My name is Ismail Siddiky of Europe Diary. In this blog, I will be telling you about the best cities for living in Portugal.
If you’re planning to move to Portugal but can’t find the right city, don’t worry, I got you. Here are 10 cities in Portugal to live in that are not Lisbon or Porto.
Setúbal
If you really want to live in Lisbon but don’t want to spend a lot of money, the first city is for you, and that is Setúbal. Setúbal is conveniently located across the bridge after Almada, but it’s actually super close to Lisbon. The city of Setúbal is a fairly big one, with 120,000 people living there. Setúbal is located on the coast and has several beaches to choose from, but also Setúbal is really close to the Troia peninsula. You can literally take a boat and go to Troia for the weekend or just for a day. The cost of living in Setúbal is generally lower than in Lisbon. Well, because Lisbon is the capital and everybody wants to live there, but Setúbal is a great option as well. Also, the closest airport would be Lisbon and it’s literally like 30-40 minutes by car.
Setúbal has many things to offer, including historical attractions, some markets, a beautiful waterfront, and much more.
Sintra
But if you’re not into coastal life and the beach kind of thing, but you still want to live next to Lisbon, Sintra. Sintra is just gorgeous.
First of all, you have castles there, which are UNESCO World Heritage sites, but also you have a lot of greenery, some hills, mountains, you can go hiking, you can go for a walk, you can visit those castles. Sintra is just gorgeous. Especially if you like rainy weather, if you like gloomy weather, Sintra is honestly a fairy tale. But don’t think that Sintra is just the castles and the greenery. You also have access to different beaches, it’s like super close. Sintra would be a little bit more expensive than Setúbal, for example, but definitely cheaper than Lisbon. Sintra gets a lot of tourists, however, you can still find affordable options there.
Braga
If you’re looking into northern Portugal, maybe Porto, but again, it’s super expensive for you. The next city would be perfect, and it is Braga. Braga has around 200,000 people. So it’s a fairly big city if we’re talking about Portugal. You have some beaches there as well, but bear in mind that it’s north. So it’s not going to be like super hot. Like this summer, for example, when in Lisbon, it was like 30 something up north it would be like 25, maybe 27, something like that. I mean, it’s still hot, but it’s not like 35 like in Lisbon. Again, you have many things to do near Braga. Braga is known for its historic architecture, including the infamous sanctuary. Braga definitely has a youthful vibe due to the number of students in the city, and also it has a reasonable cost of living compared to a big city.
Guimarães
Another option near Porto would be Guimarães. Guimarães has around 160,000 people. Again, super affordable, super beautiful. However, if you want to be close to beaches, Guimarães is not a place to be, because it is inland and you will need to drive to get to the beaches. However, the city is really beautiful, the architecture is stunning. You have many cool things to explore, such as the Guimarães castle or the palace of the Duke of Braganza, even Largo de Oliveira. The closest airport would be Porto, same as for Braga, because those cities are literally super close to Porto.
Faro
But if you want to live south, you want a plus 40 Celsius, like hot weather, warm ocean, compared to the rest of Portugal, Faro. Faro is the place to be. Cities in the south are smaller compared to Lisbon, compared to Porto.
Faro has just 118,000 people living there, however, it’s still a big city to live in and if you move to Portugal because of the beaches Faro, like there are beaches everywhere literally.
There is a Faro airport located conveniently in the city when we were there, like literally this spring, we would see planes come in and leave, like it’s literally in the city. It also can be a concern if you want to live in a quiet neighborhood, quiet space, then maybe Faro is not for you because for example, I live in Lisbon and I can hear every single plane. Some people, they’re like, I’m not sure what you’re talking about. Like, I can’t hear them. It’s been two years. I can still hear all the noise. So if you’re sensitive to noise, maybe major cities like Porto, Lisbon, Faro are not for you because the connection, crazy. Southern cities have a more relaxed vibe, obviously, because there is ocean, there is beach. I mean, it’s going to be definitely slower than living in major cities, central or northern Portugal.
