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The Rough Guide to Portugal: Travel Guide with eBook
This practical travel guide to Portugal features detailed factual travel tips and points-of-interest structured lists of all iconic must-see sights as well as some off-the-beaten-track treasures. Our itinerary suggestions and expert author picks of things to see and do will make it a perfect companion both, ahead of your trip and on the ground. This Portugal guide book is packed full of details on how to get there and around, pre-departure information and top time-saving tips, including a visual list of things not to miss. Our colour-coded maps make Portugal easier to navigate while you're there. This guide book to Portugal has been fully updated post-COVID-19 and it comes with a free eBook.
The Rough Guide to PORTUGAL Lisbon and around, Estremadura and Ribatejo, Coimbra and the Beira Litoral, Beira Alta and Beira Baixa, Porto and the Rio Douro, the Minho, Trás-os-Montes, Alentejo and the Algarve.
Inside this Portugal travel guide you'll
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR EVERY TYPE OF TRAVELLER
Experiences selected for every kind of trip to Portugal, from off-the-beaten-track adventures in Porto Covo to family activities in child-friendly places, like Sintra or chilled-out breaks in popular tourist areas, like Lisbon.
PRACTICAL TRAVEL TIPS
Essential pre-departure information including Portugal entry requirements, getting around, health information, travelling with children, sports and outdoor activities, food and drink, festivals, culture and etiquette, shopping, tips for travellers with disabilities and more.
TIME-SAVING ITINERARIES
Includes carefully planned routes covering the best of Portugal, which give a taste of the richness and diversity of the destination, and have been created for different time frames or types of trip.
DETAILED REGIONAL COVERAGE
Clear structure within each sightseeing chapter of this Portugal travel guide includes regional highlights, brief history, detailed sights and places ordered geographically, recommended restaurants, hotels, bars, clubs and major shops or entertainment options.
INSIGHTS INTO GETTING AROUND LIKE A LOCAL
Tips on how to beat the crowds, save time and money and find the best local spots for swimming, snorkelling, hiking or wine tasting.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THINGS NOT TO MISS
Rough Guides' rundown of Algarve, Monsaraz, Porto and the Rio Douro Valley's best sights and top experiences helps to make the most of each trip to Portugal, even in a short time.
HONEST AND INDEPENDENT REVIEWS
Written by Rough Guides' expert authors with a trademark blend of humour, honesty and expertise, this Portugal guide book will help you find the best places, matching different needs.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Comprehensive 'Contexts' chapter of this travel guide to Portugal features fascinating insights into Portugal, with coverage of history, religion, ethnic groups, environment, wildlife and books, plus a handy language section and glossary.
FABULOUS FULL COLOUR PHOTOGRAPHY
Features inspirational colour photography, including the stunning Trás-os-Montes and the spectacular Costa da Caparica.
COLOUR-CODED MAPPING
Practical full-colour maps, with clearly numbered, colour-coded keys for quick orientation in Estremadura, Ribatejo and many more locations in Portugal, reduce the need to go online.
USER-FRIENDLY LAYOUT
With helpful icons, and organised by neighbourhood to help you pick the best spots to spend your time.
FREE EBOOK
Free eBook download with every purchase of this guide book to Portugal allows you to access all of the content from your phone or tablet, for on-the-road exploration.
The Rough Guide to PORTUGAL Lisbon and around, Estremadura and Ribatejo, Coimbra and the Beira Litoral, Beira Alta and Beira Baixa, Porto and the Rio Douro, the Minho, Trás-os-Montes, Alentejo and the Algarve.
Inside this Portugal travel guide you'll
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR EVERY TYPE OF TRAVELLER
Experiences selected for every kind of trip to Portugal, from off-the-beaten-track adventures in Porto Covo to family activities in child-friendly places, like Sintra or chilled-out breaks in popular tourist areas, like Lisbon.
PRACTICAL TRAVEL TIPS
Essential pre-departure information including Portugal entry requirements, getting around, health information, travelling with children, sports and outdoor activities, food and drink, festivals, culture and etiquette, shopping, tips for travellers with disabilities and more.
TIME-SAVING ITINERARIES
Includes carefully planned routes covering the best of Portugal, which give a taste of the richness and diversity of the destination, and have been created for different time frames or types of trip.
DETAILED REGIONAL COVERAGE
Clear structure within each sightseeing chapter of this Portugal travel guide includes regional highlights, brief history, detailed sights and places ordered geographically, recommended restaurants, hotels, bars, clubs and major shops or entertainment options.
INSIGHTS INTO GETTING AROUND LIKE A LOCAL
Tips on how to beat the crowds, save time and money and find the best local spots for swimming, snorkelling, hiking or wine tasting.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THINGS NOT TO MISS
Rough Guides' rundown of Algarve, Monsaraz, Porto and the Rio Douro Valley's best sights and top experiences helps to make the most of each trip to Portugal, even in a short time.
HONEST AND INDEPENDENT REVIEWS
Written by Rough Guides' expert authors with a trademark blend of humour, honesty and expertise, this Portugal guide book will help you find the best places, matching different needs.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Comprehensive 'Contexts' chapter of this travel guide to Portugal features fascinating insights into Portugal, with coverage of history, religion, ethnic groups, environment, wildlife and books, plus a handy language section and glossary.
FABULOUS FULL COLOUR PHOTOGRAPHY
Features inspirational colour photography, including the stunning Trás-os-Montes and the spectacular Costa da Caparica.
COLOUR-CODED MAPPING
Practical full-colour maps, with clearly numbered, colour-coded keys for quick orientation in Estremadura, Ribatejo and many more locations in Portugal, reduce the need to go online.
