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Visit Like a Local: Portugal Edition🇵🇹 (‼️UPDATED REGULARLY‼️)
25
items Cool places to visit and fun things to do that don’t scream “TOURIST🫵🏼🤓”.
Map
Sections
4
To see📸
To do🎡
To buy🛍️
How to get around🚕
To see📸
The pictures seriously don’t do this place justice😮💨. 🚙 Drive all the way up, park your car, and take a nice stroll on top of the world🚶🏻♀️🌳✨
The views you get from up there just leave you speechless, and you’ll likely have the place almost ...
Visit the mountain of the Santuario da Senhora do Minho
Porto is one of Portugal’s most touristic cities, but many underestimate the beauty of Porto’s neighbourhoods✨.
🚶🏻♀️Explore them and take in the intricate combinations of old and modern architectures🏠, the colourful streets🎨, and visit the local...
Walk around the neighbourhoods in Porto
Literally Lisbon’s Central Park🏞️.
The park itself is huge, but while it is beautiful, it usually isn’t Lisbon’s main attraction🙊. It has a few things in it to see📸:
• The Pavilhão Carlos Lopes (Pavilion) is a stunning building inside and out, pri...
Walk in the Parque Eduardo VII
While in Ponte de Lima, make a stop up top the “Santo Ovídio Lookout”.🏞️
This viewpoint of Ponte de Lima is breathtaking and quite private, as not many people know of it’s location🤫. From there, you can see the Ponte do Lima bridge🌁, take beautifu...
Oversee the Lima River from the Miradouro de Santo Ovídio
People often take photos of The “Monument of Discoveries”⚓️ because it’s a beautiful and imposing sculpture, but not everyone knows its history. The Monument visually represents and pays homage to the contributions of the Portuguese explorers in the ...
Admire the Padrão dos Descobrimentos | Lisboa
To do🎡
I CANNOT recommend this enough😍🤩✨
This week-long festival in Viana do Castelo takes place every year around the same dates in August, and while many tourists (especially Europeans) come to take part in the festivities, it is still a very culturally...
Viana Festas - Romaria de Nossa Senhora d'Agonia
Tickets range from €5-10, like come on⚽️🎟️📣🚩
Watch a professional football game in the center of Portimão👏🏼! Their home stadium is relatively small, although the Portimonense team is part of the Liga Portugal 2 (league 2).
They also have a shop...
Watch a Portimonense football game in their home stadium🏟️
If you ask for a simple coffee, you might be surprised by what you get🥴. Often times, the coffee you want isn’t on the menu😳, so follow these guides to order your coffee the right way, *and* sound like a local who’s done it a thousand times💅🏼.
Order your coffee like a local
I think that even if you’re not catholic, it’s still a beautiful experience💖✝️. The churches are all stunning and well-maintained, and the people are friendly and simply glad to share their faith💐. You’ll get an authentic experience of Sunday mass,...
Attend Mass in a Portuguese Catholic Church
Mind you, this particular market in Portimão is sponsored by Trip Advisor, but shopping at a local market is one of the most authentic experiences, in my opinion🏬🍋.
You get to support local businesses, speak with the merchants, and taste different ...
Do your groceries at the Mercado Municipal de Portimão
🏷️ Range: CAD $18 to $38
Fine, maybe this is a 🤏🏼bit touristy, but you know it’s worth it when even die-hard FC Porto (aka the rival team) fans admit that it’s the most beautiful stadium in Portugal🙊
You can visit the stadium and/or the museum,...
Visit the SL Benfica Stadium and Museum
Skip the ocean, go to the river🌊! The Barragem de Vilar is a dam where many local families go to spend the day in the summer⛱️. The river is large and beautiful, and you can swim🏊♀️ and do water activities🛶. The beach area allows for camping⛺️, a...
Go swim in the river | Zona Balnear da Barragem de Vilar
Now this here, *this* is what it means to be a TUGA🇵🇹✨. Attending and participating to your village’s festivities, celebrating a Saint on their day, sharing good food and wine with your neighbours, listening to fado (traditional music), and cheerin...
Go to a local “festa”🎉
To buy🛍️
Forget the keychain, the postcard, or the mug: those are the souvenirs/gifts you should get✅🎁
If you loved having a coffee in Portugal, you’ll love having it at home too☕️. You can buy this pretty much in any supermarket (Continente, Aldi, Lidl, Auchan, etc.), just like a local would buy with their groceries.🛒
You’ll enjoy having a taste of ...
Sical | Portuguese Coffee
You would be surprised how cheap shoes can be in Portugal👟🤑.
You’ll find any type of shoes, from brand names, hiking boots, heels, you name it — and prices at JD Sports are usually amazing steals.💸
Think about; especially if you’re travelling with...
Shoes | JD Sports
The “Heart of Viana” is one of the most beautiful town symbols I’ve ever seen😍 (so much so, that I have it tattooed on my arm as a tribute to my father’s hometown🥰).
When getting a souvenir, most people opt for the Galo🐓, the flag🇵🇹, or the Lisb...
Jewelry | Coraçao de Viana
🏷️ Avg. price: €2
Most people know that there are a lot of things made with cork in Portugal, but they don’t know why…🤔
Portugal grows cork trees🌳! And so many things (aside from cork stoppers🍷😉) are made with cork, including souvenirs. Now, ins...
Cork bookmarks
Everybody cooks; this is a useful and thoughtful gift idea💐👩🏻🍳. If you’re looking for a flashy design, tou can get some with the azulejo patterns💙 or the yellow Lisbon tram🚋; if you want something more traditional, get yourself the “loiça de B...
Ceramic Spoon Rests
How to get around🚕
Their train system is really well made and they’ll bring almost anywhere in the country.✅🚉
Ticket prices depend on the distance your are traveling, so it could get expensive if you are crossing the country, but for closer distances, it’s relatively ...
Train🚊 | Comboios de Portugal - CP
Their metro is so convenient🙌🏼. Simply buy a physical ticket (one-time payment of €0.50), but then each trip is €1.85, and the ticket is rechargeable, so if you get one, don’t lose it🙅🏻♀️!
Plus, the maps and lines are super easy to follow; for e...
Metro 🚇 (⚠️Lisbon Only) | Metropolitano de Lisboa
I highly recommend FlixBus💚, even over Rede Expressos (another well-known budget bus line); their service is always punctual and often times cheaper than any other long-distance options (e.g. train)✅💯.
You can easily buy your tickets online or on t...
Bus🚍 (Long Distances) | FlixBus
Basically, every town/city has their own bus line; make sure you check your options🚏. They often have relatively cheap fares, and will get you anywhere around town, whichever town you’re in✅✨.
The A.V. Minho line is the local bus line for Viana do C...
Bus🚍 (Local - Alto Minho) | A. V. Minho
Bolt is awesome🙌🏼; finding a driver is so quick and the wait times are usually non-existent🏎️💨, and their fares are insanely low🤑👌🏼.
Whenever other transport methods don’t work out, but it’s too far to walk, Bolt is your best option✅. It’s sup...
Rideshare🚗 | Bolt
You can even rent a bike or scooter on a whim🤩🛴. Those are always a fun option, and you’ll notice that a lot people actually own one.🎀.
The fare is calculated by time, so the longer you ride it, the more it will cost you🤷🏻♀️
Bike- & scooter-share🚲 | Bird
Look, you can if you want to, but apparently, it’s way more expensive than ride-sharing😅. You’re 1,000x better off with Bolt✅.
❌ DO NOT GET A TAXI🚕 ❌