It’s not surprising that last year for the first time, Lisbon, Portugal won the World Travel Award for Best European Destination. If you visit, you’ll quickly see why.
This city merges the old and new so seamlessly it’s poetic. Centuries-old buildings alongside all things modern feels quite right. Lisbon is home to Livraria Bertrand, which opened in 1732 and is the oldest bookstore in the world. Then there’s the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, a magnificent monastery that is in Lisbon’s Belem district. Built in the early 1500s, Mosteiro dos Jerónimos is one of the most decorated churches in Portugal, with its vaulted ceilings and ornate altar. A massive stone portal on the southern entrance is striking with its carvings of saints, complex shaped pinnacles and much more.
The site of a massive manufacturing complex that housed a fabric company back in the 1800s is now the LXFactory, an enormous mixed-use space that is home to startup companies, photography studios and other offices, as well as trendy restaurants and cafes, concert halls, galleries and shops.
Lisbon is very much about neighborhoods—each different with its own vibe. Chiado, the arts and culture district, is full of galleries and shops. Pink Street in the Bairro Alto District is the heart of Lisbon’s night life, with plenty of bars and clubs. You’ll also want to be sure to make your way to the city center to one of the hottest spots in town, the Sky Bar, the rooftop bar at the legendary, luxurious five-star Tivoli Avenida Liberdade, a Lisbon fixture since the 1930s. Know that you’re in for spectacular panoramas, creative cocktails and signature drinks such as Portuguese Soul, made with white port, Disaronno, scented black tea, star anise and cinnamon. Whether with a DJ or live music, this place rocks. Nearby Liberty Avenue is beloved for its wide sidewalks and trees that form an arch of sorts down the street. It is a main thoroughfare. Designer shops and restaurants line the street. Scenic Liberty Street is bustling. Locals say it is their Avenue des Champs-Elysees. Depending on the day, you might find vendors up and down the street for blocks, selling jewelry, antiques, books, crystal, porcelain, leather goods and just about anything.
The neighborhoods have some things in common, majestic churches, statues that pay homage to heroes and great food and drink—tapas, seafood right from the Portuguese coast, strong coffee and pastries to die for. You can’t leave Lisbon without waiting in the long line at Pasteis de Belem, where more than 20,000 pastries are made and sold daily. You’ll have no trouble finding live music, especially in the evenings. It’s all about Fado music, with tales of loss, of love lost, sad but beautiful, stirring and sentimental.
Lisbon is also cultural. Museums are plentiful. Art is everywhere, even in the cobblestone pavement. Calcada portuguesa come in a variety mosaic patterns, making many streets something to see. Thanks to Moorish tradition, there are tiles on buildings. Essentially pieces of art, they’re called azulejos. Blue is very much a favorite color. It’s no wonder the city is so enchanting.
After all the action in Lisbon, which has a population of more than 500,000, wind down your trip with a smaller, quieter slice of Portugal. Drive about two and half hours for sun, sand and golf in Algarve. Check into the Anantara Vilamoura Algarve Resort. Expect pampering at its best. Anantara Spa, Vilamoura’s award-winning spa, uses healing traditions of the world’s richest wellness cultures, centuries-old Mediterranean therapies, Turkish hammam rituals and exotic Asian treatments, to perfection, creating an unforgettable experience.
Golfers can play on one of Europe’s best courses, the Victoria Course, designed by Arnold Palmer and home to the Portugal Masters. It’s a short drive in a Tuk-Tuk to the award-winning beaches. Indulge your inner foodie. Take a masterclass with a wine guru. The Spice Spoons program offers the opportunity to go to the local market of Loule with a hotel chef to buy local and fresh ingredients for lunch. You and other class members can get in on the game and help the chef prepare traditional Portuguese dishes.
The food in Algarve is outrageously good, like it is in Lisbon. It’s hard to have a bad meal. Traditional foods rule. Think clam xerem (stew with maize meal), cataplana (southern Portuguese meat and seafood stew), seafood acorda (bread casserole) and a whole host of others. Salt gets much respect, particularly salt flower. Other local favorites include grilled fish, such as sardines dripping on bread or accompanied with a montanheira salad, made with tomato and oregano to add that special taste. Then there’s octopus, which in Santa Luzia, is cooked in various ways—stewed in wine, breaded, grilled, with rice or simply baked in the oven—as well as squid and cuttlefish. Algarve is a landscape of rolling hills and valleys, dotted with olive, carob, almond, fig and orange trees so you’ll find all these in the sweets and deserts.
For sure one of the best ways to get to Portugal is via TAP Air Portugal. If you’re traveling through Lisbon or Porto, you can stay up to five additional days for no additional airfare. The program has an extensive network of partners offering exclusive hotel discounts for stopover customers, a free bottle of Portuguese wine in restaurants and discounts on museums, food tours, the zoo and more.