88 Cool and Unusual Things to Do in Portugal - Atlas Obscura

Unusual
Attractions
in Portugal

Sintra, Portugal

Quinta da Regaleira

Eccentrically decorated palace and gardens replete with grottoes, fountains, underground tunnels, caves, and numerous statues.

Porto, Portugal

Livraria Lello

One of the most beautiful bookstores in the world hides a neo-Gothic interior behind an art nouveau facade.

Alcains, Portugal

The Village of Monsanto

Houses are tucked between, on, and underneath giant boulders.

Évora, Portugal

Portugal's Chapel of Bones

A 16th century chapel decorated with bones, skulls, and entire bodies hanging from the wall.

Lisbon, Portugal

Carmo Convent Ruins

Legacy of the earthquake that nearly wiped Lisbon off the face of the Earth.

Sintra, Portugal

Pena National Palace

This unreal Portuguese palace looks as though it's made from a pile of different castles.

Capela de Ossos Bone Chapel

This small chapel is built of human bones and decorated with a golden skeleton.

Drowned Village of Vilarinho da Furna

A submerged village appears when dam levels drop.

See All 88 Things to Do in Portugal See All 88 Places

Unique
Food & Drink
in Portugal

Strawberry Tree Fruit

The lychee-looking fruit appears in everything from jam and liqueur to the Aeneid and Madrid's flag.

Violet Volcanic Tea

When green tea meets water from the Azores’ hot springs, an unexpectedly colorful brew is born.

Malasadas

These Portuguese doughnuts have a fervent fanbase in Hawaii.

Bolo Lêvedo

Portugal's volcanic archipelago is home to addictively sweet and chewy muffins.

See all 21 things to eat in Portugal See all 21 things to eat in Portugal

Atlas Obscura Trips

Lisbon: Tracing the Roots of an Imperial Cuisine

Journey beyond the city’s tiled buildings and narrow streets to discover the long legacy and vibrant present of culinary inventiveness in Lisbon.

Rodrigo Cabrita

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Traveling to Lisbon & Porto	13 May 10, 2019	1735	May 10, 2019
Portuguese foods	0 August 30, 2019	287	August 30, 2019
72 places to see in Portugal	4 July 17, 2019	1534	July 17, 2019
Violet Volcanic Tea	2 January 28, 2019	1522	January 28, 2019
Banco de Materiais (Bank of Materials)	2 May 23, 2019	901	May 23, 2019

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Stories
About Portugal

While marmalade tastes sharp and even a little bitter, marmelada tastes hyper-sweet.

Why Portugal's Marmelada Tastes Nothing Like Marmalade

The blocky confection took on a very different definition in England.

by Rafaela Ferraz

December 5, 2018

A half-buried bottle of wine of the dead.

Unearthing Portugal's Wine of the Dead, a Relic From the Napoleonic Wars

The invasions led to an unexpected discovery.

by Rafaela Ferraz

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