What's New

The architectural marvels of Portugal's golden age remain to delight, but otherwise change is in the air. With each passing year of the millennium, the country's hotels, restaurants, and shops are, in many cases, improved and updated with modern technology such as the installation of Wi-Fi systems. Museums, both modern and traditional, are also always being improved whenever budgets allow for it. Here is a preview of some new developments that might have an impact on your trip.

Lisbon Accomodations

The city's newest hotel, NH Liberdade, Av. da Liberdade 180B (tel. 21/351-40-60), with its 58 rooms, stands in the bull's-eye center of Lisbon. Since its opening in 2006, it's cemented its reputation as a hip address, with clients lured by its rooftop swimming pool and the elegant, contemporary comfort of its bedrooms. Developers took an 18th-century mansion and cleverly converted it into this chic rendezvous that charges moderate prices in spite of its style and location.

Lisbon Dining

In one of Lisbon's best little boutique hotels, Flores, Praça Luis de Camões 8 (tel. 21/340-82-52), has opened to raves in the local press. Its fusion Portuguese and Mediterranean cuisine ranks it among the city's best hotel restaurants. Small-scale and intimate, the restaurant offers a dining experience that's like dining in an elegant home -- one that just happens to serve a market-fresh, savory cuisine.

Trend-conscious foodies are heading for the restored Chiado district and Emporio Sacramento, Calçada do Sacramento 44 (tel. 21/342-05-67). In a building constructed after the earthquake of 1755, this affordable joint serves a fine Portuguese and international cuisine, set against a backdrop of artifacts gathered from all over the world. Many clients, including a lot of Brazilian expats, come here to enjoy the lively bar scene.

Set a few paces from the San Carlos Opera House, New Wok, Rua Capelo 24 (tel. 21/347-71-89), caters to the growing desire for Asian food among Lisboans. Simple but good-tasting wok and noodle dishes, including dim sum, dominate the menu. Salmon teriyaki is one of the chef's best specialties.

Lisbon After Dark

Café Heroïs, Calçada do Sacramento 18 (tel. 21/342-00-77), has become the chief watering hole for hip young people who gravitate to the newly restored Chiado district. Its lunchtime buffet is one of the town's best bargains, but it's more popular in the evening when a pub grub menu takes over. Most patrons come here to drink, flirt, and enjoy the lively, convivial atmosphere.

Cascais

Along the Costa do Sol, the "Portuguese Riviera" outside Lisbon, Casal Antigo, Rua do Cabo 467, Valveira de Serra, Cascais (tel. 21/485-20-24), is a beautifully restored old villa in a natural park a 10-minute drive from the center of Cascais. Recently restored, it is a tastefully furnished B&B with up-to-date facilities, including Wi-Fi in the rooms and an outdoor pool. Families can check into an affordable suite around the pool.

Óbidos

This medieval walled town is the most romantic in Portugal, but, even so, many visitors prefer to stay outside the walls at the most spectacular resort in the area, Praia d' el Rey Marriott Golf & Beach Resort, Avenida D. Ines de Castro, Vale de janelas (tel. 26/290-51-00). With its 18-hole championship golf course and tennis center, it attracts a sports-oriented clientele. The government-rated five-star hotel is also the most luxurious in the area, standing on 243 hectares (600 acres) of oceanfront property.

Algarve

On the sunny southern coast of Portugal, with all its beach resorts, the elegant Boca do Rio Resort, Mexilhoira da Carregação (tel. 28/240-25-00), has opened outside the town of Lagoa at the mouth of the Arade River. The stunningly modern resort was created from a former sardine factory. A favorite stopover for yachties, the hotel is sports-oriented and also contains a luxurious spa.

Outside the resort of Albufeira, Grande Real Santa Eulalia, Praia de Santa Eulalia (tel. 28/959-80-00), has burst onto the scene, a pocket of posh on a sandy beachfront. You're pampered in style at this facility-laden resort, which caters to everyone from honeymooning couples to families with young children. Its cuisine is some of the best in this part of the Algarve, and its elegant spa is known for its treatments using seawater.

Ribatejo

In this province adjoining Lisbon stands the city of Tomar, famous in the medieval ages for its Knights Templar. Today, Chico Elias, Rua Principal 70, Algarvias (tel. 24/931-10-67), is putting the town on the dining map for serious foodies. Its chef/owner, Maria do Céu, is the most creative in the area, offering her own interpretation of a finely tuned regional cuisine.

Coimbra & Environs

In the major university city of Portugal, romantic Coimbra, Tryp Coimbra, Av. Armando Conçalves 20 (tel. 23/948-08-00), has been created out of a former first-class hotel and given a new lease on life. A 15-minute walk from the grounds of the university, the 133-room hotel is soundproof, offering tastefully and comfortably furnished accommodations. It also boasts a business center, making it as ideal for business travelers as for vacationers.

In Aveiro, the cultural center and chicly modern shopping compound the Association of Cultural Mercado Negro, Rua Joâo Mendonça 17, is becoming increasingly popular. From coffee shops to bars with live music on weekends, it is the best place in town not only to purchase fashionable items but to mingle and socialize.

Porto

In Portugal's second city, a trendy new restaurant, Don Tonho em Gaia, Avenida Diogo Leite s/n in Vila Nova de Gaia (tel. 22/347-48-35), has opened across the river. It makes an ideal luncheon stopover while you're visiting the area's port wine bodegas. One of the city's best Portuguese and Continental cuisines is served here in what looks like a streamlined, mostly glass-sided railway car. A port wine company, Calém, uses the restaurant as a showcase for its products, so you can be assured that the selection of port is among the best in town.

Minho

In Viana do Castelo, the capital of the northern Minho regional bordering Spain, a government-rated, four-star hotel has opened: Flor de Sal, Avenida de Cabo Verde, Praia Norte (tel. 25/880-01-00). The 57-unit boutique hotel offers the best dining and the most elaborate facilities of any hotel in town and fronts the Atlantic coastline. Private balconies or terraces open onto this maritime view.

Funchal, Madeira

In the capital of this island off the western coast of Africa, Quinta das Vistas, Caminho de Santo Antonio 52 (tel. 29/175-00-07), was created from a landmark manor house. Its successful conversion into a government-rated, five-star hotel has been the talk of the island. A stay here is like a visit to a wealthy private manor of long ago, except here you get first-rate modern facilities.