THINGS TO DO IN PORTUGAL

This year we had the opportunity to show off our corner of Portugal to good friends who’d never visited the country before. We have been visiting Portugal for a number of years as my parents live there, and over time we have come to learn about the countries highlights. Stuff that’s unique to this little corner of Europe, the food, the culture and what to do in Portugal. Bucket list stuff, you know.

I mean, there’s a lot to love about a country that has a punk-rocker chicken as its National symbol. A land which rewards your Supermarket food shopping with the perfect 30cl cool beer just beyond the checkout. A nation whose Festa’s (Summer festivals) don’t begin till 11pm, and the local fire stations are run by volunteers, who do it purely for the honour.

Cabbage soup reigns supreme in every restaurant and gets the Menu Del Día off to a perfect start.  The potatoes are so sweet they walk off your plate into your heart. And, the Delta coffee so bitter you taste the resentment of Salazar in every sip. It takes one of their pastel de nata’s to return the sweetness. But, that’s where the confectionery compliments end because despite the fact their bakeries and cafes are brimming with delicacies worthy of a French Patisserie photograph they taste like something from a Polish soup kitchen! Portugal went and mislaid its sugar.
These are the kinds of things I want all my pals to know about Portugal, like when you’re introducing your shy friend to everyone and want them to give her a chance, to see all the good bits you see after years of acquaintance. My parents bought an old farmhouse in Portugal 17 years ago and ever since I have been falling in love.

It’s a slow burner because my mate Portugal is a bit reserved, she sits in the corner of Europe not really saying much. Like a voluptuous Dickensian barmaid she is well-known for her rear end (The Algarve) but not many of today’s holiday makers have gotten to know her for her heart and virtues aplenty. So, let me introduce you.

What To Do In Portugal

We have many other posts about towns and cities in Portugal, the best spots in Portugal for the discerning tourist. But this is more a list of experiences, things to do in Portugal that you don’t experience anywhere else in Europe, the stuff we think you should get to take in before you leave. All the bits that make Portugal the gorgeous country that it is. Because apart from the serenity and calm that covers central Portugal like a baby’s comforter, there are so many more reasons to make this country your next family holiday destination.

1. Embrace The Assault On Your Senses

When you open the morning shutters at my parent’s Central Portugal abode, you are hit with the scent of Eucalyptus and Pine, so strong you’ll find yourself searching for your white terry robe and spa slippers. If you dropped me from a plane into Portugal and I’d lost my sat-nav, I could still tell you where I was from this heady aroma. It’s no wonder everyone is so chilled.

Tree’s cover almost 40% of this verdant land, with the bulk of this number made up of Eucalyptus, Pine and the home accessory best left in the 70’s – cork. Portugal uses an impressive 71% of renewable energy to supply the country and these trees play a large part in that. Along with paper production, natural medicine and handbags made of cork that look best at the back of the wardrobe. (Sorry Portugal!)

And, whilst we’re on the subject of senses, at 4pm every day the wind gets up and rustles through the forests like a swarm of locusts. Merely a gentle alarm bell that it’s now Gin O’clock. It’s the best in Portugal ‘happy-hour’ signals.

2. Experience Some Fado

By 9am most Portuguese locals have been in the field 3 hours already, tilling by hand and feeding their livestock which will see them through the Winter. They’re hard workers and sometimes their inner-contentment is hard to decipher between their frown and worry lines. It’s even harder to make out from the traditional Fado music you hear in the evening Squares, songs which make your ears bleed and your heart crack from all the pain that surely must’ve inspired such haunting music – not too dissimilar to my daughters’ recorder skills.

But this is one of those Portugal must-see scenes. In fact, can you even say you’ve visited Portugal if you’ve not seen some fado?

Lisbon is considered the birthplace of fado and there are many fado-houses where evening shows are put on, along with bars and restaurants. However, no matter where you are in Portugal you can experience some fado, especially around the summer festa’s or special events. Our favourite spot is in the beautiful city of Coimbra on the steps of the Santa Cruz monastery.

3. Take In As Many Quiet Town Centre’s As You Can

The pride of Portugal can be seen in their pretty town Praça’s (squares), which are spaces so neat and groomed I half expect to be asked to remove my shoes. Colourful tiled facades on just your everyday house which have you snapping at the details with your camera – pictures that are too beautiful to miss but might never see the light of day again, let’s face it.

In a lot of these places there’s an eerie silence where you’d be forgiven for thinking you came to visit Portugal and it was closed! Apart from the usual August rush when the youngsters return from their jobs in Luxembourg and other richer neighbouring countries to become citizens for a month to enjoy the festa’s and catch up with their elderly relatives.

But the quiet town centre’s are a place where you can step back in time for a moment, savour the peace and appreciate that the Portuguese have a wonderful way of life!

