rick steves heart of portugal tour

• Travel Guides

Rick Steves Didn't Always Like This Less-Touristy European City (And Why He Changed His Mind)

"I admit that Bratislava used to leave me cold," travel expert  Rick Steves  declared, saying that the city's old town was a "dangerous ghost town" as recently as the 1990s, when communist rule fell and Slovakia had its "Velvet Divorce" from the Czech nation.

By 2010, however, Steves had a change of heart. "Changes in recent decades have transformed it into a delightful destination," the writer enthused, adding that "Bratislava's energy is inspiring." Since then, the area has continued its ascent following its freedom from communist oppression. Steves said the city had developed a youthful spirit, with thousands of university students filling the Old Town, which is a de facto campus at night with many restaurants, bars, and clubs.

Bratislava still lacks what Rick Steves calls "blockbuster sights," but that's not the point of this typically  underrated European city . It's an intimate place, more suitable for easy living than sightseeing and itinerary-chasing. For that, you're better off heading over the Danube to Vienna, which sports its bustling streets, towering architecture, and unforgettable wine culture . 

One of Europe's great urban success stories

Rick Steves considers Bratislava to be one of "Europe's great urban success stories." Color and increased economic activity washed over the whole city following Slovakia's newfound freedom in the '90s, leading to major improvements in the Old Town, industrial quarter, and once-gloomy suburb of Petržalka. Leading tour guide Martin Sloboda impressed Steves with Bratislava's powers of not only forward-thinking ambition but also respect for history, which the communists often lacked after the Second World War.

Sloboda took Steves to Café Kormúth, an inviting, old-fashioned cafe decorated with extensive wood carvings and dazzling ceiling artwork reflecting Slovakian history, including the full coat of arms of the Austo-Hungarian empire. Steves had no problem paying €10 ($11) to "luxuriate in the 17th century," enjoying the eatery's free-range produce dishes and delectable cakes served on rare, historic porcelain.

For a post-communist icon of Bratislava, visit the SNP bridge observation deck. Reviled by some as a tyrannical throwback, the city's businesspeople and restaurateurs turned the space-age structure into an upscale restaurant named UFO, where one can expect elegant gastronomy and sweeping city views.

A young, fun old town

If Krakow is the Boston of Poland , then Bratislava could be the Portland of Slovakia. Like the Oregon city, Bratislava is a small place with a young crowd interested in cafe culture, creativity, and community — all of which are best represented in the city's Old Town.

Michalská Street is a busy thoroughfare that impressed Steves with its thriving cafés and boutiques. "[It is a] symbol of how far the city has come," Steves wrote, describing the area as "delightful." Nearby Laurinská Street had its charms, too, with characterful boutiques and several of the Old Town's playful statues, such as a Čumil, a bronze sculpture of a smiling man resting at the top of a manhole.

In Bratislava, drinks are cheap and bars are numerous. After sampling the pork, dumplings, and other traditional central European fare at Koliba Kamzik Zelena, check out Manifest, a colorful cocktail bar with neon lighting and graffiti motifs; KGB, a cellar pub with Soviet iconography; and the Antique American Bar, which has a vibe somewhere between prohibition and "Mad Men." All of these — and more — contribute to the city's vibe and energy, which, as Steves said, "is inspiring."

Recommended

• Smaller Text Larger Text
• Home / 

Heart of Portugal in 12 Days: Fátima in the Rain

Staring into the candle-wax firestorm that rages daily here in Fátima , Portugal’s most holy spot, it struck me that cultures all over the world have the same passion for getting close to God.

I’m here on a Rick Steves Heart of Portugal tour — and I’m glad that our guides are able to give us context and lead us into the holy fray in places like this, so we can feel and respect the religious culture of wherever we may be traveling. The faithful here believe that the Virgin Mary appeared in Fátima in 1917, on the 13th day of six successive months. On the sixth appearance, 70,000 locals gathered and were awestruck by the apparition. And last year, on the centennial of the first apparition, half a million pilgrims gathered on this esplanade to attend a Mass celebrated by Pope Francis.

The traveler’s challenge is not to judge, but to feel. Where have you been impressed by a powerful religious scene that is not yours?