USER-FRIENDLY LAYOUT
With helpful icons, and organised by neighbourhood to help you pick the best spots to spend your time.
FREE EBOOK
Free eBook download with every purchase of this guide book to Portugal allows you to access all of the content from your phone or tablet, for on-the-road exploration.
504 pages, Paperback
First published June 28, 1984
About the author
Rough Guides
1,556 books44 followersFounded in 1982, Rough Guides Ltd is a British publisher of print and digital guide book, phrasebooks and inspirational travel reference books, and a provider of personalised trips. Since November 2017, Rough Guides has been owned by APA Publications UK Ltd, the parent company of Insight Guides.
With the company's personalised trip service encompassing over eighty destinations, and 200 guidebooks covering 180 destinations, Rough Guides is a multi-faceted travel platform, with global sales of 100 million guidebooks since their inception.
With the company's personalised trip service encompassing over eighty destinations, and 200 guidebooks covering 180 destinations, Rough Guides is a multi-faceted travel platform, with global sales of 100 million guidebooks since their inception.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
October 13, 2025
The finest travel to a wonderful country
October 12, 2010
I combed through this book carefully, both before and during our trip to Portugal, and found it invaluable. I was able to identify the sites I wanted to invest my time in and eliminate others that have been overrated. While in the country I carried the book with me and constantly referred to it to learn about what I was seeing. The many detailed maps were invaluable. Thanks to John Fisher for helping me have a wonderful vacation!
May 17, 2017
To anyone who reads me regularly this will sound like a broken record, but whenever I travel to Europe I use the Rough Guides and Rick Steves. Not everyone will like them as some will consider them verbose. I, on the other hand consider them packed with information, which can only make a strange place seem slightly less so. Others won't like them as there are not as many pictures - but why waste space, argue I, with photos, when you will be seeing the real thing - what one wants is to know ABOUT what one is seeing - right? Of course I am.
This Rough Guide seems to me one of the best in a great series. The writers seem to really love Portugal, in addition to being able to describe it well. It is not difficult to fall in love with Portugal - I certainly did, but this booked helped me in that way too. If you travel to Portugal - and you SHOULD! pick up this guide - you'll be happy you did!
This Rough Guide seems to me one of the best in a great series. The writers seem to really love Portugal, in addition to being able to describe it well. It is not difficult to fall in love with Portugal - I certainly did, but this booked helped me in that way too. If you travel to Portugal - and you SHOULD! pick up this guide - you'll be happy you did!
September 22, 2016
One of the few up-to-date and thorough guides to Portugal I was able to find. This one stands out since it visits small towns and single item diversions.
March 11, 2019
I never before read a travel guide cover to cover. But since I set myself a reading challenge this year, I thought I’d give it a try as I was gonna read it at least partly any way.
I actually really enjoyed myself a lot! I found myself dreaming of hikes in the mountains and strolls along the beaches. Keeping notes of whatever places I really didn’t want to miss. I thought it especially great that the chapter about Portugal’s most visited region, the Algarve, was the last in the book. After reading all about the rest of Portugal, I suddenly found myself thinking; do I even want to go there, seeing as there is so much to see up north?
As travel guides go; this one I really neat. There is enough background info about many places, I also learned quite a lot about Portuguese history. I really liked the fact that there is info on how to get just about everywhere, even without a car. Would definitely recommend it.
I actually really enjoyed myself a lot! I found myself dreaming of hikes in the mountains and strolls along the beaches. Keeping notes of whatever places I really didn’t want to miss. I thought it especially great that the chapter about Portugal’s most visited region, the Algarve, was the last in the book. After reading all about the rest of Portugal, I suddenly found myself thinking; do I even want to go there, seeing as there is so much to see up north?
As travel guides go; this one I really neat. There is enough background info about many places, I also learned quite a lot about Portuguese history. I really liked the fact that there is info on how to get just about everywhere, even without a car. Would definitely recommend it.
April 24, 2018
So much great detail while still being concise. And practical tips too. Cannot wait to get there.
July 9, 2025
We used the Rough Guide to Portugal for our recent trip to the eastern Algarve. We were staying in Cabanas, a small holiday village town near more historic Tavira. The guide actually had a short entry on Cabanas which we found accurate, and we also used it for Tavira, the city of Faro and Vila Real de San Antonio (where I took the ferry across for an afternoon at Ayamonte in Spain). The guide was useful and pretty accurate in each place. We also find the language and broader contextual information useful in the Rough Guides even when they don't cover or cover much places that we are visiting.
July 4, 2021
Since I haven't been to Portugal, it's hard for me to rate this book. I do find the assertion that the cuisine is somewhat limited and repetitious strange. I'm not exactly sure what 'fine cuisine' is but I'm sure there's interesting fusion places as well as traditional that are a local's only secret. Good for an introduction to Portugal.
October 12, 2012
Przewodnik Pascal dobrze opisuje atrakcje poszczególnych regionów. Przy każdym rozdziale są umieszczone informacje o noclegach i gastronomii. Ja przeczytałam wydanie z 2003 roku (ale jest dostępne nowsze), ale przez Internet można bez problemu zaktualizować informacje.
August 1, 2008
clearly better than other guides. very informative, non-pretentious.
August 25, 2014
Helpful, but little point to a digital version if the maps don't have better resolution.
Read
October 27, 2014Used a later edition around 1999 for our trip to portugal
May 14, 2017
This guide was moderately helpful...just not quite as detailed as I would like a guide to be. I also had it on my Kindle, so maybe I felt some challenges with that. It totally worked though and got us where we needed to go!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews