Europe's greatest holiday destination? There's no contest

Telegraph

15-03-2025

Where is Europe's greatest holiday destination? Surely such a subjective question is impossible to answer.
Not so. There is an answer, and it is Portugal.
To reach this conclusion I received no bribes from the Portuguese tourist board (I am, however, open to any incidental pastel de nata sent to The Telegraph's offices at 111 Buckingham Palace Road, London), but rather I addressed a series of tangible factors including cost, weather, availability and a recent flurry of Michelin stars. Plus some less tangible metrics, too.
Portugal is affordable. In the Post Office's latest Holiday Money Report, released today, the Algarve ranked as the best value destination for British holidaymakers, up from fifth place last year. Anyone who has visited Portugal will know this is true for the whole country.
On the south coast, an average three-course meal for two with wine comes in at just £40.33. Sterling's strength against the Euro (up 6.3 per cent compared to March 2023) is helping to make things feel cheaper across the Continent.
We are talking about marginal gains here, but the weather in Portugal is more pleasant than its Mediterranean competitors. In Lisbon, the average August high is 28C, compared to the daily highs of 31C in Malaga, 32C in Sicily or 33C in Athens.
You'll feel that difference. Things are warmer down in the Algarve, which will suit the desires of sunbathers, but with those coastal Atlantic breezes the climate is less stifling, and ocean temperatures in the low 20s are far more refreshing than in the warmer corners of the Med.
For some reason, Portuguese food seems to get overlooked in debates about Europe's finest cuisines. It's just cod and custard, right? Wrong.
In Lisbon, the Timeout Market is one of the most exciting food halls on the Continent. Located in the historic Mercado da Ribeira, you will have your pick of two dozen food stalls representing the top chefs in the country. Up in the Douro Valley, mineral-rich white wines complement seafood platters of sardines and goose barnacles.
In 2025, the number of Portuguese restaurants with one Michelin star increased from 31 to 38, and there are eight with two stars. Things are undeniably on the up.
Aside from the hard data, there is a spiritual breeziness to Portugal that should be factored into your holiday decision making. The Anglo-Portuguese Alliance of 1386 is the oldest diplomatic agreement in the world that is still in force. And this 'perpetual friendship' of two seafaring states seems to play out on the beaches, too.
While 2024 saw anti-tourism demonstrations across the Canaries, the Balearics and Spanish cities, with 'tourists go home' (and more unsavoury versions of this phrase) written in English on walls and placards, you can travel to Portugal safe in the knowledge that you won't be squirted with a water pistol or denied access to any of its beaches.
Although there does seem to be a simmering pushback against the explosion of British 'digital nomads', who have cottoned on to all of Portugal's wonders and are pushing up rental prices in Lisbon.
Despite all this, availability is looking good for the summer of 2025. Villa firms Oliver's Travel and Vintage Travel both tell me that bookings are slightly down for Portugal, year-on-year. What this looks like in practice is 40 per cent of Oliver's Algarve two-bed villas available during the peak week of August 9–16, and 57 per cent of Vintage's two-bed villas available that same week.
You know about Lisbon, Porto and the main beach resorts of the Algarve, so where else should you be considering for your next Portugal getaway? Our Portugal destination expert, Mary Lussiana, argues that the fishing village of Vila Real de Santo António, right on the Spanish border, is the Algarve's best-kept secret. She recommends dining like a local on clams: the best, she says, are served at the Grand Beach Club, where you can feast with your feet in the sand.
My personal pick is the Troia Peninsula, which I visited last year. Here you will find silky hourglass sands backed by tall dunes, populated mainly by locals.
Comporta, at the base of the peninsula, is a soulful, low-rise town where storks nest on the rooftops. The nearby beach bars, all of which serve the regional speciality of black rice, are unshowy and effortlessly cool. No wonder George Clooney, Madonna and – if rumours are to be believed – the Sussexes have chosen Troia as their European outpost.
If money were no object, I would do the same. Instead, I will happily keep returning to Portugal as my summer holiday destination of choice, where prices are fair, the welcome is as warm as the summer sun, the atmosphere as laid-back as a cool Atlantic breeze.