Portugal is often overshadowed by its larger neighbour of Spain but its cities and attractions more than hold their own. I first visited Portugal when I was a teenager and had a very memorable experience sailing under the Ponte 25 de Abril bridge in Lisbon at sunrise. I went on to visit the Portuguse capital city and the lovely seaside resort of Estoril and had a great time in the heat admiring the beautiful sites of the city. I didn't make a return visit to Portugal though until early this year but what a great visit that was as I spent a few days in the city of Porto.
I saw many similarities between Porto and Lisbon from the outset, utmost of those was the lovely pastel coloured houses, the vintage trams and both cities have quite stunning landmark bridges. The overriding feeling I got from both places is that, despite there being many signs of modernisation, they have kept a real sense of authenticity and Porto in paritcualr seemed as though it had been untouched by time and wouldn't have looked much different decades ago. Portugal is surrounded on two sides by sea and as a result this forms an important part of the country's heritage with the port cellars in Porto being a great beneficiary of this. Religion is also an important part of daily life here with stunning examples of cathedrals, churches and monasteries not just in the main cities but in smaller places such as Braga.
Portugal has so much to offer the visitor aside from its manmade attractions, it has a stunning Atlantic coastline, popular beach resorts and a green and pleasant interior. The practicalities of visiting here couldn't be much better either with modern airports and a good road and train network. All of this is enhanced by such a friendly and welcoming people who are always ready to proudly share information about their city. I could talk for a lot longer about why Portugal is one of my favourite countries but if I had to give just one reason it would be 'pastéis de nata' - if you've never heard of it nor tried it you really are missing out on one of life's luxuries!
To see some more pictures from my most recent trip to Portugal click here.
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