The Most Beautiful Small Towns in Portugal

Some of Portugal’s most memorable places are its small towns: walled hilltop villages, whitewashed fishing towns, granite villages built into boulders and riverside towns with medieval bridges. Here are the most beautiful small towns in Portugal, and how to fit them into your trip.

Quick answer: the most beautiful small towns are Óbidos, Monsaraz, Marvão, Monsanto, Piódão, Ponte de Lima, Tavira, Ericeira, Mértola and Pinhão in the Douro. Stay overnight to see them after the day-trippers leave.

Central Portugal and the Silver Coast

• Óbidos: a walled medieval town of white houses and flowers, famous for ginjinha in chocolate cups. See Óbidos.
• Nazaré: a fishing town with giant winter waves. See Nazaré.
• Tomar: home of the Templar castle and Convent of Christ. See Tomar.
• Ericeira: a whitewashed surf town near Lisbon. See Ericeira.

The Alentejo

• Monsaraz: a tiny walled village above the Alqueva lake. See Monsaraz.
• Marvão: a clifftop fortress village with huge views into Spain.
• Castelo de Vide: a hillside town with a Jewish quarter and flower-filled lanes.
• Mértola: a town above the Guadiana with a mosque converted into a church.
• Vila Nova de Milfontes: a river-mouth beach town on the wild coast. See Costa Vicentina.

The mountains and interior

• Monsanto: granite houses wedged between giant boulders.
• Piódão: a schist village on a terraced mountainside.
• Sortelha and Belmonte: walled frontier villages.

See the historic villages of Portugal.

The north

• Ponte de Lima: a riverside town with a medieval bridge, often called Portugal’s oldest town. See the Minho.
• Amarante: a pretty river town with a famous bridge and pastry shops.
• Pinhão: the heart of the Douro wine country, with a tiled train station. See the Douro.
• Soajo and Lindoso: stone villages with granaries in Peneda-Gerês. See Peneda-Gerês.

The Algarve

• Tavira: the Algarve’s prettiest town. See Tavira.
• Alte, Salir and Cacela Velha: traditional villages. See the best Algarve villages.
• Sagres: a laid-back surf town at the end of Europe. See Sagres.

Tips

• A car helps: many small towns are poorly served by public transport. See the best road trips.
• Stay overnight: Óbidos, Monsaraz and Marvão are magical once the day-trippers leave. Find places to stay.
• Comfortable shoes: steep cobbled lanes everywhere.

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