Guides

Step by step

Practical guides for life in Portugal, kept in one place.

Check-ups after 60

The flu vaccine, and the three cancer screenings the public system actually invites people to.

Elvas and Badajoz, and Vila Real de Santo António and Ayamonte, are real crossings. They are not an afternoon out of Porto.

The regional line from São Bento toward Régua. A river cruise from Gaia is a different product and a different price.

Two urban trains from São Bento or Campanhã. Bom Jesus is not at the Braga station.

A walled town on the Minho and a Spanish cathedral across the river. The clocks already disagree.

The Celta still runs, and until April 2027 a bus covers the Spanish side between Valença and Vigo.

The A28, the A3 and the A4 charge you. Sort the Via Verde before you leave the airport, not at the gantry.

Ask the call-out price before they travel. A building pipe is often the condomínio’s problem, not yours.

The meter number, the municipal water company, and the flats that still cook on a bottled-gas cylinder.

Where the metro is, where the hills are, and which areas are loud on a Saturday. Rents are left off on purpose.

NOS, MEO, Vodafone, Digi and NOWO do not all reach every stairwell. What to ask before you sign a loyalty contract.

What Portuguese banks usually ask for, and what nobody reputable will ask you to pay up front.