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Portugal Guide
Visiting or expatriating : Lisbon, Porto, Algarve...
Visit Portugal
Guides to know everything!
Essencial-Portugal offers you a large list of tourist guides to discover Lisbon, the Lisbon region, Porto and the Algarve in the best way.
You will find information and practical advice to discover these fascinating regions of Portugal: places to see, visits, activities, accommodation, transport…
Browse the guides according to the region you want to visit.
Guides by destination
The best visits and activities
The number of guided tours and activities available on the internet is very large and it is difficult to find your way around. On Essencial Portugal you will find a selection of the best guided tours and activities for all of Portugal.
The selected tours and activities are those that have been most appreciated by the people who have done them, they have been rated 5 stars and are given by English-speaking guides.
Visits and activities by destination
Tailor-made trips to Portugal
Portugal is a country rich in culture, landscapes, monuments and history and it can be difficult to know what to visit, what to do, where to sleep and generally how to organise your trip.
Essencial Portugal offers to put you in touch with a Franco-Portuguese organiser who will take care of planning everything for tailor-made trips to Lisbon, Porto or the Azores. Everything is organised according to your wishes: you know where you are going, when you are going and how much you are paying. Only keep the good surprises.
Whether it’s for a solo trip, with friends, with family, for a seminar, a stag party or a hen party, let us guide you between activities, guided tours and accommodation for a TRUE discovery of the country between local culture and authenticity.
One page to book everything
Whether you are planning to visit the Algarve, Lisbon, Porto or the Lisbon region, you will need to plan ahead to know which monuments or places to visit and for that you will find all the necessary guides on Essencial Portugal. But you will also need to book your activities, guided tours and accommodation.
This is where we have made your job easier by selecting the best guided tours, activities, hotels and luxury villas.
Everything is on one page, so all you have to do is choose the place you want to visit and let us guide you to book everything on our partner sites. We’ve hand-picked everything ourselves to make sure you get only the best options.
The best accommodations
Depending on your wishes, your destination and your budget, you will find a wide range of accommodation in Portugal, but you will never really know if it is right for you.
We have made a selection of the best rated and most popular accommodation in Portugal.
From fabulous hotels to luxury hotels and luxury villas, Essencial Portugal has accommodation ideas ranging from hotels in the city centre, to hotels in the countryside, to luxury villas with heated swimming pools, cooks and maids.
The must-read guides of Lisbon and its region
Visit Lisbon by bus, by Tuk Tuk, by yourself or accompanied by English-speaking guides who live in the capital. A selection of the best places and visits to discover Lisbon, its history, its gastronomy and its hospitality at its best.
There is so much to see that a single visit to Lisbon will not be enough. And yet, there are still some must-see places that you wouldn’t want to miss for anything in the world: Saint George’s Castle, Belem Tower, Lisbon’s Oceanarium, Hieronymites Monastery, Tramway 28 or Santa Justa Lift.
Below you will find practical guides to help you plan your visits: prices, timetables, routes, tickets and all the information you need to make your life easier.
Places and Monuments in Lisbon
Practical guides and ideas for visiting Lisbon
Guides to visit the Lisbon area
Must-read guides from north to south of Portugal
Portugal is not just about Lisbon. The northern and southern regions of the country are extremely different, but all equally beautiful to discover. That’s why we’ve prepared practical guides to visit all the must-see places from the north to Porto and the south to the Algarve.
Discover the cities to visit, the monuments not to be missed, the most popular French-speaking guided tours, but also the best activities and the accommodation that will leave you speechless, from fabulous hotels to luxury villas.
From the beautiful city of Porto, to the Douro Valley, to the natural wonders of the Peneda-Gerês National Park in the north, to the extraordinary Benagil Caves and the sandy cliffs of the Algarve, you won’t miss a thing! Our must-see guides will take you on a tour of the unsuspected riches of each region from the north to the south of Portugal.
Guides of Porto and the North of Portugal
Guides to the Algarve of Southern Portugal
The most luxurious villas in Portugal
Imagine luxurious villas in private forests, on top of cliffs with an extraordinary view of the sea, heated swimming pools, luxurious materials or the possibility of having a chef at your disposal to discover the traditional Portuguese cuisine or a housekeeper so that you can concentrate only on your holidays and the discovery of the region.
This is what Essencial Portugal offers you with a selection of the most luxurious villas in Portugal in cities that are a must-see in Portugal: Porto, Lisbon, Cascais, Vale do Lobo, Albufeira or Vilamoura. Consult all the luxury villas of our partner and make your choice!
Expatriating to Portugal
English speaking contacts in Portugal
Essencial Portugal puts you in direct contact with trusted English-speaking professionals to help you with your expatriation project. These professionals are all based in Portugal and have many years of expertise in their field.
Below you will find different areas in which you can be assisted.
Do you need information? Need support? Go to the contact page and fill in the form that interests you. Depending on your request and your project, an English-speaking professional based in Portugal will contact you directly to discuss it with you.
What type of support?
Essencial Portugal is a website that connects individuals who want to move to Portugal or do specific things here with companies based in Portugal that specialise in these areas and are able to assist you.
It is difficult to find competent and thorough professionals who speak English and are based in Portugal. That is why we know personally all the companies we refer you to. We have been working with them for several years and are confident of the quality of the services they offer.
But before contacting them, you probably have some questions before embarking on the great adventure of expatriation to Portugal. To answer them, you will find below many articles about the different administrative steps and other things you might want to do in Portugal.
Our latest news on Lisbon and Portugal
Because we are also an information site, we regularly write articles or publish information that may be of interest to our readers as expatriates or future expatriates.
You will find here our latest news, but also in the dedicated section all our news on real estate, tourism and any other area we deem relevant for you.
