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When is the best time to visit Portugal?

21/4/2018

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Hydrangeas in the Azores, Portugal
Hydrangeas in the Azores, Portugal

Having seen all the seasons pass in Portugal, I thought I’d give an overview of what to see and expect in the country as the calendar ticks over. 
 
While the ideal timing of your visit will depend on personal preferences and schedules, as someone who travels a lot, I’ve come to realise it can be nice to travel at any time of the year, even if it’s not considered ‘the’ time to go. Places can change so much month-to-month, and what you experience in June can be completely different to November. You could visit the same city in each season and have a completely different holiday. 
 
Summer is a good time to visit Portugal if you want to enjoy long, sunny days and the reassurance that attractions will be open. Of course this is also the busiest time so you’ll have to contend with larger crowds and higher prices. If throngs of people make you squirm or you’re the type who fancies breaking away from the pack, there are some lovely sights to be seen throughout the year, as you’ll soon discover.  

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Portuguese architecture Part II: Pombaline style

27/3/2018

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Baixa Pombalina, Lisbon, Portugal, Emily McAuliffe
Lisbon's Baixa Pombalina

I briefly touched on Pombaline architecture in my post Who are they? Famous names on the streets of Portugal. Here I mention the style is named after a chap by the name of Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, who became known as the Marquês de Pombal.
 
The Marquês de Pombal is credited for his leadership role during the rebuilding of Lisbon following the 1755 earthquake (and ensuing fire and tsunami). At the time he was the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, but quickly took the leading reigns after the king at the time José I, essentially curled up in a ball and prayed for it all to be over (or so the story goes). Pombal subsequently became the prime minister of Portugal.

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Portuguese architecture Part I: Manueline style

5/3/2018

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Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, Belém, Lisbon, Portugal, Emily McAuliffe
Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, Belém, Lisbon
Portugal's Manueline architectural style is named after its key influencer, King Manuel I, who served as Portugal’s head honcho from 1495-1521. This wasn’t a bad time to hold the reigns, as it was during this period that Portugal held the power of the pepper.
 
As you might remember from my post A brief history of Portugal, the Portuguese were incredibly influential during the Age of Discovery. Portugal’s brave seafaring souls proved it was possible to sail across the world without dropping off the end, and in a fortuitous twist, discovered you could become rather wealthy if you collected and traded spices from lands you stumbled upon along the way.

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Portuguese wine: yes, the wines of Portugal extend far beyond port

3/2/2018

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Last month I had a story published in the Singapore Airlines inflight magazine, SilverKris, about Portugal’s table wines. You see, everyone seems to know about port (which you may remember from my post Interesting facts about Portugal is exclusive to Portugal, much like Champagne is exclusive to its namesake region in France). But Portugal isn’t just good at port, and has been making mighty fine table wines as far back as Roman times. 

While the Douro Valley is starting to make a name for itself in mainstream wine circles, the whole of Portugal is actually a patchwork of wine regions producing very diverse wines. The country has over 300 grape varieties in active production and is a master of blended wine, so you’ll rarely see single varietals such as shiraz or chardonnay. Think of Portuguese wines to be like highly sophisticated grape cocktails. 

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Best things to do in Porto

20/1/2018

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Avenida dos Aliados, Porto, Portugal
Avenida dos Aliados, Porto, Portugal

Porto is known as Portugal's second city and is located in the north of the country. It has a very different look and feel to Lisbon – so you should definitely visit both – and is positioned on the bank of the beautiful Douro River (if you follow me on Instagram you may have seen my recent Insta story for @LonelyPlanet about the Douro :-)).

While Porto is traditionally an industrial city (hence the name, given Porto means 'port'), it is now an uber popular travel destination and has enough going on to keep you occupied for days (I'd recommend staying at least three days, if not more).

​This post will guide you to some of the best places to visit in Porto.

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Big waves in Nazaré: my favourite beach town in Portugal

4/1/2018

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Given the world-famous big waves of Nazaré are descending with the turn of the new year (they tend to start pumping from around November), I thought I'd repost an article I wrote about this delightful beach town, which has so much more than just monster surf.

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The best places to visit in Lisbon: 5 of my favourite neighbourhoods

14/12/2017

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Want to know where to eat, what to do and where to stay in Lisbon? Then read my post for the Peregrine Adventures blog (part of the Intrepid Group), which outlines five of Lisbon's coolest neighbourhoods.

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Porto street art: fighting the good fight

4/12/2017

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Street art in Porto by YouthOne

It was with great pleasure that I got to write about my favourite aspect of Porto – the street art – for the Wizz Air inflight magazine. Those who have visited Porto will know it can be a rather mysterious and grey city (and does get a tad gloomy in winter...), but everywhere you look, the walls pop to life with cheeky street art characters. I love it. 

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Lovely Lisbon: my top picks of where to eat, drink, visit and stay in Portugal's capital city

2/11/2017

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I recently wrote articles for the inflight magazines of Australia's national carrier, Qantas, and Ireland's national carrier, Aer Lingus, about Portugal's beautiful capital. Read my stories to find out my top picks of where to eat, drink, visit and stay in Lisbon.

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Kicking design goals: Cristiano Ronaldo and Pestana's CR7 hotels

30/10/2017

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Pestana CR7 Lisboa hotel
Pestana CR7 Lisboa (image supplied by Pestana Hotel Group)

I had the pleasure of road testing Portugal's CR7 hotels in Funchal (Madeira Island) and Lisbon, which are the product of a partnership between the world's greatest football star (or soccer star for my Aussie readers) and Portugal's largest hotel group, Pestana. 

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    The Portugal Wire is the blog of Australian travel writer, copywriter and photographer Emily McAuliffe.
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    Previous posts


    Things you might not know about Portugal

    ​
    A brief history of Portugal

    ​
    Who was the first person to sail around the world? (Hint: he was Portuguese ... and then he wasn't)

    A quick overview of Portugal's economy

    ​
    25 April: a shared day in history for Australia and Portugal

    Portugal's bridges: go big or go home

    ​Portugal and Spain: same same but different?

    Interesting facts about Porto

    ​Traditional Portuguese food: what to eat and drink in Portugal

    Who are they? Famous names on the streets of Portugal

    ​Interesting facts about Lisbon

    Uncovering Porto's secret gardens

    Lonely Planet Instagram takeover: sharing some of my favourite hidden spots in Portugal
    ​

    ​In the news... my feature in Portugal's national newspaper Diário de Notícias 

    On board the Presidential train in Portugal's Douro Valley

    ​
    When the lion mauled the eagle (Porto)


    Kicking design goals: Cristiano Ronaldo & Pestana's CR7 hotels
    ​

    Lovely Lisbon: my top picks of where to eat, drink, visit and stay in Portugal's capital city

    Porto street art: fighting the good fight

    The best places to visit in Lisbon: 5 of my favourite neighbourhoods

    Big waves in Nazaré: my favourite beach town in Portugal

    Best things to do in Porto
    ​
    Portuguese wine: yes, the wines of Portugal extend far beyond port

    Portuguese architecture Part I: Manueline style


    Portuguese architecture Part II: Pombaline style

    When is the best time to visit Portugal?


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THE PORTUGAL WIRE

Portugal travel blog of Australian writer and photographer
​Emily McAuliffe
em@emilymcauliffe.com
​www.emilymcauliffe.com
© All material copyright Emily McAuliffe 2018  

  • Blog
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  • Places to visit
    • Afife
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    • Albufeira
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    • Aveiro
    • Azenhas do Mar
    • Berlenga Grande Island
    • Braga
    • Caminha
    • Cascais
    • Castelo Branco
    • Coimbra
    • Condeixa-a-Nova
    • Covilhã
    • Douro Valley
    • Ericeira
    • Espinho
    • Évora
    • Fátima
    • Figueira
    • Figueira da Foz
    • Funchal, Madeira
    • Gondomar
    • Guimarães
    • Lagoa Comprida
    • Lagos
    • Leça da Palmeira – Vila do Conde
    • Leiria
    • Lindoso
    • Lisbon
    • Loriga
    • Manteigas
    • Marvão
    • Miramar
    • Monção
    • Monsanto
    • Montemor-o-Velho
    • Nazaré
    • Óbidos
    • Peneda-Gerês National Park
    • Peniche
    • Piódão
    • Ponta Delgada, São Miguel Island (Azores)
    • Ponte da Barca
    • Ponte de Lima
    • Portimão
    • Porto
    • Praia da Costa Nova
    • Praia da Ribeira do Cavalo
    • Praia de São Julião
    • Rota Vicentina
    • Sandomil
    • Santa Maria da Feira
    • Seia
    • Serra da Estrela
    • Sesimbra
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