#14 best destination in the world

 

São Jorge Castle, Lisbon

1024px-Sao_Jorge_Castle_(34244018275)

Best time to travel: March-May, Sept-Oct
Walk difficulty: Easy
Ease of travel: Easy
Cost ($-$$-$$$): $

  • Human occupation of this castle hill dates to at least the 8th century BC, while the first fortifications built date from the 1st century BC
  • Served as the location of fortifications occupied successively by Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, and Moors, before its conquest by the Portuguese in the 1147 Siege of Lisbon
  • Since the 12th century, the castle has variously served as a royal palace, a military barracks, and now as a national monument and museum

Belém Tower, Lisbon

1073px-Torre_Belém_April_2009-4a

Best time to travel: March-May, Sept-Oct
Ease of travel: Easy
Cost ($-$$-$$$): $

  • Known as the Tower of Saint Vincent, a 16th century fortification that served as a point of embarkation and disembarkation for Portuguese explorers, and as a ceremonial gateway to Lisbon
  • Built during the height of the Portuguese Renaissance, it is a prominent example of the Portuguese Manueline style
  • Built from lioz limestone and composed of a bastion and a 98 ft four story tower
  • Often portrayed as a symbol of Europe’s Age of Discoveries

Pena Palace, São Pedro de Penaferrim

1024px-Pena_Palace_Panorama

Best time to travel: April-June, Sept
Ease of travel: Easy
Cost ($-$$-$$$): $

  • Romanticist castle on the Portuguese Riviera
  • National monument that constitutes one of the major expressions of 19th-century Romanticism in the world

Livraria Lello, Porto

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Best time to travel: May-Sept
Ease of travel: Easy
Cost ($-$$-$$$): $

  • One of the oldest bookstores in Portugal and frequently rated among the top bookstores in the world
  • Opened in 1881

Falésia Beach, Albufeira

Falesia_Beach_seen_from_sea

Best time to travel: June-Sept
Ease of travel: Easy
Cost ($-$$-$$$): $

  • Beach flanked by a line of high cliffs in deep tones ranging from reds to whitish, in contrasting colors with the green of the pine groves above

Cascata do Arado, Peneda-Gerês National Park

Best time to travel: May-June, Sept-Oct
Walk difficulty: Easy
Ease of travel: Easy
Cost ($-$$-$$$): $

  • National park located in northern Portugal, created in 1971, it is the oldest protected area and the only national park in Portugal
  • The precipitous valleys, crossed by high flowing streams, host lush temperate broadleaf and mixed forests of oak and pine, being one of the last strongholds of the typical Atlantic European flora of Portugal, contrasting with an evolving Mediterranean biome
  • The area now occupied by the park has had a long human history, reflected by its countless megalithic structures and Roman remains

Jerónimos Monastery, Lisbon

Best time to travel: March-May, Sept-Oct
Ease of travel: Easy
Cost ($-$$-$$$): $

  • Former monastery of the Order of Saint Jerome, in the parish of Belém, in the Lisbon Municipality
  • It was secularized in 1833 by state decree and its ownership transferred to the charitable institution, Real Casa Pia de Lisboa
  • The monastery is one of the most prominent examples of the Portuguese Late Gothic Manueline style of architecture in Lisbon