Condé Nast Traveller readers picked Porto, the second-largest city in Portugal, as the second favourite city and the one to pay attention to, right after the popular city of Istanbul.
Condé Nast Traveler, a luxury and lifestyle travel magazine that has won 25 National Magazine awards, noted that European spots also fill out the remaining places on the list, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
The 34th annual edition of the Reader’s Awards counted more than 800,000 readers from worldwide, which filled out a form with choices in various parameters and on multiple scales. In order for destinations to qualify for the position, they must have a high-quality gastronomic scene, smart hotels, friendly locals, and attractive historical heritage sites, among others.
Moreover, readers’ votes determine the rankings each year; thus, 2021’s top European destination include the following:
- Istanbul (Turkey)
- Porto, Portugal)
- San Sebastian (Spain)
- Salzburg (Austria)
- Siena (Italy)
- Dubrovnik (Croatia)
- Bruges (Belgium)
- Reykjavik (Iceland) and
- Galway (Ireland)
However, Istanbul claimed the first position for a slight difference of 0.89 points compared to Porto, which scored 92.78 respective points. Moreover, Portugal was listed first as the best country destination globally, in a ranking published earlier this month.
Despite being a popular tourism spot for leisure, Portugal is also a safe country to travel to amid the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a ranking SchengenVisaInfo.com previously published, Lisbon makes a perfect destination for those that have been fully vaccinated with one of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved vaccines, as the following list indicates:
- Comirnaty
- Spikevax (previously COVID-19 Vaccine Moderna)
- Vaxzevria (previously COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca)
- COVID-19 Vaccine Janssen
>> A Complete Guide to Travelling to Portugal This Summer Amid COVID-19
Vaccination, recovery, or COVID test certificate are required from both tourists and locals to present in order to enter cultural, tourism, or sporting events that count more than 500 people in closed spaces or 1,000 attendees for open-air activities.
“Restaurants, cafés, and pastry shops with no restrictions on opening and closing hours until 2 am. Limited to groups of 8 people inside and 15 people on the terrace,” Visit Portugal portal notes.
Moreover, like the other EU Member States, Portugal has joined the EUDCC gateway, meaning that all EU Digital COVID-19 Certificate holders can freely visit the country and its touristy spots this autumn, despite being amid the pandemic.
The Portuguese government also recognizes vaccination and recovery certificates issued by third countries’ health authorities, making the country even friendlier in terms of COVID-19 safe entry rules.
