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The Best Places to Live in Portugal

Article -> September 21, 2022

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The official Portuguese stats show an increase in the number of expats living in Portugal in the past decade, bringing the world's attention to Portugal. Many reasons drive this incredible immigrant flux, which is now in the expat spotlight. Safety, good weather, quality of life, and amazing cities are some of the reasons why Portugal became an attractive destination. In this article, we are going to list the best places to live in Portugal, giving you a guide through the finest places around this great country.

Being the most western European country, with a territory covering part of the Iberian Peninsula, Portugal has a lot to offer in terms of cultural and geographic diversity. The Portuguese territory makes a border with Spain (considered one of the oldest in the world) but also includes in its official land the wild and remote archipelago islands: The Autonomous Region of Madeira and the archipelago of the Azores, the first one close to the African coast and the second located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

Even though Portugal has a small territory, its 92,212 km² has a lot to offer in terms of choice of where to live. The geography can be very contrasting, from snow-covered mountains to sunny white-sand paradisiac beaches. If you decide to live in Portugal, keep in mind that you will have several options to select which location fits better your necessities. From snow-covered mountains to blue crystalline beaches; from big cosmopolitan cities to small medieval villages, the choices are endless in Portugal.

: Northern Portugal, Central Portugal, Lisbon Metropolitan Region, Alentejo, and the Algarve. The islands also give you a diverse option to choose where to live, along with the nine islands that compose the Azores archipelagos you will find a wild territory, but also well-structured cities that attract especially the ones looking to be closer to nature. Across the Islands, in the Autonomous Region of Madeira, you will find as well as a big city, and small fisherman villages with the charm of the old days together with the comfort that technology can provide.

Algarve

See below a list of the main cities and regions to live in the Algarve:

Faro

The capital city of the Algarve, Faro is one of the most visited cities in this region due to the location of the Faro International Airport. Connecting up to 40 European cities with direct flights, Faro airport offers its visitors and locals an easy way to travel to the Algarve region. Faro is also connected to the main railway to and from Lisbon, which offers another easy way for visitors to reach the Algarve region.

Despite being a huge tourist destination, the city is perfect for a living experience, as it features beautiful medieval landmarks; a city centre with plenty of local commerce; fabulous beaches, such as Praia de Faro, Ilha Deserta, and Ilha do Farol; along with the famous Ria Formosa; a natural park of 18,000 hectares of pure nature.

Islands of Portugal

In the archipelago islands of Portugal, Madeira and Azores the natural landscape is utterly breathtaking; in which the Azores island was honoured in 2021 as Europe’s leading adventure tourism destination by the World Travel Awards, and the city of Funchal in Madeira ranked as the 5th best city to property investment in the globe. The islands are known for their agriculture, producing national dairy products, and high-quality fruits such as the Madeiran bananas, and the Azorean pineapple.

Both in the Azores or Madeira, a perfect home or villa with ample yard space for gardening would make a perfect place to retire; as you can still be close by to the city centre of the island, experience the surrounding nature views, and as well enjoy a bit of peace and quiet. Ultimately, Portugal offers many different location options for retirement living!

See below a list of the main cities and regions to live in the Islands of Portugal:

Madeira

The Autonomous Region of Madeira is an archipelago located in the Atlantic Ocean, close to the Moroccan coast, on the African continent. The province includes the islands of Madeira, Porto Santo, the Desertas, and the Ilhas Selvagens, having as its capital the city of Funchal, located on the island of Madeira.

Since the beginning of the XX century, the Island of Madeira has been attracting a great number of tourists interested in the wildlife on the island, together with the infrastructure comfort that Funchal can offer. With a volcanic formation, Madeira has incredible biodiversity, with dense forests, and wild rock formations, contrasting with clean sandy beaches. The city of Funchal, the capital of the region, also has a lot to offer in terms of entertainment or business.

With a population of 105,795, the city is the sixth largest city in Portugal, Funchal has several investment hubs and recently started to invest in Working Spaces tagging the digital nomad community that grows exponentially on the island. Currently, the main lead of Madeira’s economy is tourism, but the island also exports manufactured products such as the famous Madeira Wine. Madeira also has an important agriculture industry, as it is one of the biggest banana producers in all of Europe.

The Best Places to Live in Portugal

Portugal Homes

The Best Places to Live in Portugal

Portugal Homes

Below we are going to describe each territory and which are the best places to live in Portugal.

Northern Portugal

See below a list of the main cities to live in Northern Portugal:

Porto

Braga

Guimarães

Lisbon Metropolitan Region

See below a list of the main cities to live in Lisbon Metropolitan Region:

Lisbon

Cascais

Sintra

Central Portugal

See below a list of the main cities and regions to live in Central Portugal:

The Silver Coast

Coimbra

Guarda

Alentejo

See below a list of the main cities and regions to live in Alentejo:

Évora

Beja

Algarve

See below a list of the main cities and regions to live in the Algarve:

Faro

Lagos

Portimão

Albufeira

Islands of Portugal

See below a list of the main cities and regions to live in the Islands of Portugal:

Madeira

Azores

Portugal Homes