I was in Portugal for a week in January this year. The weather completely ruined Sintra and made Lisbon a bit dreary, but the centre and north of the country had blue skies the entire time.

Due to the lack of public transport options and my obstinate refusal to pay for a cab, my daytrip from Leiria to Alcobaca and Batalha ended up involving a 13km walk along roads and through a forest. An organised trip seems a lot more practical.

I visited the Alto Douro by catching a train to Pocinho from Porto and back in a day. The weather was very nice, so the views were clear and impressive (but not spectacular). On a rainy day I expect this trip to be utterly miserable and entirely pointless. All the actual grapevines were bare of leaves, but the grass and olive trees meant the valley was still very green. My original plan was to get off at Pinhao but I enjoyed the ride enough (and don't care about vineyards) to instead choose to spend basically the entire day on the train. In retrospect, it was pretty frustrating to be so close to the Coa Valley with no transport opportunities to actually visit it. Even with a taxi from Pocinho the tour times did not line up with the train schedule.

Hi Zos, I am also planning to go to Portigal too after Christmas in Spain. If everything goes according to plan (getting the visa on time and having my buddies from Lisbon around), I can help by updating this thread, especially about traveling during the winter season.

Yesterday I returned from a succesful 4-day trip to Portugal, bringing me 2 new WHS and 3 TWHS. My itinerary by rental car was: Lisbon Airport – Mafra – Braga – Vila do Conde – Vila Viçosa – Mértola - Lisbon Airport.

Herewith some Covid measure experiences from this trip:
· Had to fill in a form on the plane, which was collected before landing by the airline (KLM). It asked for my contact details, where I'd be staying in Portugal and my seat number (would guess the airline had that one). However there were no health related questions.
· No controls whatsoever at Lisbon Aiport arrivals (Schengen zone).
· Rules of conduct resemble those of Germany, with mandatory use of face masks indoors and everything (churches, sights, restaurants) open without many limitations.
· While in NL and Germany (at least in Aachen and Cologne where I was recently) people are going through the motions to avoid fines, the hearts of the Portuguese people seem to be more into measures. I saw restaurant and hotel staff diligently scrubbing menu's and countertops after each client.
· The society stays mostly cash based, handling money apparently isn't seen as a possible spreading activity.
· When you are picky where to eat or have your mind set to a specific restaurant, I'd suggest to reserve a table or check beforehand whether it is open. Indoor seating is limited due to distance rulings and some restaurants have not bothered to open up at all.
· On this slightly off the beaten track itinerary I hardly encountered any other foreign tourists.
· About 50% of the shops and restaurants at Lisbon Airport were closed, the McDonalds and PizzaHut are struggling on.

I've just been digging into the Alvaro Siza Ensemble nomination a little more and have come across this project SizaATLAS.


So I finally have a definitive number of projects to hunt for, we currently have 22 locations identified, see below, so I think 4 will have to go, though there is an additional site that I have become aware of, so I think 5 may have to cut.

I have e-mailed one of the academics working on this project so may be able to get a definitive list soon, but until then here is my thinking on the projects to be included.

At the bottom are the 22 locations that I identified in 2018, to that I would feel fairly confident adding the Bouca Housing estate in Porto, which is one of the 7 projects highlighted in his selected works on the Pritzker Prize website. Side note: you can stay there if you are heading to Porto Option 1 or Option 2, both very reasonably priced for Porto, at least for a family of 4 anyway.

So we would probably need to remove 5 from our original list of 22+1 new site to bring us down to the desired 18 projects. Sorry probably not much interest to most, but if I document my thought process here it is useful for understanding where I made a decsion/ error later on, it helped that I had done that when looking back at my original list of 22 sites.

I broke the 22 original sites into 3 categories
a. 10 sites mentioned specifically in the t-list proposal on the world heritage centre site
b. 10 likely projects from municipalities mentioned in the t-list text
c. 2 potential other major works not covered by a. or b.

