a Portuguese chef to win a Michelin star with Japanese cooking takes some doing. But Pedro Almeida has done just that, using the freshest local seafood to craft a fabulously creative fusion of East and West in a luxury resort set among forested hills outside Lisbon. His kaiseki fixed menus bring a parade of complex morsels like red mullet sashimi with butter sauce and miso, or nigiri of striped Algarve shrimp with finger lime. See p. 169.
O Sapo (Penafiel): Before entering, loosen your belt. Better still, don’t wear a belt. Portugal’s north is famed for eating large, but this rustic place takes it all a step further. They’ll start by loading your table with wooden platters filled with appetizers—smoked meats, cheeses, fried balls of salt cod, pigs’-ear salad, egg with cornbread, and so on. Just go with the flow, but remember to leave space for the mighty, meaty main courses. Help it down with the local red vinho verde served in china mugs. See p. 364.
Cervejaria Ramiro (Lisbon): Bright, noisy, and invariably crowded, Ramiro is the monarch of the marisqueiras—specialty seafood restaurants. The idea is to order a succession of shellfish dishes: clams steamed with garlic and cilantro, whole crabs (you get a mallet to smash the claws), shrimp in various sizes, goose barnacles that must be wrestled from their leathery sheaths. It’s traditional to follow up with a steak sandwich. Be prepared to stand in line, it’s very popular. See p. 88.
Restinga (Portimão): One of Portugal’s great gastronomic pleasures is sitting at a beachside restaurant watching the waves roll up to the shore while tucking into expertly prepared seafood that was swimming about beneath those same waves a few hours before. There are many swell places to do that in the Algarve, but Restinga takes the concept a step further. It’s located on a glorious beach and next to a shellfish-rich lagoon. Start with fried shrimp or fish soup, then settle down to a whole grilled bream, bass, or other fish as the main event. See p. 245.
Portugal’s best Palaces & Castles
Palácio Nacional da Pena (Sintra): An extraordinary 19th-century confection sitting atop the Sintra hills, this palace was built by King consort Ferdinand II, the German husband of Portugal’s Queen Maria II. It boasts a potpourri of styles—Neo-Gothic, Moorish revival, imitation Renaissance, pastiches of Portugal’s maritime-inspired Manueline—inspired by the romantic mountaintop fantasy castles of Bavaria. Painted in shocking reds and yellows, it looms over thick forests, a palace fit for fairytales. See p. 162.
Forte da Graça (Elvas): As Portugal battled to regain its independence from Spain in the 1640s, the border town of Elvas held a key position on the road from Madrid to Lisbon. To fortify it, they brought in a German military architect, who built the biggest fort of its type in the world. A massive series of defensive walls and ditches circle the pretty, whitewashed town. The city fortifications and the aqueduct ensuring the inhabitants could get water even during a siege are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. See p. 284.
Casa de Mateus (Vila Real): Familiar around the world to fans of the rosé wine that bears its name and image on the label, this is the most beautiful of the baroque manor houses scattered around the wine lands of northern Portugal. The reflecting pool out front perfectly duplicates the white-and-gray stone facade with its double staircase and decorative spires, partly the work of the great Italian architect Nicolau Nasoni in the 1740s. It’s surrounded by delightful formal gardens. See p. 407.
Palácio de Mafra (Mafra): This was originally supposed to be a convent, but King João V decided he’d spend some of his Brazilian gold-mine riches expanding it. The result is a monster-size mix of church and royal residence covering an area bigger than seven football fields. Completed in 1755, its vast yellow-painted facade dominates the little town of Mafra. Inside, the royal apartments and old hospital are well worth visiting, but the real treasure is the rococo library lined with almost 40,000 books dating back to the 14th century. UNESCO declared it a World Heritage site in 2019. See p. 171.
Portugal’s best Museums
Museu Calouste Gulbenkian (Lisbon): If you go to one museum in Portugal, this should be it. Whatever your taste in art—from ancient Egyptian funeral masks to French Impressionist paintings, Persian carpets to Lalique jewelry—you’re sure to find something interesting. The remarkable collection was amassed by Armenian oil magnate Calouste Gulbenkian (1869–1955), who found a home in neutral Portugal during World War II. The museum complex also includes concert halls and a separate modern art museum, all housed in discreet 1960s buildings integrated into shady gardens that are a peaceful getaway in the heart of the city. See p. 116.
Museu Nacional do Azulejo (Lisbon): Wherever you go in Portugal you’ll see azulejos—painted ceramic tiles used to decorate buildings inside and out, from ancient churches to modern metro stations. The best place to understand this thoroughly Portuguese art form is this museum situated in a 16th-century convent in Lisbon’s riverside Madre de Deus neighborhood. The collection contains tiles dating back over 600 years. Highlights include a giant panel showing Lisbon before the great earthquake of 1755 and the convent church filled with tiles and gold leaf. See p. 113.
Serralves (Porto): Porto’s modern art museum is housed in a fine Art Deco villa and a purpose-built contemporary gallery designed by local architect Álvaro Siza Vieira. It holds a huge collection of Portuguese and international art from the 20th and 21st centuries and hosts temporary exhibitions, serving as the most dynamic cultural center in the north. Its latest big acquisition was more than 80 works by Spanish surrealist Joan Miró. See p. 343.
Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga (Lisbon): The country’s best collection of Portuguese and international painting is housed in a 17th-century palace high on a cliff overlooking the River Tagus. Much of the collection was brought together from monasteries and noble homes after the civil war of the 1830s. Among the highlights: the nightmarish Temptations of St. Anthony by Hieronymus Bosch; Japanese screen paintings showing the arrival of Portuguese mariners in the 16th century; and Nuno Gonçalves’ Panels of St. Vincent, depicting Lisbon society at the time of the Discoveries. The gardens at the back offer peaceful views over the river. See p. 111.
Museu Colecção Berardo (Lisbon): In the depths of the bunker-like Centro Cultural de Belém is a groundbreaking collection of modern and contemporary art. It was put together by
a Portuguese chef to win a Michelin star with Japanese cooking takes some doing. But Pedro Almeida has done just that, using the freshest local seafood to craft a fabulously creative fusion of East and West in a luxury resort set among forested hills outside Lisbon. His kaiseki fixed menus bring a parade of complex morsels like red mullet sashimi with butter sauce and miso, or nigiri of striped Algarve shrimp with finger lime. See p. 169.
