Where to Stay: Our Favorites in Portugal

A nobleman's palace in Lisbon, a magical monastery in the countryside, a renovated water mill turned vacation rental, and an off-radar b&b that serves homemade lemon curd from its own garden

Over a couple trips to Portugal, we've amassed a short list of delightful independent/family-owned places to stay—a couple of them worth the trip alone. From an otherworldly hotel sensitively tucked into a magnificent hillside monastery (the most soulful hotel both of us have ever stayed in, and not overstating) to a twee b&b owned by a lovely, hospitable couple, sharing their generations-old family home (and all the historic details of the furniture and art dating back hundreds of years), these places are off-radar, full of character, and won't show up in every magazine list of trendy hotels. We stayed at every single place on this list—paid full price (just over $100/night in a few instances)—and can heartily recommend each and every one.