Portugal — where to go and when
4 destinations covered
Few small countries stretch as far as Portugal does, and the four places published here make the point: a hilly capital of tiled facades and funicular streets, a working river city in the north with port cellars on the opposite bank, a southern coast of limestone cliffs and sheltered coves, and a volcanic island far out in the Atlantic whose weather answers to nothing on the mainland. Our index rates the country about a third cheaper than France, and the saving is unusually even, reaching food, wine, transport and entry fees rather than stopping at accommodation. Portugal rewards travellers who walk uphill without complaint, who eat fish, and who accept that the Atlantic is colder than the Mediterranean whatever the air temperature says. The mistake is treating it as one destination: north, south and island are three separate trips wearing the same flag. Pick one of them, or budget a full day for each move between them.
When to go
The usable season is unusually long, running from April right through to November, and each place stretches it differently. Lisbon peaks at 29.3 °C and the Algarve at 30.2 °C, both comfortable rather than punishing. Madeira comes closest to ignoring the calendar, comfortable in ten months of twelve and never dropping below 21.2 °C by day. Porto is the wet one, with 1480.9 mm of annual rainfall against the Algarve's 499.2 mm, so the north and the south demand different luggage.
The places we cover, side by side
| Place | Favourable months | Warmest month, avg. high (°C) | Coldest month, avg. high (°C) | Rainy days a year (≥ 1 mm) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Algarve | April, May, June, July, September, October, November | 30.2 | 17.2 | 56 |
| Lisbon | April, May, June, July, August, September, October | 29.3 | 15.3 | 71 |
| Madeira | January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, November | 30.4 | 21.2 | 79 |
| Porto | April, May, June, July, August, September | 25.5 | 13.7 | 120 |
Figures measured at the weather station nearest each place, then averaged over the warmest and the coldest months of the year — not over a fixed calendar season. Each destination page carries its own month-by-month table, its station and its sample size.
Getting around
A single rail spine runs the length of the mainland, linking Lisbon and Porto in around three hours and continuing south to the Algarve coast, where a local line connects the seaside towns. Coaches are slower and cheaper and reach the villages trains miss. Madeira needs a flight, roughly ninety minutes from Lisbon, and once there the terrain makes a car or the bus network essential. Airports are close to the cities: 5 km, 11 km, 4 km and 14 km respectively.
Budget
Country price level compared with France : −31 %
Price index for restaurants and hotels, France = 1000, from European purchasing power parities. It is a country average: it says nothing about one hotel in particular.
Destinations in Portugal
AlgarveThe Algarve is Portugal's southern coast, and it is really two coastlines in one. West of Faro, limestone cliffs drop into pocket coves reached by stairs. East of…
LisbonLisbon sits on hills above the Tagus estuary, wide enough here to look like a bay. A grid of low ochre blocks rebuilt after the great earthquake fills…
MadeiraMadeira is a volcanic island in the Atlantic, Portuguese, steep from the shoreline up. Terraced slopes rise to a laurel forest and a ridge of peaks; irrigation channels…
PortoPorto is built on granite, on both banks of a gorge where the Douro reaches the Atlantic. The old quarter drops to the water in stacked terraces; a…Frequently asked questions
Lisbon or Porto for a first visit?
Lisbon if you want scale, light and museums; Porto if you prefer a compact city you can cover on foot, with the river and the wine cellars as the centre of gravity. Porto is cheaper and easier to see in three days. Lisbon needs four and gives access to the coast and the palaces just outside it.
Is Madeira a summer destination?
It is a year-round one, which is precisely its argument. Our figures show comfortable conditions in ten months out of twelve, with daytime readings that never fall below 21.2 °C. That makes it a genuine winter option from Europe. The rain is real but mostly falls on the northern slopes, and the island's weather changes with altitude more than with season.
Updated on 21 September 2026