7 hidden gems of Portugal

 Hidden gems are one of the best parts of traveling. When you go to a different country, most people just go to the most popular locations. I am not saying not to go to these, but you should definitely check out all of these awesome ‘hidden places’. Since I lived there for 3 years, I am going to talk about some of Portugal’s must see hidden gems.

  1. First we have Livraria Bertrand, Lisbon. This is a stunning bookshop, founded in 1732 in Lisbon that entered the Guinness Book of World records as the oldest functioning bookstore in the world in 2011.  

  2. Next, let’s talk about a city. Coimbra used to be the capital of Portugal in the Middle Ages and has the oldest academic institution in the Portuguese-speaking world, The University of Coimbra, founded in 1290 which is still an operative university and where you can go and visit. Considering it’s so old, the city is full of beautiful old architecture. It’s definitely a must-see.

   3. Costa Nova do Prado is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. It’s located near Porto and it’s pretty much a beach but with some beautiful houses around and honestly, I’m just gonna let the picture speak for itself…

   4. Praia de Benagil is a beautiful and unique beach in Lagos, Algarve. It is well known for the stunning cave with a hole on top that is now called – ‘The eye’. It’s so special and a perfect place for taking pictures. It looks like something from a movie.

  5. Another beautiful bookshop is Livraria Lello. This is the bookshop where J. K. Rowling got the inspiration for her Harry Potter books. It’s a magical place and even though it’s a pretty small shop, there are always lots of tourists visiting it. I guess you could say it’s not really a hidden gem, but I think it should be talked about more.

  6. Leiria is a very small city where I lived. It’s not very popular, but I have to say it’s just so nice and all the people are so friendly. There is this really beautiful castle in the middle of the city and the center has all of these really unique buildings. And considering it’s so small, you can walk all around the city. It’s just a really great place to  visit and it’s also right between Lisbon and Porto, so you can just stop there.

  7. Aveiro is another city in Portugal, but it looks exactly like Portugal’s very own Venice. There is this river with tons of interesting and beautiful boats you can ride around the city. Also, just as all the other cities I talked about, the architecture is so unique and cool, you definitely have to visit it. 

 Hope these help you out on your next trip to Portugal and I will try and make this a series so that you can find different, hidden places all around the globe. Have a great day,

                                                                                                        XOXO,Delayla