4. Chicken And Chips – The Original Nando’s

Any foreign market is a cultural looking glass into the soul of a nation, like an abandoned shopping list in your trolley, but Portuguese markets have an extra highlight which would have Colleen and Wayne salivating at the lips: Original Nando’s.

Haven’t you read the famous cockerel story written on a wall in every Nando’s in the world? Portugal is where it began. But instead of a colourful and atmospheric restaurant, it’s a shoulder-to-shoulder sweaty affair under tarpaulin at Formica tables. Complete with wine in plastic cups and claggy table cloths. Am I selling it to you? Or should I say it’s an opportunity to sit back to back with hearty locals, soak in the lively environment and taste the best chicken and chips of your life!

There’s no menu, you just hold up your fingers for how many portions and they bring it to you – salad, chips, rice, peri-peri chicken, bread and wine : what more does one need for a slap-up lunch. Usually around €8 a person and worth every cent. This event is top of our Portugal bucket list EVERY YEAR!

5. Take Advantage Of Portugal’s Relaxed Health & Safety Rules

This might seem like I’m being flippant, mocking the lack of handrails and rules that the UK has come to know as normal. But this cannot be further from the truth! I love the fact that nobody questions your own safety measures. If you turn up to a kayaking trip with your 6 year old, that’s you deeming that your 6 year old is in fact capable of kayaking with you. No questions asked.

OK, so it’s not the best place to go hiking in the mountains and expect rails be in place where they perhaps should be, but since when did we need somebody else to tell us something was dangerous. I love this care-free way, and the freedom it brings the kids.

We regularly book in for a day of exhilaration on the Mondego River with the family. Youngsters and grandparents get to manoeuvre the current, play with fear and make it through the rapids with the keen eye’s of the guides. It’s like the Portuguese still appreciate the excitement that comes with getting out of your comfort zone.

6. Appreciate The Azulejos Tiles Of Portugal

No matter where you are in Portugal, from the frescoe’d churches and palaces to the humble homes, Azulejos tiles decorate exteriors like they’re auditioning for art college.

They entered Portuguese history when King Manuel visited Seville and saw their efforts with ceramics. He brought the idea home to his designers and set about the world famous Sintra Palace, which is probably the best example of Azulejos in all of Portugal.

Our particular favourite places with these beautiful tiles are Igreja Matriz de Santa Maria de Valega, the Palace Bussaco, where you can in fact stay the night, and the lovely town of Aveiro. But actually, no matter where you visit you will find some, and this is definitely one of the most beautiful things to see in Portugal.

7. The Portuguese Phenonema – The Chinez Shop

No Portugal bucket list would be complete without a head tilt to the wonderful Portuguese fascination which goes by the description of The Chinez Shop. When our kids heard we were bringing friends to Portugal with us this year, our kids asked straight off:

“Are we taking them to the Chinez Shop?”

Chinez is Portuguese for, you guessed it, Chinese. And, most towns in the area where my parents live have these Alladins Caves of retail, designed to sell everything from a cheese-grater to a blow-up Donkey, from tooth-pick dispensers to camping stoves, from hair glitter to knock-off Nikes – all sold by a Chinese fellow who serves you whilst talking on the phone the whole time. The kids are allowed to spend their €5 here and the suspense is great, waiting to find out what marvelous piece of merchandise they can produce for their fiver.

The place is a wonderland, a mecca to plastic tat but also occasionally the patron of some great gems. Anyway, we take folk to Wan Kings (I know – it’s enough to go, if only for a photograph of the sign) in Santa Comba Dau (a beautiful town by the way) then we absorb our bemusement over an ice-cream in the square. It’s a past-time that will never get old and will always feature in our Portugal highlights.

8. Pastel De Nata

No ‘what to do in Portugal’ list would be complete without a slot for the pastel de nata – the nations greatest sweet treat. And don’t think that because you’ve tried one at Nando’s before that you needn’t bother in Portugal, because Portuguese de nata’s hit differently.

These Portuguese egg custard tarts do come in various levels of loveliness however, sometimes the best ones are from the lowly petrol station, sometimes the supermarket bakery. But that means you’ll just need to try them all.

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So there you have it, the ways in which we entertain our guest in Central Portugal but also a glimpse into the personality of our wonderful shy friend. This may not have been the Portugal bucket-list you were envisioning but these highlights should make it into everybody’s holiday, they are Portuguese gems for sure!

If you want to check out our little video from one of our trips, you’ll see some of the Portugal must-see spots! (turn up the sound):

And if you are in the planning stages of a trip to Portugal check out some of our other posts about Portugal from the drop down menu above, I hope it can inspire you to meet her one day.

Don’t forget too, that if you’re looking for cheap deals on flights to Portugal then Skyscanner is the best place to start – they scrape all of the airline websites for you and come up with the best prices…

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