Portugal – Travel Blog:

Porto

I saw an internet poll a few days ago which voted Ireland as the friendliest country in the world to visit. I’m not sure how much provenance these polls have but nonetheless it’s nice to hear. Not that far behind Ireland was Portugal and as we recently visited that country, I can personally attest to this. I have heard it said by foreigners that Irish people give such detailed directions when asked, that they practically go with you to your destination. We found similar reactions in Portugal. Besides the fact that Portuguese people are so friendly, even though they often couldn’t speak English, they still often went out of their way to communicate.

This friendliness and welcoming attitude spread right through their tourist industry including hotels, guest houses, bars, restaurants and even their shops. Portugal has a well-developed tourist industry throughout the country although most people who visit are more familiar with the Algarve. While it is a beautiful coastline, because it tends to specialize in sun holidays, ‘fly and flop’ packages and golf tours, we sort of skirted it and concentrated on some of the lesser known and arguably more picturesque spots.

As everyone knows, Portugal shares the Iberian Peninsula with Spain and like many who undertake a driving holiday, we started our trip there. Although both countries are similar, there is definitely a noticeable change once you cross the border. Things seem quieter somehow or life seems to move at a more relaxed pace. It is also less expensive.

It was a long drive down to Sagres, at the southernmost tip of the country but well worth it. This is the most southerly part of Europe and the coastline is spectacular, with high cliffs and wonderful coastal walks. Sintra, which is not far from Lisbon gives the impression of an avant-garde city, with its brightly painted houses and tiny narrow streets filled with cafes, bars and music of all sorts. It also has many castles and museums all open to the public. You can learn much about Portugal’s history from the guided tours here as the castles were once the Royal residences, during Portugal’s period as a colonial power. Sintra is definitely worth visiting but don’t try to drive around it unless you are either very brave or experienced.

Lisbon is a nice, clean, capital city, again with multi-coloured buildings, similar to those in Sintra but on a grander scale. Sao Jorge castle is a must to visit but not being a fan of big cities, we were more comfortable heading back to the open countryside. Estremoz is a little gem of a town with a wonderful central square and numerous little side streets leading up to the town’s dominating feature, an eleventh century castle, which nowadays is one of the Poussada chain of hotels and offers luxury stays at a very reasonable price. By the way, the Poussada are Portugal’s version of the Spanish Parador chain. These hotels are interesting in that they were developed by the Spanish and Portugese governments in the 1920’s to promote and increase tourism. The idea was to convert old unused castles, monasteries, convents and museums into hotels which would offer a stay in a beautiful old building at a reasonable price. The hotel chains were a huge success and have grown exponentially over the years and now feature in every corner of both Spain and Portugal. I have stayed in many of them and can testify to their quality and value. It is like staying in beautifully decorated and restored museums, with excellent food and drink thrown in.

Porto is a little further north and is Portugal’s second largest city. Situated on the Douro river, it is a multi-level structure where you can move around in comfort in the many pedestrianised zones. To get from one level to another you would need to be fit as the city rises to dizzy heights but if you want to avoid the climb, you can view it all from the massive central Dom Luis bridge which only allows pedestrians and trams. Again the city is picturesque and leaves a memory of beautiful old buildings decorated in multi-coloured decorative ceramic tiles.

Accommodation, food and drink are very reasonably priced in Portugal. We usually paid around seventy euro per night for bed and breakfast and less than that for dinner for two with wine. The quality of food and wine on offer is excellent.

Our favourite and last place to visit was Guimaraes. Situated not far from Porto, it is known as a fairy-tale city and is a wonderful old town with so many outstanding features including well preserved mediaeval buildings. It has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. Again, the central square offers numerous places to eat and drink. Nearby are many national parks with spectacular views. You could spend a lot of time exploring this region and we did. Suffice to say that if we ever were to settle in this country, Guimaraes would be the spot. For the first time in one of my blogs, I am enclosing photos. The first is Estremoz, next Guimaraes and below, the National park. Enjoy your visit.