I think it is very straightforward to remove the 2 in category c, I was basing them off of well know projects (I think from a book of selected works I saw in the library) but as they or their municipality aren't mentioned anywhere in the nomination text it would be easy to remove them.

So that would leave 3 from category b. to remove.
The sites in Evora and Aveiro are unique to their municipality so are almost certainly included.
The Baixa Chiado Masterplan is in Lisbon, already covered by the Expo Pavilion, however it seems like such a prominent project, and is the best example of the explicitly stated urban renewal and rehabilitation; town-planning mentioned in the t-list text I can't imagine it wouldn't be part of a propossal.

So I think the remaining 3 sites to remove will have to come from either Porto or Matosinhos.
There are two that jump out at me for removal in Porto São Bento Metro Station and Aleixo Offices (Architectural Practice). Whilst both good examples of his work, they outwardly at least seem more functional and I haven't encountered discussion of them too much in my research.
As for the final one, I think my gut instinct is the Boa Visita building as it hasn't featured that prominently when I have been reading. Neither have the 4 Houses in Matashinos, but as they were his first works, I would imagine they would be retained to give a full scope of his works, much like the early works of le Corbusier were.

So that leaves us with

Category. Project-or-Building/ Municipality/ Co-ordinates
To keep:
a. Bank in Oliveira de Azeméis/ Oliveira de Azeméis/ 40.838560, -8.477313
a. Santa Maria church of Marco de Canavezes/ Marco de Canavezes/ 41.188560, -8.145385
a. Adega Mayor/ Campo Maior/ 39.050100, -7.094356
a. Piscina das Mares/ Leça da Palmeira/ 41.192778, -8.707778
a. Casa de Chá da Boa Nova/ Leça da Palmeira/ 41.203020, -8.715001
a. Beires House/ Póvoa de Varzim/ 41.385483, -8.762296
a. Bank in Vila do Conde/ Vila do Conde/ 41.353196, -8.741629
a. Casa Avelino Duarte/ Ovar/ 40.862790, -8.644060
a. Escola de Educação de Setúbal/ Setúbal/ 38.519986, -8.838166
a. Pavilion of Portugal in Expo'98/ Lisboa/ 38.765829, -9.095285
b. Quinta da Malagueira housing estate/ Évora/ 38.568738, -7.925359
b. Library of the University of Aveiro/ Aveiro/ 40.631181, -8.659829
b. Baixa Chiado Masterplan and Metro Station/ Lisboa/ 38.710521, -9.142089
b. Faculty of Architecture, University of Porto/ Porto/ 41.150383, -8.636518
b. Serralves/ Porto/ 41.159789, -8.659602
b. Cuatro Casas/ Matosinhos/ 41.185350, -8.685082
b. Piscina da Quinta da Conceição/ Matosinhos/ 41.197126, -8.686788

To add:
b. Bouça Housing Complex/ Porto/ 41.156479, -8.617084

To remove:
b. Boavista Building/ Porto/ 41.162599, -8.667288
b. Aleixo Offices (Architectural Practice)/ Porto/ 41.149284, -8.649420
b. São Bento Metro Station/ Porto/ 41.145101, -8.610886
c. Viera De Castro House/ Famalicao/ 41.405606, -8.541914
c. Revigrés/ Águeda/ 40.531731, -8.449006

Good work, meltwaterfalls!

Did you get any feel for how far they are in the nomination process? Any years mentioned?
Also, shall I wait to update the locations until you get an e-mail reaction from the academic?

I think it is still a few years off. The SizaATLAS seems to be funded through to 2023 (specifically 2023-09-19), and that is about obtaining full documentation. It seems feasible that writing up the nomination dossier could comfortably take 1-3 years after that, so would be surprised if there was much activity before 2025. So maybe a 2027 inscription at the earliest.
Though of course the nomination dossier could be happening simultaneously.
No idea on when I may get a response, I just emailed out of the blue, so they may have no particular interest in responding, though I found the details of the project coordinator a little later so may email them as well.

