Portugal is a country we’ve fallen in love with over the past few years.
What is it, specifically, that we find appealing about Portugal?
Expat friends in the country have helped us to pin down a few of our favorite things about Europe’s sunniest outpost…
- The extremely cheerful, helpful people… the Portuguese are among the most charming folks you’ll ever know…
- The year-round mild weather… low humidity… short winter… no need for special clothing any time of year…
- The views in the Algarve… breathtaking in every direction…
- Clean air…
- Cheap wine…
- Fresh, cheap seafood…
- Low-rise Lisbon… a capital city where you can see the sky…
- The summer nightlife from Carvoeiro to Estoril and Cascais… you can shop in boutiques until 1 a.m. and come upon musicians entertaining in the streets until 2 or 3…
- The pasteis de nata…
- The colors of Lisbon…
- The Time Out market in Lisbon for the best street market food of your life… and so cheap…
- The language itself… and the Portuguese accent…
- The surf… watching the waves off Portugal’s coast you understand why men were tempted to build ships to sail them…
- The ceramic tiles…
- The Pena Palace…
- The white and blue of Ericeira…
- Coffee for 60 cents and expresso on every corner. In Portugal, coffee shops are bakeries and the combination is considered one of the pillars of society…
- Well-planned grid cities. All cities and towns are walkable…
- Uncrowded beaches… many easily reached by public transportation…
- Personal space. Nowhere in Portugal is crowded (except the Algarve beaches popular among British tourists in season)… and the Portuguese respect personal space, both theirs and yours…
- Dinner at 10 p.m. and later on Friday and Saturday and that’s normal…
Kathleen Peddicord