Portugal

 
Europe's westernmost (mainland) country, a strip of land on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. Its only neighbouring country is the much bigger Spain, but Portugal too has a history no less steeped in darkness than Spain's.
 
These are the places that are given their own separate chapter entries here on this website:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Some of these dark sites are related to Portugal’s long years as a dictatorship, others to industrial heritage, as well as featuring one of the world’s most celebrated ossuaries.
 
Yet more places may qualify as dark-tourism sites, such as various abandoned monasteries and villages in the countryside, but the ones listed above are those that I have personally visited and can report from on a first-hand basis.
 
--- For a historical overview see this separate chapter! ---
 
 
As a travel destination, Portugal is a joy these days (and has been for a good while), there are good roads, modern railways, decent flight connections and generally a very good tourism infrastructure, plus a wonderful cuisine.
 
Portugal may be on the edge of Western Europe and its economy may at times be struggling, but for tourism it is prime property – in many cases literally, as foreigners from other countries (Brits especially) have bought up many a piece of real estate in the country as holiday homes.
 
Most tourism in Portugal falls into the two mainstream categories: beach or culture. The Algarve coast in the south is a prime destination for beach-bound sunseekers (so I am staying away from those parts!), whereas the cultural monuments of this grand old nation are found rather inland and in the cities.
 
Of the latter both the capital Lisbon and the city of Porto in the north are the main portals for travel in the country – as well as being stand-alone city destinations in their own right, of course. Yet more old palaces such as Sintra (not far from Lisbon), various monasteries, cathedrals and even remains from the Roman Empire (see Evora) also attract visitors.
 
But as indicated above, though, there’s also plenty to see for dark tourists, both in the cities and in more remote locations.
 
 
Getting there: most foreign tourists, unless coming overland from Spain, will probably enter the country by plane arriving at one of its international airports (at Lisbon, Porto, as well as Faro near the beach holiday destinations in the south). There are plenty of connections both within Europe as well as intercontinentally (to the Americas and to former colonies in Africa in particular).
 
For getting around beyond the cities, a (hire) car is useful, especially for some of the more off-the-beaten track locations such as Mina de São Domingos. For travel between the cities, not just Lisbon and Porto but also Evora and Peniche, public transport can suffice.
 
The train line of most use to readers of this website will be the one connecting the two major cities, Lisbon and Porto. The connection is fairly fast, safe and comfortable with more or less modern train carriages and if you buy promotional tickets sufficiently in advance, prices can be stunningly low (I paid 20 EUR per person return in January 2025).
 
If you’re hiring a car, which is easy enough, note that while the basic price for car rental is very reasonable by European standards, costs pile up through one of the highest fuel price levels in Europe and also due to the toll road system. The latter can be avoided, if you’re prepared to use only minor roads, but if time and comfort are of any importance, you have to face at least some tolls. These days tolls are collected mostly electronically – and fortunately hire car companies typically equip their fleets of vehicles with the required transponders for automatic collection through the same credit card used for the rental (otherwise, e.g. when using your own foreign vehicle, things can get pretty complicated!). Motorways and major routes are modern, well maintained and fast, but do take care when travelling in more rural areas on smaller roads.
 
For accommodation, the range is usually quite wide in most places of tourist interest (including dark ones) and shopping around online pays off. I managed to find some very good and quite characterful places to stay at for relatively little money (especially when compared to other Central and Northern European countries).
 
As far as Food & Drink are concerned, Portugal is one of my absolute favourite countries! Traditional Portuguese cuisine is really distinctive, and while there are certain overlaps with that of its big neighbour, these are surprisingly minimal. There are more influences from Portugal’s colonies, such as the use of coriander (cilantro) and African piri-piri chillies.
 
Given the coastal location it won’t come as a surprise that seafood is big in Portugal and lovers of it will be in heaven in the country. Shellfish is widely available and of good quality, but the one thing that really sets Portuguese cuisine apart is bacalhau, rehydrated salt cod, for which there are said to be at least 365 different recipes, one for each day of the year. Amongst those encountered frequently are Bacalhau à Gomes de Sà (baked with potato slices and with olives and hard-boiled eggs on top), Bacalhau com broa (in a corn-bread crust) and the distinctive Bacalhau à brás (with matchstick potatoes and eggs) – the latter in particular is a bit difficult to make at home and hence always the No.1 thing I seek out when in Portugal. Another all-time favourite of mine is Açorda de gambas, a stew of soaked stale bread with lots of garlic and chopped coriander and mixed with large king prawns – ingenious in its simplicity and an absolute soul/comfort food delicacy, always worth looking out for.
 
