Portugal was awarded, once again, the prize of “Best destination in the world”, by the World Travel Awards. This is like winning the Oscar for best movie, but in the tourism sector. A Portuguese region also had the best supporting actress like award: Madeira is the best island to visit.
Isn’t that amazing? It is, but there are a number of reasons to it.
Portugal is over 900 hundred years old, having a long historical and cultural tradition. With amazing natural beauty, it was always known mainly by having nice people, sunny days and good food. But Portugal is so much more than that. It is a great place to live in. Firstly, because it is safe. No major crime or social unrest risks. Surely there a few pickpockets targeting tourists, same as in any other big European city. But other than that, there is no other big capital as safe as Lisbon or Porto.
Why living in Portugal? Well, where should we start… Whether you elect a city like Lisbon or Porto, or the countryside, you will always find something to fall in love with.
It will depend on what you are looking for, but let’s take Lisbon for example: if you plan to live and do business in Lisbon, you are probably right.
Lisbon is today a super modern city, still with amazing old buildings on a beautiful architecture, keeping its unique and traditional charm.
The transformation since the late 90’s is simply unbelievable. From the moment Lisbon welcomed the Expo’98 world exhibition, there was a huge change, entering modernity.
Today you can find state of the art infrastructure (websummit will be around for 10 years at least…), modern public transportation, great access by road and innumerous art shows, events, concerts, sports, uuufff! You name it. Ah, and great people and food. I think I have mentioned this, no?
Winds of change
But this was not an immediate or easy process. Portugal went through difficult times, specially from 2008 till 2012, and as economy recovered after, tourism brought a lot of good things. The world discovered Portugal, 500 years after Portugal discovered the world. And Portugal is not only Lisbon: there are a lot of great places to live or visit, where you will always find a nice place to stay, with great customer service.
If you are looking for the sea, there are plenty of options: close to Lisbon or head south to the Algarve or Alentejo (both with amazing beaches and amazing countryside, as well). If you are looking for something else, go north to see the mountains, pass by Douro river on a boat, enjoy Porto old streets or fall in love with Braga.
There is so much you can do. We will come back to this soon but think of 2 amazing options: the islands. Whether to enjoy Madeira, the pearl of Atlantic sea or be overwhelmed by Azores, there is always the right choice for a demanding person.
Portugal is the best destination in the world. Anyway, proud of Portugal and would love to tell you more if you are looking to move to Portugal – just send us a note to help@moovehere.com