30 Photos of Portugal that Will Inspire You to Visit

Paige and I had a setback in our big trip when she required emergency surgery near the end of 2017. After Paige completed her recovery from surgery, we were ready to head back out into the world of adventure – and what better place to start than Portugal?

Portugal had been at the top of my ‘must-see in Europe’ list for quite a long time. When I was a kid, my parents took a ‘freedom from the kids’ trip to Portugal. When they came home from that trip, they told me and my brother how beautiful and fun it was in Portugal. Naturally, when Paige and I planned to travel through Europe as a part of our big trip, I had to jump on the opportunity to visit Portugal for myself and see if it lived up to my expectations. Spoiler alert – it did, and it exceeded my expectations! The cities are cool, the surroundings are gorgeous, and the people are some of the friendliest and most welcoming people I’ve ever met while traveling.

From the steep and colorful historic section of Lisbon, to the fairy-tale castles and village in Sintra, to the incredible port from the source in Porto, to the breathtaking coastline and beaches in Lagos, Portugal completely re-energized me and ‘put the wind back in our travel sails’, as Paige would say. Here are 30 of my favorite photos of Portugal from our time there that will inspire you to visit and hopefully have as much fun in this incredible country as we did.

30 Photos of Portugal that Will Inspire You to Visit

SINTRA, PORTUGAL:

While Quinta da Regaleira isn’t technically a castle (as in no royalty lived here) it is a massive home with a castle-like home, chapel and some really interesting masonic symbols, like the initiation wells.
Starting down the 27-meter initiation masonic well.  This 27-meter initiation well was part of a ceremony that was an important part of becoming a free-mason.

The gate leading to the remains of the 8th century Moorish Castle. A heavy fog settled over Sintra while we were there, but it was still beautiful to explore these castles. Another castle-looking home or building just sitting on a hillside.

Left: A path leading through the Pena Palace Grounds // Right: Pena Palace’s brightly colored walls standing out against the fog
Pena Palace is especially eye-catching because of the bright colors
 
The National Palace itself wasn’t the most spectacular, but its central location within the town made for some pretty photos. Left: Paige sitting in the rooftop garden // Right: Looking out the palace window

LISBON, PORTUGAL:

Lisbon is well known for its picturesque Old town and its iconic street cars. Also, this is Paige’s favorite from our photos of Portugal.
 

PORTO, PORTUGAL:

Even though there’s a lot to see in Porto, I really loved the beauty of the port cellars (and the port itself, of course).

Cockburn’s Port Lodge has a group of in-house coopers to create their barrels.

LAGOS, PORTUGAL:

Lagos is just so beautiful. I took hundreds of photos here and it was tough narrowing down my favorite of these photos.
There are so many sea arches everywhere. The geological features were just incredible.
Not a bad place to catch a sunrise if you ask me…

My photos of Portugal are some of my absolute favorite photos from our big trip, and its easy to see why: The cities are beautiful and exciting, and the landscapes are breathtaking and unique. Portugal completely lived up to, and exceeded, my expectations. If you’re looking for your next European destination, look no further than Portugal – and don’t forget to bring your camera!

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