Portimão
Another option we have is Portimão. Portimão is just a lovely tiny city in the south of Portugal. It has just 55,000 people but, I mean, if you’re looking for that quiet beach life, Portimão is amazing. Again, you have many beaches, you have Fort of Santa Catarina, you have the Portimão museum.
So if you’re concerned that you’re going to live in a small city and there’s nothing to do there, there are things to do but also if you get a car you can drive to the next city because we went there and would literally drive to every single city, like explore things because if you stay in one city for a long time, chances are you’re gonna like see everything it has quite fast so getting a car might be a solution to that and of course both Portimão and Faro are more accessible, more affordable to the general public but be careful because those are tourist destinations, I would say, and during the summer, like if you’re moving during the summer, the prices can be really high.
Évora
If you’re not interested in traveling from Portugal, you don’t care about the airports, here are two more options for you. First of all, we have the beautiful city of Évora. It is also a small city with 56,000 people living there but it’s really cool, it has all this medieval architecture, if you’re into that stuff, Évora is amazing. Since Évora is inland, you will need to drive to the beach. And for Évora, Lisbon would be the closest airport, which is, I don’t remember, which is one hour and 30 minutes away with tolls. Without tolls, it’s two hours. So if you don’t care about the airport, you’re okay with driving two hours to fly somewhere. Évora is a charming small city. And if you’re into all this medieval old stuff, you will definitely love it.
Coimbra
And another cool city is Coimbra. Coimbra is a bigger city with 140,000 people living there. Coimbra is known for its university. It’s a really popular destination for students. Again, it’s located inland, so if you want to be by the beach, Coimbra is not the place to be. Coimbra has definitely a historic and academic atmosphere due to the number of students studying at the University of Coimbra. It also has those old medieval architecture, it’s really pretty. Even if you choose not to live in Coimbra, just go there for a day because it’s beautiful.
Ponta Delgada (Azores)
And if you are not into continental life and you want to live somewhere far away from people, first of all, Azores. Ponta Delgada, Furnas, like anywhere. The island of São Miguel is just gorgeous. Honestly, I’ve said that many times that I’m super hard to impress, but the Azores… I’m still impressed. Ponta Delgada is the largest city in the Azores, and it has a population of around 70,000 people. There are plenty of things to do near Ponta Delgada. I think if you plan to live on the island of São Miguel, you have to get a car. Because when we were visiting, like, I cannot imagine being there without a car. Because if you want to go to the beach, you need a car. If you want to go see some things, like… I don’t know, the lakes, volcanoes kind of thing, hiking. You need a car. The city is really cute, really old. You have the airport located in the city, but also you have a lot of restaurants and cafes. The produce there is just amazing. It’s like the freshest. Every single food that we’ve tried was just amazing, especially if you go to Furnas and you try the Caldeiras. It’s like the meat, the food they make in those, I don’t even know, wells under the ground. I mean, honestly, write this down if you’re ever in the Azores, try the Caldeiras. It’s just phenomenal.
Funchal (Madeira)
And another interesting destination for people choosing not to live on the mainland is Funchal in Madeira. Funchal has around 110,000 people living there, so it’s not like a tiny city. It’s a fairly big one for Portugal. Madeira is known for the coastline and for the natural pools. It’s a really interesting city and an interesting place to live. But bear in mind that there are no typical beaches in Madeira. What you have is black sand beaches, or you can go to some natural pools that are absolutely stunning. I think it’s super unique for Madeira to have those natural rock formations. You will definitely enjoy it if you love swimming and being outdoors. People who move to Madeira are usually into hiking, outdoor stuff, farming. However, living on the island can be super different from living on the mainland because, for example, the weather can change in 10 seconds.
And that’s it for today! If you move to Portugal, let us know which city you choose!
And if you like this blog and want to read more, I’ll be posting on my website. Thanks for reading and see you in the next blog!