Happy to wait a bit if you wanted to see if there was a response. Though I imagine you could comfortably remove the last two sites and add the Bouca Housing estate without having to later undo them.

Hello,
I'm looking for an advice for Portugal. I'm planning my November trip. I'm thinking about doing Évora as a day-trip for Lisbon. But I think it wont require a full day and I'm looking for options to fulfill that day. Therefore, my questions are:
1. Would it be possible to combine Évora and Elvas in a day trip from Lisbon without rushing too much? I think the answer here should be no, which leads to 2.
2. How could I visit the Montado landscape around Évora? Is Coruche my best bet for a somehow touristy or at less interpretative visit? I cannot find a lot of good options online...
Thanks for your help!

Afraid I can't help too much since I did Évora as a half day trip from Lisbon, and spent the rest of the day seeing more sights around Lisbon, a city that I had a great time exploring around. That said, the Ensemble of Alvaro Siza's Architecture Works in Portugal TWHS has been added to the list since I visited Évora, and one of the locations is in town, so you could always check that out if you are interested.

As for the Montado, I'm not sure what the final area will be that will be inscribed, but the nomination file seems to indicate that a swath of it goes near if not directly around Évora (from Alcácer do Sal and Grândola in the southwest to Crato and Portalegre in the northeast). Apparently there is a museum about the Montado in Evora called the Casa do Montado, and they may have recommendations on places nearby Évora where you can see the landscape.

You can only do Evora + Elvas on the same day if you have a car, with public transport it is not possible. Half day is more than enough for Evora, not much to see there. I could not find a table at the Restaurante 1/4 P'rás 9 as a walk-in without a reservation. If you plan to go the a restaurant, book it ahead otherwise too difficult to find a table in good ones since the city is very small.

Yeah, quickly checking that while in Évora was part of the plan.


Thanks, will check that!


I forgot to mention that we will indeed have a car. So you think this is doable with a car without over rushing them?

It can be very easily done by a car. If you head to the road at 7.30 am from Lisbon, you will be at Evora by 9 am. You can leave Evora around 12.30 pm and arrive at Elvas around 1.30pm and spend the rest of the day there. Three and a half hour is more than enough for Evora. If you also want to see Vila Vicosa then you may need to rush a little bit but even three places on the same day is possible, of course depending on your travel style.

Levadas of Madeira Island and Vila Viçosa are competing for the February 2023 (WHC 2024) spot.

https://bomdia.eu/levadas-da-madeira-propostas-a-patrimonio-mundial-da-unesco/

Apparently, the Vila Viçosa bid has recently been reforming their criteria and components.

https://odigital.sapo.pt/vila-vicosa-ha-uma-alteracao-na-estrategia-da-candidatura-a-patrimonio-mundial-revela-autarca/

The Mayor of Vila Viçosa plans to deliver the final dossier to UNESCO by the end of the first trimester of 2023.

In portuguese: https://www.radiocampanario.com/ultimas/regional/contamos-entregar-o-dossier-de-candidatura-de-v-v-a-unesco-ate-final-do-1-trimestre-diz-pres-da-cm-de-vila-vicosa-c-som

Mata Bussaco Foundation says the UNESCO Heritage application has been updated.

In portuguese: https://www.agroportal.pt/fundacao-mata-bussaco-diz-que-candidatura-a-patrimonio-da-unesco-foi-atualizada/

The foundation is very optimistic about the attribution of the European Heritage to Mata do Bussaco.

In portuguese: https://portocanal.sapo.pt/noticia/321601/

It was at the presentation of the book 'Levadas da Madeira - a heritage for the world', by the journalist Marco Livramento, that the regional secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources, Susana Prada, revealed that the Levadas in Madeira was elected as the Portugal candidate for the distinction of UNESCO World Heritage in 2023.

In Portuguese: https://www.dnoticias.pt/2023/2/25/349862-levadas-da-madeira-sao-o-bem-candidato-por-portugal-a-patrimonio-mundial-da-unesco-em-2023/#