7 shocking things about Portugal…well, shocking might be a little over the top, but we were a little surprised at a few things, a few things raised an eyebrow or two. We had a lovely visit to Portugal this past December/January. Some of the following is weather related for December and January, while other things occur pretty much year round.
Weather…at least in the winter
So first, the weather, although Portugal is southern Europe, Portugal is roughly the sam e latitude as New York. But, overall they have nice weather. It gets cool and damp in the winter months, but not freezing days of cold. You may know that the winter months are around 50-60° during the day and a get the fire going, sweater on 40° at night with rain or overcast skies. What you may not be aware of, is that most public spaces including museums, certainly churches, many restaurants and shops do not have central heat and are poorly insulated including Porto and Lisbon. Or owners just don’t turn on or up the heat due to costs. Dining during lunch was not an issue, as we often ate outside. Dining in the evening could get a little chilly though. We haven’t explored the utility costs, but nothing has hit our radar, like we became aware of gas prices in Costa Rica. Interior temperatures often are the same as the exterior temperatures. We found it interesting as we sat in a sweater or jacket that shop and restaurant employees, owners wore jackets while working instead of turning up the heat a bit. I guess that works. If we get back to Portugal this summer we’ll experience the warmer side of the weather and how shops and restaurants keep things comfortable.
Wash day
Many hotel and Airbnb accommodations will have a washing machine, but will not have a dryer. The standard pretty much is to wash clothes in a washing machine and then hang them out on a clothesline to dry. It sort of makes for cool pictures the way they do it. This is typical in Lisbon/Porto as well, especially all up and down the side streets with residences in the stories of the buildings along narrow streets. And, if you don’t have pretty much perfect conditions, it can take 2 to 3 days for clothes to dry.
Working out
For those of us that like to hit the gym for a little cardio, push some weights around, there are few public gyms including fewer fitness centers, including the nicer hotels. Fitness centers will have very basic workout equipment and often no central heat, or AC. You’ll get your cardio in walking the streets, the hills, but other than that, it takes some searching especially in smaller towns and smaller villages…probably not.
Stairs and more stairs
The age of the buildings, the hills make for lots of steps in areas and not many lifts, elevators or escalators. Here and there you’ll find trams around town that get you to the top of a hill which is great. But, expect more walking up steps than riding elevators. And, the design of the streets, sidewalks are not exactly handicapped friendly or accessible, let alone railing safe or helpful. That’s a whole other blog about safety in some of these countries, Portugal and Costa Rica.
Restaurant, shop hours
Hours of operation for stores and restaurants can be limited except in very touristy areas. Unless your going to a morning pastry shop, expect shops / restaurants to open no earlier then 9 a.m. and often close in the afternoon from 3 to 7 PM. Several times we went into a restaurant at 6 p.m., even with the sign showing as open or aberto, and they weren’t open till 7 p.m…ughh. I accept why the Portuguese do this, but it still doesn’t make sense to me.
Sometimes, only Euros
Some shops and restaurants only accept euros and will not have change for larger bills such as $20 and $50 euros, or take credit cards…just saying. The whole conversion is not a big deal, just a little inconvenient at first. Being there for the 30 days made it easier to end up with less than a couple euros. Trying to balance that was a little tricky now and then.
Restaurants
Of course, all good food, but service is slow, although friendly, as you can expect to wait longer than in a typical American restaurant. And you know what, that’s all kind of cool and also slightly to very romantic in the evenings. And, you’re waitress/waiter probably won’t provide the check. You must ask for the check, a conta, por favor, as it is considered rude to drop off a check without being prompted.
Also, you may have read, but if not, if bread and butter are served to your table, you will probably be charged for eating it. We would ask how much, quanto, each time, and every time it was always some charge if we partook. It was always very good bread, though.
So anyway,
visiting Portugal for the 30 days was a fun experience, even in December and January, and we’d recommend it to anyone who is contemplating a visit. If you haven’t read our 7 Surprisingly Good Things About Portugal, check that out, as there were a lot of good, and great, and fun things going on in Portugal. I mean, we’re planning a journey back this summer! Ciao.