânea do Chiado
Bairro Alto, Chiado & Cais do Sodré
Art fans flock to Museu do Chiado, housed in the strikingly converted Convento de São Francisco. While the gallery’s permanent collection of 19th- and…
Braga
An 18th-century aristocrat’s palace is home to Braga's enthusiastic municipal museum, with a nice collection of Roman relics and 17th- to 19th-century…
Parque Nacional da Peneda-Gerês
Built during the reign of Afonso III, this 13th-century castle 5km from the Spanish border long served as a key Portuguese military outpost. These days it…
Peso da Régua
Bringing the Douro Valley's wine-producing history vividly to life, this wonderful museum has a wealth of artefacts and engaging displays, from a vast…
Reserva Natural do Sapal de Castro Marim e Vila Real de Santo António
The Algarve
Established in 1975, this nature reserve is mainland Portugal’s oldest, covering 20 sq km of marshland and salt pans bordering the Rio Guadiana. Winter…
The Beiras
Tucked into a corner of the walled village sits the 6th-century Visigothic cathedral, surrounded by a jigsaw puzzle of scattered archaeological remains…
The Beiras
Powerful in its sobriety, this grey Gothic edifice looms heavily over the central square. The earliest parts of the cathedral date from 1390 but it's…
Tavira
Astonishing archaeological remains found on this site just below the castelo date from the 8th century BC through to the 18th century AD. Digs have…
Évora
The artist Tiago Cabeça has created this wondrous miniature world of Portugal moulded in clay and peopled with humorous and irreverent characters. You'll…
Viseu
Overlooked by a trio of impressive buildings – the Catedral, Paço de Três Escalões (home of the Museu Grão Vasco) and the Igreja da Misericórdia – the…
Lagos
The town museum holds a bit of everything: swords and pistols, landscapes and portraits, minerals and crystals, coins, Moorish pottery, miniature…
Cascais
This wild park provides a shady retreat from the seaside crowds, with a duck pond, birch and pine trees, palms and eucalyptus, rose gardens and flowering…
The Douro
Hidden in one of the Mosteiro de São Gonçalo’s cloisters is this delightfully eclectic collection of modernist and contemporary art, a pleasant surprise…
The Beiras
Sernancelhe, a tranquil village 30km northwest of Trancoso, boasts a pristine historic centre fashioned out of warm, beige-coloured stone. There are no…
Jardins da Quinta das Lágrimas
Coimbra
According to legend, this lovely pocket of parkland is where Dona Inês de Castro (aka Portugal's Juliet to the Infante Pedro's Romeo) was murdered on the…
Évora
The Moura Gate Sq stands just southeast of the cathedral. Near here was the original entrance to town. In the middle of the square is a strange-looking,…
Aljezur
This small but likeable museum has three rooms. Downstairs is an archaeological collection displaying everything from Stone Age axes to a 16th-century…
Museu de Francisco Tavares Proença Júnior
The Beiras
Occupying the sober 18th-century bishop’s palace, this long-standing museum has an excellent display of local archaeological finds. Its highlight, however…
Coimbra
The landmark 'new' cathedral, started by the Jesuits in 1598 and completed a century later, dominates the square of the same name high in the old town…
Convento de Santa Cruz do Buçaco
The Beiras
Tucked away behind the Palace Hotel do Buçaco, this is what remains of the convent where Arthur Wellesley, the future Duke of Wellington, rested after he…
The Algarve
The hamlet of Torre's school fell into disuse when there weren't enough children. There wasn't much work around, either, so three local women decided to…
Funchal
Some 68 stone steps climb dramatically to the doors of one of Madeira's finest churches, Monte's Igreja da Nossa Senhora. Rising in eye-balancing baroque…
Coimbra
Another of the university's signature landmarks, this 18th-century tower – and its clock and bells – regulates academic life. Built between 1728 and 1733,…
Évora
If you're headed out to Cromeleque dos Almendres, it's worth stopping en route at the Menir dos Almendres, a single stone nearly 4m high, with some faint…
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