Visiting Portugal in Winter

Every once in a while, travel inspiration comes from the people closest to us. 

My good friend, Natalie Gagnon, has a Substack page where she shares her own travel stories, personal reflections, and lessons learned along the way. 

Her words and experiences sparked my recent trip to Portugal, and I’m so glad to share one of her pieces here with you today.

This one is all about her visit to Portugal in February. I know you’ll enjoy her perspective as much as I do, so let’s jump into Natalie’s post.

Recommendations for Anyone with Portugal on Their Bucket List

By: Natalie Gagnon

When I travel, I like to pick a direction and head that way. I like to look around and get curious. I like to follow my intuition and my instinct. The amazing thing is … I always see everything I want to, and I always believe I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. Every time!

Whether I check off a to-do list or not does not matter to me. For me, it’s always the journey, and not the exact destination.

Standing in the Ribeira area of Porto looking at the Dom Luis Bridge

When we went to Portugal we had a list of recommendations we started out with, and I will share the ones I can recommend the most coupled with our own findings. 

We went off-season, in February, and we did not have any big waits or long lines. We felt very lucky for great weather and easy access to everything we wanted to do.

Portugal has 10 million residents, and around 18 million visitors each year. Tourism is a major part of their economy! Off-season is the way to go.

Lisbon Restaurants

The chalkboard menu at Discreto in Lisbon

Discreto – this was where we ate our very first night and it was love at first bite. The menu written is on a chalkboard – enough said! Always pick the restaurant with the menu on the chalkboard.

Mercearia do Seculo – This is where we ate our very last night, and we stumbled upon it just by looking around. Quintessential Portuguese food, family-restaurant-vibe – it could not have been any more perfect.

Wine window at Faz Frio

Faz Frio – Also very traditional Portuguese food, thoroughly enjoyable, and as we were waiting for a table we were able to order a sidewalk drink through the window. Bonus!

Time Out Market – The most amazing food court imaginable! A great sampling of the best of Portuguese food.

TimeOut Market in Lisbon

Honest Greens – These are all over the country, and if you want a really healthy meal, chock full of fresh vegetables, head to your nearest one!

What I also loved about the restaurants was how the water bottles were oftentimes glass with the logo of the restaurant on the bottle. A nice touch! 

Discreto watter bottle

We always received crusty sourdough bread, butter, and olives before every meal. 

I’m usually a red wine drinker, but in Portugal I enjoyed the white wines even more. Portugal is not just about Port wines, nor is it just about fish and pork. I ate very good vegetarian food. The Portuguese especially love pumpkin, sweet potatoes, and mushroom risotto. Devine! 

We never felt rushed, and we ate on nice china. Fine dining vibes daily! Enjoyed the food in Lisbon more than Porto.

Hotels in Portugal

We chose hotels that had breakfast included, which was nice so we could take our time in the mornings. 

The coffee was average. I noticed nice coffee shops out and about, but as we had free coffee included with the hotel we did not try any artisan coffee shops. It’s very possible they were much better than the coffee at the hotel!

Lisbon

AlmaLusa – This Hotel helped me to understand why people have loyalty to hotels. I have never had a better hotel experience. The breakfast was lovely, and the concierge service was top-notch. They were so helpful and kind! Very comfortable and well located. The first night we were there they brought us a complementary dessert!

Porto

chic&basic Gravity – This hotel is hip and has character, and the breakfast spread was also pretty lovely. It had a young vibe, although most people staying there were closer to 50. Also comfortable and well located.

What to See and Do in Portugal

Cascais and Sintra – we rented a driver for the day and it was lovely. We visited castles and beaches. Highly recommend! We especially loved Quinta de Regaleira. Magical landscape! A day trip from Portugal.

Lisbon – Get lost in Alfama! Take the yellow tram 28E up the hill, and then wander and find miradouras (viewpoints!) and take in the street musicians!

Porto – A boat tour along the river is very pretty and relaxing. Definitely do a port wine tasting on the other side of the river. Check out where the river meets the Atlantic Ocean if you can, easy and cheap to get there by bus!

Fundação Serralves – This is a modern art museum in Porto that has the most incredible grounds. We were completely taken by surprise! We didn’t even do the indoor museum; we spent all of our time outdoors.

Final Thoughts on Portugal

What I also loved about our vacation… 

I never knew what time it was, I always felt like we had plenty of time, and every day felt like a unique adventure. The weather was perfect! The people were very nice. We felt safe. The Ubers were super affordable. So was the food. 

It was a high-quality vacation and good value. 

As I am nostalgic for Portugal, I went to a Portuguese restaurant the other day with friends in Palm Coast, FL and it definitely was not the same. There’s no place like Portugal!

Portugal, I thank you, and I will be back!