While seafood/fish lovers are well catered for, and carnivores won’t go hungry either (pork and lamb are the most popular types of meat in Portugal), vegetarians have it a bit less easy. There are plenty of highly intriguing meat-free dishes in Portuguese cuisine, but the problem is finding them in restaurants. That said, though, at least within the big cities the situation has improved markedly for vegetarians and even vegans over the years.
 
Restaurants and smaller tascas (little taverns) are plentiful, but unfortunately there are also countless rip-off tourist-trap establishments around popular attractions. They purport to be “traditionally Portuguese” but many are sadly not up to standard. So if food is in any way important to you, doing your homework ahead of travelling to the country can pay off, and in fact make all the difference.
 
If you want to go as Portuguese as can be, there are even some restaurants that totally specialize in bacalhau, with several dozens of varieties on offer to choose from (or get a mixed platter), in particular in Lisbon (if you want a few tips, contact me).
 
And the delights of Portuguese cuisine do not end with its distinctive down-home cooking but also extend to the upper scales of the gourmet scene. I was particularly fortunate that my hotel in Porto was located right next to an establishment that was part of the star chef Nuno Mendes’s restaurant empire (he is mainly based in London). I was lucky to get a table at short notice and the multi-course dinner I had there was absolutely outstanding and highly creative, while still with tangible roots in Portuguese traditions. And while it was not cheap it did not cost me an arm and a leg – in the way it would have done in other gourmet hotspot locations around Europe.
 
On the drinks front, the best-known category is of course port wine. It is indeed a big thing in Portugal, not only in the city of Porto, from where it takes its name and where the “homes” of most big names are located. Port is omnipresent elsewhere too – and some bars specialize in it. Entry level prices may be reasonable, but go vintage (including some over a century old) and the sky’s the limit. But its less luxurious types are firmly ingrained in everyday culture too. It’s more a small tipple to have on its own or with a light snack (and not necessarily a dessert, as seems to be its main association outside of Portugal), in a similar way to how sherry is enjoyed in Spain.
 
Non-port Portuguese wines have also gained a lot of recognition over the past few decades, with reds, especially from the Douro and Dão regions, seemingly leading the field. However, being more of a white wine connoisseur myself, I preferred the characterful white varieties from the Alentejo region that I encountered on my travels, also some good ones from the Lisbon area. And it doesn’t have to be top-notch wine. I found that even the basic house wines served in traditional restaurants, tascas and wine bars in Lisbon, Porto and Evora (and even on the train between Lisbon and Porto) were more than palatable and often sold at prices so low you could only dream of elsewhere.
 
Beers are still dominated by the usual crappy, mass-produced yellow fizzy lagers of the national big names (I won’t name them here), but the craft beer scene has in recent years made remarkable inroads into Portugal too, and again often at prices lower than encountered in Central Europe or the USA (though not as low and good as in some Eastern European countries like Poland or Estonia). This is, unsurprisingly, more the case in the big cities of Lisbon and Porto, but even in Evora I found (quite by chance) a decent craft-beer bar serving local brews of very good quality.
 
As for non-alcoholic drinks, the usual sugary soft drinks are of course omnipresent, as is mineral water, though at least in the big cities one could and should stick to tap water, which is of good quality. In more rural areas, though, it might be a better idea to rely on bottled water. The Portuguese are big on coffee too, but being anything but a “barista” (I prefer my coffee simple, black and not too strong – no fancy “lattes” or anything), I can’t really comment on that scene.
 
As regards language, Portuguese may be a Romance language related to Spanish, but it looks and sounds (!) very different indeed, to my ears a lot nicer than the rather harsh machine-gun Spanish. Portuguese seems more melodic and even in some ways almost a bit Slavic in sound. Lexically there will be a good bit you may recognize, given it’s Latinate origin, but grammar and pronunciation pose a sizeable stumbling block. Unless you have a distinct talent for picking up foreign languages, you won’t master Portuguese in a short while. But as a sign of goodwill you could try to learn at least a few basic phrases – it will be appreciated. In particular, do not assume Portuguese is like Spanish and say “gracias” for ‘thank you’. That’s a big faux pas! No, in Portuguese the correct thing to say is “obrigada” (female speakers) or “obrigado” (male speakers). Getting that much right is a bare minimum.
 
In terms of climate, Portugal’s location means you get fairly mild winters but in summer, especially away from the cooling coast, it can get scorching hot. In fact, Portugal has seen crushing summer heatwaves in recent years, “thanks” to increasing climate change, and also devastating wildfires as a result. Unless you’re of the roasting-in-the-sun beach holiday type (unlikely if you’re a reader of this website) better stay away over the summer. Spring and autumn are much better. Personally, I even prefer winter, when temperatures remain within the 10 to 20 degrees bracket most of the time. There was a little rain occasionally, but also consecutive days of glorious sunshine, while at home in Vienna it was as grim as it gets … so a nice escape even in January (last time I went was in January 2025).