Places piccolo8va Wants to Go

The medieval town's star-shaped walls are geometrically dazzling, though not entirely impenetrable.

A neolithic tomb converted into a tiny chapel.

Portugal’s highest lighthouse has one of the most impressive focal planes in the world.

Men in rubber-soled boots serve as your "brakes" on this toboggan ride Hemingway described as "exhilarating."

An honorary saint of the people, Maria Adelaide became an incorrupt corpse, the clothes intact, exhaling “a strong scent of roses.”

A cluster of granite granaries perched on stilts.

Elaborate tile work in this railway station tells the story of Portugal.

A perfectly circular lake is formed by the crater of an ancient underwater volcano.

A majestic hotel for dreamers rises from the center of a fairytale wood.

An early work of the architect Álvaro Siza Vieira, these swimming pools blend into the beach.

This abandoned five-star hotel is now a five-star urban exploration destination.

Local lore says the devil built this beautiful medieval bridge to help a fleeing bandit.

This star-shaped military outpost is now simply trying to protect itself from neglect.

This restored Portuguese cafe may well be the most beautiful place in the world to grab a Big Mac.

An abandoned mine now resembles a post-apocalyptic landscape of derelict buildings and blood-red pools of water.

A stunning 18th-century site where pilgrims ascend by a series of punishing stairs only to return via funicular.

Elaborately carved to showcase the glorious wealth that the age of exploration brought to the Portuguese empire.

This Industrial Age architectural and engineering gem helps visitors and residents alike traverse Lisbon, “The City of Seven Hills.”

This fairy-tale, neo-Gothic church in the Azores is a world of magical realism.

Picturesque intersection of witchcraft and ancient Christianity.

The medieval castle built as headquarters for the Pope's secretive Knights Templar.

The stunning interior of this Gothic church is covered in ornate gold details.

A unique seaside cave where Aleister Crowley faked his own death.

An ancient and majestic fortress that played an integral role in Portugal's road to independence.