Two New Portugal Shows in the Can

After 12 days in Portugal, the crew is flying home with two new episodes in the can. As we’ve done every two years for over 20 years, we’re kicking off the production of another series. It’s a two-year process, and in the fall of 2018 we’ll have a dozen or so new shows to share.

In Portugal, we had great local guides, great weather, total access to whatever we wanted to film, the support of beautiful people, and nice coffee.

We danced around the 100th anniversary of the vision of the Virgin Mary at Fatima. (Pope Francis was in town gathering over a million faithful for the occasion.)

And we worked hard to capture local life (like “dining” in a “republica” fraternity at the University of Coimbra).

Basically following the route that our Rick Steves Portugal tours enjoy with the help of our Rick Steves Portugal tour guides, I could see why Portugal has become one of our most popular tour destinations. As always, Portugal was a joy to experience and to share.

Gold-Leaf Altars and Wax Body Parts

I still get just a little rush when I settle into the right train. I can’t remember taking a train in the USA, but here, with each journey, I celebrate the ease of not having to drive. And after all these years, train travel still comes with a twinge of risk: Do I have enough time for a cup of coffee? Is my wristwatch in synch with the official station time? Would these locals really point me in the right direction? Am I on the right train?

The European Union has pulled Portugal up to its standards now. The country has plenty of freeways, and Brussels is telling it how hygienic its markets must be. Portugal has taken lots of money from Europe and is now a net giver rather than receiver, as the EU is on to spiffing up the infrastructure of poorer new members in the east.

Yet Portugal is still a humble and relatively isolated place where locals proudly point out, “We now have three places where you can buy foreign newspapers.” Apparently George Clooney’s agent doesn’t care too much for his image here, as he’s all over the country on TV and billboards — selling martinis and coffee like a greedy Joe DiMaggio.

Many things just don’t change in Portugal. Women still squat on the curb at the road into Nazaré. Their hope: to waylay tourists from reserved hotel rooms with signs saying, “Quartos!” — rooms for rent…cheap. (By the way, simple hotels all over Portugal rent decent double rooms for $60. And sleepable dives can be had for $40 per double.)

Service is friendly in the hole-in-the-wall restaurants where menus come with two columns: “half dose” and “full dose” (€4 and €6, respectively). “Full dose” is designed to be split by two…giving traveling couples meals for less than $5 each. When I resisted a special dessert drink, the waiter told me, “Don’t be a camel…have a drink!” With a line like that, how could I refuse?

I’ve noticed all over Europe that monks are famous for their ingenious knack for brewing beer and distilling liquors. And in Portugal, nuns round out the menu with fine sweets (see previous blog entry for “nuns’ tummies” and “angel’s breasts”). For a good sampling, I’ve taken to asking for mixta dulce, and waiters are happy to bring a nibble of several of their top sobremesas (desserts).

Young Portuguese people don’t go to church much these days. But the country is remarkably Catholic for the sightseer (for example, my last stop, Nazaré, was named for Nazareth). The main sights of most towns are the musty old churches — those Gothic stone shells slathered in dusty, gold-leaf Baroque altars.

In 1917, three kids encountered the Virgin Mary near the village of Fátima and were asked to return on the 13th of each month for six months. The final apparition was witnessed by thousands of locals. Ever since, Fátima is on the pilgrimage trail — mobbed on the 13th of each month through the spring and summer.

On my visit, the vast esplanade leading to the basilica and site of the mystical appearance was quiet, as a few solitary pilgrims shuffled on their knees slowly down the long, smooth approach. Staring at a forest of candles dripping into a fiery trench that funnels all the melted wax into a bin to be resurrected as new candles was evocative in this spiritual setting.

Huge letters spelling “Queen of the Holy Rosary of Fátima Pray for Us” in Latin ring the ceiling of the basilica. John Paul II loved Fátima and visited it three times. (After the attempted assassination of JPII, the Vatican revealed that this event was predicted by Our Lady of Fátima in 1917.)

Wandering around modern Fátima and its commercial zone, I’m impressed by how it mirrors my image of a medieval pilgrim gathering place: oodles of picnic benches, endless parking, and desolate toilets for the masses. Just beyond the church, thirty uniform stalls lining a horseshoe-shaped mall await the 13th. Even without any business, old ladies still man their booths, surrounded by trinkets for pilgrims — including gaudy wax body parts and rosaries that will be blessed after Mass and taken home to remember Our Lady of Fátima.