For a relatively small country, Portugal offers a huge range of lifestyle options. You can go fully “off the grid” while you renovate a ruin surrounded by olive trees or head for one of the country’s increasingly effervescent cities. You can ease yourself into a resort town with an established expat community, or embrace cultural change in a small village, familiarising yourself with the local language and customs as you go.
This article lists seven of the best places to buy property in Portugal in 2024. Some are well-known, some slightly less so. We head from north to south and then take a jump across the Atlantic to one of Portugal’s islands.
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Cascais
Drone aerial view of Praia da Rainha and historic city centre of Cascais, Portugal
Where is it?
30km west of Lisbon – 40 minutes by car, or an hour by train.
What’s great about it?
Cascais offers the best of both worlds: beach resort life, but just a short commute to Portugal’s vibrant capital. An established haven for residents from all over the globe, this is a place that offers world-class amenities and a sophisticated yet welcoming atmosphere.
What is around it?
Lisbon is the main attraction, and close enough to visit to shop or for a night out. There are also miles of wild Atlantic coast, and historic Sintra just 25 minutes away.
What is property like in Cascais?
Being a suburb of Lisbon, property in Cascais isn’t cheap. Apartments start from around €250,000 but can go drastically higher. Villas start at around €600,000.
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Guimaraes
Saint Tiago Square (Praca Sao Tiago) is the main square of historical center of Guimaraes, Portugal.
Where is it?
Northern Portugal, about 50 kilometres north of Porto and 50 from the sea.
What’s great about it?
It’s a medieval university town about the size of Oxford, with a castle at the top of the hill and a beautiful main square full of interesting shops and excellent restaurants. You will love its broad cultural life (it was the European Capital of Culture in 2012) as well as its café culture, top-flight football team and friendly ambience. Indeed, Guimaraes is consistently ranked highly among the “most liveable cities in Portugal”.
What is around it?
You are on the doorstep of Portugal’s only national park, Peneda-Gerês National Park, where nothing is nicer on a hot day than to plunge into a cool, green rock pool. Porto is just an hour or so away by train, and the Atlantic beaches are wonderful for any kind of wind-water sport.
What is property likein Guimaraes?
The average price is around €1,750 per square metre. You’ll find smaller apartments and houses that need a little TLC from under €100,000, but will need more like €350,000 for a house that’s ready to move into.
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Figueira da Foz
Typical Portuguese buildings, beach and coast of Figueira da Foz,
Where is it?
Along Portugal’s beautiful Silver Coast, around 140km (90 minutes) from Porto and 200km (two hours) from Lisbon.
What’s great about it?
Figueira da Foz is a low-key but attractive resort town, attractively located at the mouth of a river, and boasting an enormous urban beach. Though unassuming and down-to-earth these days, it was once a haven for Europe’s rich and connected. Remnants of those days remain, with a glitzy casino, and a selection of villas and palaces.
There’s a friendly and established community that includes plenty of international residents. Outside of the peak summer season, the pace of life is slow, but with no shortage of amenities at hand.
What is around it?
The town is surrounded by great walking routes and has a stable climate that allows for them to be enjoyed year-round. The nearest big city is Coimbra, around 45 minutes’ drive away, with the train taking just a little longer.
What is property like in Figueira da Foz?
Central apartments start at around €150,000, villas at around €300,000. Substantial savings can be made by moving out to surrounding villages where property is cheaper. Renovation projects exist, and some small villas can be found for less than €200,000.
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Évora
Terrace views from Evora’s main cathedral
Where is it?
Roughly parallel with Lisbon, Évora is about 90 minutes from Portugal’s capital by road or train. It’s the capital of the country’s Alentejo region.
What’s great about it?
Évora is a walled university city that’s packed with history. Comparisons to Oxford or Cambridge and fair and valid! This is the UNESCO World Heritage city that Condé Nast Traveller described as “arguably the most interesting place in Portugal”.
Although increasingly on the day-trip trail, Évora is peaceful and relaxed, with low crime and a friendly community. The infrastructure is good, with transport connections, fast internet, and a growing number of co-working spaces.
What is it near?
Évora is situated on the plains of the Alentejo and gets hot in the summer. Thankfully, there is nature to escape to, not least three river beaches, including the large and well-appointed Mourão. It boasts clean and warm water, barbecue areas and floating platforms – including one with a slide!
What is property like in Évora?
Property in Évora is surprisingly affordable, especially outside the city limits. here you’ll find townhouses from €250,000 and country homes within easy reach of the city for considerably less. The sky is the limit for luxurious properties in the historic centre.
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Vila Real de Santo António
The promenade in Vila Real de Santo Antonio
Where is it?
Vila Real de Santo António (widely known as VRSA) is at the eastern edge of Portugal’s Algarve, and is the border town with Spain.
What’s great about it?
VRSA is an attractive town, built to a grid system in the style of downtown Lisbon. Its proximity to Spain gives it a cosmopolitan feel, and it feels lively year-round thanks to a constant stream of day-trippers from over the border. Having Spain on the doorstep gives residents the ability to enjoy both countries – with a tapas lunch just a ferry ride away.
What is it near?
Spain is in one direction, with Seville just 90 minutes away by road. In the other direction is everything the Algarve has to offer, with the glorious beach of Monte Gordo just 4km away.
What is property like in Vila Real de Santo António?
Older apartments start at just €150,000, houses are from around €220,000. Older townhouses ripe for renovation are an interesting proposition for those ready to bite off a project.
Faro
Where is it?
Faro, the Algarve’s capital, is right in the middle of this desirable region of southern Portugal, and home to a busy international airport. Most of the Algarve’s busy resorts are within an hour’s drive, including Vilamoura, Albufeira and Quinta Do Lago.
What’s great about it?
Faro has been “on the up” in recent years, gathering attention as a destination in itself, rather than merely a jump off point for Portugal’s holiday resorts. The city is attractive and drenched in sunshine, with island beaches a short ferry or water taxi away.
Faro has a real authentic feel and an appealing pedestrianised centre, dotted with bars and restaurants. The more modern end of the city is home to Forum Algarve, a large mall with over 100 shops, an enormous hypermarket, and a multi-screen cinema.
What’s it near?
Everything the Algarve has to offer. Not only is Faro the central point on the local road network and home to the airport, it’s also the main terminus for train and bus routes serving the Algarve.
What is property like in Faro?
City apartments start at €150,000 in older buildings and from around €225,000 in modern condominium developments. Villas within the city start from around €300,000, and it’s still possible to find central townhouses for renovation.
Calheta (Madeira)
Calheta, Madeira
Where is it?
On the south-western coast of Madeira island, around 45 minutes from the capital, Funchal.
What’s great about it?
Calheta is one of the few places on the island of Madeira with a sandy beach, albeit one that is man-made. The town is serene with quiet, narrow streets and a small selection of seafood restaurants. Calheta plays host to a small and friendly expat community, who enjoy slow-paced life and being surrounding by nature.
What’s it near?
In one direction, there is nothing but views of the deep, blue Atlantic. In the other, there are waterfalls, levada walks, vineyards and banana plantations. The city of Funchal is within easy reach, both for a wider range of bars and restaurants, and for a selection of modern shops and amenities.
What is property like in Calheta?
Detached villas from as little as €250,000, with renovation projects for even less. €350,000 and above can pay for a substantial home, often with a pool.
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This list of places to buy in Portugal merely scratches the surface. Options abound, whatever kind of lifestyle most appeals. It’s well worth planning one or more viewing trips to familiarise yourself with the diverse landscapes and ways of life available to you.
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