Tourists who want to spend their holiday exploring the Portuguese countryside are sure to have an amazing time. The country has an amazing landscape that is steeped in culture, history and nature at its finest. As a country, Portugal is over 900 years old, and while you will find that it has a modern side to it, the charm of the countryside has been preserved over the years.

What Does the Countryside Offer?

The countryside offers a lot of possibilities that tourists can make the most of. If you are looking to spend the entire holiday exploring the countryside, you may want to get in touch with a local tour guide or travel agent who can take you beyond the usual ‘beach house’ holiday experiences.
While there are lots of B&Bs, hotels and hostels that you can stay at when visiting the countryside of Portugal, not all of them are open all year round. Try and get in touch with the owners beforehand to find out the schedules and plan accordingly.

Some of the Most Beautiful Cities of the Portuguese Countryside

Viana do Castelo, Miranda do Douro and Lamego are some of the most beautiful cities of Portugal. If you are looking to explore the countryside, make sure you include these in your itinerary.
Viana do Castelo: Popularly known as the Mecca of Architecture, Viana do Castelo is a very beautiful and scenic city. It is famous for its monuments and surrounding natural beauty. The city has a beach, beautiful museums, cathedrals and old family houses that are an architectural marvel.
Miranda do Douro: If you are looking to make the most of all that the Portuguese countryside has to offer, you must visit this beautiful walled city that shares a border with Spain. The city is famous for its rich culture, beautiful architecture and natural beauty.
Lamego: One of Portugal’s most ancient cities, Lamego is also home to one of the country’s most prominent cathedrals. The city is famous for its various monuments as well as scenic beauty.
The Portuguese countryside offers tourists an amazing experience. Marked by remarkable monuments and breathtaking scenic beauty, the countryside of Portugal is best explored when walking or on a bicycle.

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Portugal is one of the most popular wine regions in Europe. Tourists always make it a point to book a wine tour to explore the region that gives the world its most popular dessert wine – the Port wine. Portugal is steeped in tradition and this makes it one of the most loved and visited wine regions of the world.

Wines of Portugal

Currently, the country has 2 important wine producing regions – the Douro Valley Wine Region and the Pico Island Wine Region. UNESCO protects both these regions as World Heritage.Portugal has over 500 native breeds of grapes that are used in the production of a wide variety of wines, each with a distinct flavor and personality. When it comes to grape varieties, Portugal has some of the most indigenous ones in the world. The quality and uniqueness of the wines produced by the region has made it one of the biggest players in wine production across the world. If you want to find out more about Portugal and its wines, you can always choose to take a guided wine tour organized by one of the many local agencies or agents.

Wine Regions

The Douro Valley region is popular for producing some of the finest and most intense wines in the world, including Port and Douro Reds. The Dao and Bairrada regions are responsible for the production of very flavorful red table wines. These vary between extreme fruitiness to a distinct hardness depending upon the producer of the wines.

The Alentejo wine producing region is relatively newer. Tourists who want to know more about how newer players are making a name for themselves in the highly competitive market can always take a wine tour of this region. The wines produced by Alentejo are very rich and tasteful. Here, wines are produced using the latest technology and methods.

When planning a Portugal holiday, you must include a wine tour. Various guides and travel agencies offer these tours. You can choose one that is most convenient and suitable for you.

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