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12 Best Cities And Towns In Portugal To Visit – Hand Luggage Only

24 Hours In Lagos And Sagres In The Algarve, Portugal (16)

Portugal easily brags about having some of the best weather in Europe so understandably it’s a popular destination for some of the more ‘weather-challenged parts of Europe’ (I’m looking at you the UK and Ireland 😉) to visit.

That being said, there are so many amazing cities and towns in Portugal absolutely worth visiting and it can be a bit confusing as to where to start.

With that in mind, here are some of the best cities and towns in Portugal worth visiting to start you off on your merry way.

1.) Sintra

The Beautiful Pena Palace Of Sintra, Portugal (58)

The first time someone mentioned visiting Sintra to me (many years ago, I might add), it barely even registered.

I kinda nodded but didn’t pay any attention to it (In my defence, it was during exam times and I was more obsessed with solving equations than travel planning).

The Beautiful Pena Palace Of Sintra, Portugal (41)

Then when we arrived in Portugal, someone else repeated this same suggestion and a quick look at photos of it had us cancelling our plans on one of the days in Portugal and heading over straight away to visit Sintra.

Suffice to say, it was so worth it. Sintra is like this relatively small town in Portugal with huge sites to visit.

Like the kind of sites that would rival even big cities like Porto.

It also has a culmination of so much of Portugal’s history, from ancient Moorish castles to more modern Romanticist palaces.

It’s got beauty after beauty after beauty here and is so worth a visit.

The Beautiful Pena Palace Of Sintra, Portugal (43)

We’ve actually done a post on the best places to visit in Sintra here so I’ll let you have a look at it all here.

2.) Guimaraes

12 Best Cities And Towns In Portugal To Visit

Guimaraes is quite an interesting and important city for Portugal as it’s regarded as Portugal’s birthplace, or the cradle city of Portugal.

Why? Well, this (amongst other reasons) is where the first King of Portugal was born.

These days, Guimaraes is a magnificent, historic city that plays home to some beautiful 11th-centurywonders.

12 Best Cities And Towns In Portugal To Visit

The history of this city is actually what makes it one of the best cities in Portugal to visit and is in large part why the old historic centre is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

12 Best Cities And Towns In Portugal To Visit

Now while you’re in this incredible historic centre be sure to visit the beautiful palace Paco dos Duques de Braganca and the castle in Guimaraes, to mention but a few.

3.) Aveiro

12 Best Cities And Towns In Portugal To Visit
Aveiro is one of the best cities to visit in Portugal thanks to its unique canal network and incredible beaches.

Then you get into the city itself and find so many…

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