If you are planning to travel to the neighboring country by car, you should start choosing now which charming villages in Portugal you want to visit because the list of beautiful villages in Portugal can be very long. Fortunately, our neighbor boasts a multitude of charming places and fairytale medieval villages with corners to get lost in and forget the clock for a thousand and one getaways.
Some of the most beautiful places in Portugal need no introduction, such as Lisbon, Porto, Sintra, Aveiro or Braga. But there are many charming villages in Portugal you may not have heard of, which sometimes remain unfairly in the background but are true gems.
Take note of these 5 charming villages in northern and central Portugal that well deserve either a stop on your trip through Portuguese lands or even a full weekend getaway. My recommendation is that, if you can, stay at least one night in each of them to also enjoy them at sunset, see how they light up afterwards and delight in the tranquility of strolling through their streets without haste.
Óbidos, the medieval village that has everything to be perfect
What ingredients does a village need to be considered charming? Cobbled alleys to stroll through, whitewashed houses adorned with flowers, an old town embraced by a wall, a castle to conquer, an interesting history behind it (it was a queen’s wedding gift) and all framed in a beautiful natural setting. Well, Óbidos has them all and more, such as an ancient aqueduct and several festivals of interest, the chocolate one, the medieval one and Óbidos Vila Natal, to further encourage the visit.
- Would you like to do the guided bicycle tour of Óbidos?
It’s clear, if I had to choose a single place from my small list of charming villages to see in Portugal it would be Óbidos. This medieval village located in the center of the neighboring country, one hour north of Lisbon, won me over from afar as I saw it appear after a bend in the road with its imposing walled silhouette atop a hill.
And once inside, breathing in its literary atmosphere jumping from bookstore to bookstore and silently exploring each of its delightful nooks made me fall completely in love. A tip: if you like literature and can afford a treat, stay at a unique hotel like The Literary Man Óbidos Hotel. Óbidos is considered a literary city by UNESCO so don’t be surprised to find, for example, places as curious as the bookstore inside the old church of Sao Tiago.
Lamego, one of the most beautiful places in Portugal
In the north of the country, an hour and a half from Porto, there is a true gem full of monuments that, inexplicably, often goes unnoticed. Its secret weapon for stealing compliments from Braga itself is the Nossa Senhora dos Remedios sanctuary, a beautiful temple with a Baroque facade reached by a photogenic staircase adorned with beautiful tiles.
But beware, the small and manageable old town includes a beautiful cathedral, a very interesting museum, a historical theater and even the remains of a castle and a wall that recall its prominent medieval past. And there is a lot to see in Lamego, where the Romans already settled, and in the surroundings…
- Book the free tour of Lamego in Spanish to learn about its history.
If you like wine tourism, you should visit Lamego because they say the famous Port wine was born here. You will be like a fish in water in the Douro lands, among vineyards and charming wineries to discover such as Quinta Da Pacheca. And if you have the soul of a pilgrim, also take note of this charming village in Portugal because two paths to Santiago de Compostela cross here.
Vila Viçosa, the perfect duality
Very close to the border, a few kilometers from Badajoz, but already in the Alentejo region, is one of the charming villages in Portugal that you cannot miss: Vila Viçosa. This place, famous for its marble industry, can proudly boast the perfect mix between the relaxed atmosphere of a small town and the opulence of having been the home of the Braganza dynasty.
Thanks to this duality, you will go from getting lost in quiet little streets, filled with orange trees, which could well belong to a white Andalusian village, with the scent of orange blossoms included, to admiring a building as impressive as the Ducal Palace whose marble facade is astonishing.
- Discover the best tours and excursions in Vila Viçosa.
But Vila Viçosa also keeps churches like Agostinhos or São João Evangelista up its sleeve and, as a final touch, a walled enclosure of medieval origin. What more do you need to go?
Monsanto, the Portuguese village ‘buried’ by stones
Again near the border, but this time north of the Tagus River, level with Plasencia, check out Monsanto, another of the charming villages in Portugal that you should know. If before the marble stood out, now the real protagonist is the granite which, in the form of gigantic stones, seems about to swallow this picturesque village whose peculiar architecture will capture all your attention.
Here, the spectacle consists of admiring how houses and granite boulders coexist in a, for now, everlasting balance resulting from the armistice between the two. And all this on top of a mountain, crowned by the remains of a castle and a medieval watchtower, which emerges like an island in the middle of the plain of a dehesa through which Romans, Visigoths, Muslims, and Templars passed.
Penha García, one of the least known charming villages in Portugal
Of all the charming villages in Portugal on this list, Penha García is surely the least mentioned of all, and its fame is overshadowed by its neighbor Monsanto, just eleven kilometers away. However, this small Portuguese village has many merits of its own to earn well-deserved tourism, starting with belonging to the Naturtejo geopark.
The upper part of Penha García is the most coveted for the rural charm of its streets, for being the site of the Church of Our Lady of the Conception, for the remains of its castle, and because it is where the fossils route begins, where during a walk you can see vestiges from more than 400 years ago in the rocks, such as trilobites.
These are just 5 charming villages in Portugal, but there are many more. If you want to discover others, take a look at all those proposed by Comiviajeros.
Más artículos sobre Portugal:
Viajar a coche en Portugal: ruta de 15 días
Portugal dos Pequenitos, plan con niños en Coímbra
5 pueblos con encanto en Portugal
Lamego, 12 motivos para visitarlo
Óbidos Vila Natal, destino navideño
Alfama es nombre de mujer
Vila Viçosa, la princesa del Alentejo
Oporto te entiende
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