Oporto Golf Club

Portugal Shines in Time Out’s Top 10 Most Beautiful Places in the World

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Portugal has a habit of turning up on lists like this. This time, it is Time Out doing the honours — and the Douro Valley has landed in the top five of the world’s most beautiful places.

The List

The magazine’s ranking of 51 destinations was assembled by an international network of travel editors and writers. Each place was selected for its scenic beauty, cultural distinctiveness, and visual impact. The Douro Valley came in at number four, sitting alongside entries from Spain, Indonesia, the United States, and England. Not bad company. (Idealista)

Vale de Oura Vinyards

Why the Douro

The region combines terraced vineyards, a winding river, and historic hillside villages into a composition that is genuinely difficult to rival. The terraces alone — hand-carved into steep mountainsides over centuries — create a visual drama that shifts with every season. At harvest time, the whole valley turns gold.

The Alto Douro Wine Region has held UNESCO World Heritage status since 2001, recognised as a living cultural landscape. That designation matters. This is a place shaped by human hands, yet it never feels anything less than wild.

The Golf

The Douro Valley does not have courses carved into its slopes — the terrain has other ideas — but it sits at the centre of one of Portugal’s most rewarding golfing regions. Porto is the natural base, less than two hours from the valley, and the courses clustered around the city are well worth the journey in their own right.

Oporto Golf Course Seafront

Oporto Golf Club is the oldest in Portugal, established in 1890 by British residents who clearly had their priorities in order. It is a links-influenced course set close to the sea at Espinho, with small, fast greens and a wind that rarely takes a day off. Estela Golf Club, a few kilometres to the north, is cut from similar cloth — a traditional seaside layout with narrow fairways, elevated greens, and the kind of conditions that reward ball-striking over heroics.

For something altogether different, Vidago Palace Golf sits around an hour and a half east of Porto, deep in the Trás-os-Montes hills. Originally designed by Mackenzie Ross in 1936 and rebuilt to USGA specification, it is one of the most characterful courses in the country — a parkland layout set within a grand spa estate, and the sort of place that earns a second visit.

Vidago Golf Course Autumn

A Douro break, then, is not simply a wine trip with a round attached. It is a genuine golf destination with a landscape that happens to be ranked among the four most beautiful on the planet.

Browse our Oporto golf holidays and find the right combination of courses, hotel, and valley time.

Portugal — Still Making Headlines

Rio de Oura Waterfront

The Douro’s recognition is not an isolated moment. At the 2025 World Travel Awards, Madeira was named Europe’s Best Island Destination, Porto took Europe’s Best City Destination, and Lisbon claimed Europe’s Best City Break Destination. Portugal, it seems, is not planning to leave the front page any time soon. (Turismo de Portugal)

For golfers yet to explore the country as a whole, the full range of Portugal golf holidays covers everything from the Algarve south coast to the Atlantic-facing links of the north.

The Douro is beautiful. The golf is excellent. The two rarely need much further convincing.

The road to 125 years of golf in Portugal: a journey through time

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Golf in Portugal has a rich history that dates back almost 125 years. The story began in 1890 when the Oporto Niblicks Golf Club, now Oporto Golf Club, emerged as the first course on the Iberian Peninsula and the fifth in continental Europe. 24 members gave life to the founding golf club in Portugal.

Initially enjoyed by Britons who had left their country, golf found its home near the mouth of the Douro River in Porto. By 1900, the golf course had expanded from 9 holes to 18. As the 20th century progressed, Lisbon also embraced golf, and the Lisbon Sports Club and Estoril Club created their courses, expanding the niche.

Today, the Oporto Golf Club honours its history. Its undulating holes wind through the Portuguese geography with the same charm as the holes on the best courses in the United Kingdom. Philip Mackenzie Ross remodelled the course in the late 1950s and was responsible for maintaining the original imprint.

 

Sir Henry Cotton’s vision to transform golf in Portugal

In the 1960s, Sir Henry Cotton’s vision transformed the Algarve by introducing the Penina Resort Championship course. At this crucial moment, it integrated golf into the region’s tourism offering, laying the foundation for future developments. Cotton also designed Vale do Lobo and one of the golf jewels in the south of the Algarve: Quinta de Benamor. A par 71 of 6,100 yards that shines among hills and leafy trees.

The late 1970s and 1980s saw a boom in golf courses in the Algarve, with iconic designs such as Palmares, Vilamoura Old Course, and San Lorenzo enriching the landscape. At the end of the 1980s, Portugal had 23 courses.

The 1990s saw a golf boom, which doubled the number of courses, surpassing 50 in the millennium. The Algarve remained a hotspot, but other regions, including the north, the central continent, Madeira and the Azores, joined the golf scene. In that decade, we founded Tee Times Golf Agency, offering Portugal golf breaks to worldwide golfers who began hiring our services.

As The Clubhouse Algarve Magazine explains, Oporto Golf Club proudly claims the Skeffington Cup, created in 1891, to be one of the world’s oldest continuously contested golf trophies. This rich history illustrates the development of the sport, becoming an integral part of Portugal’s culture and sport.

In 2024, we commemorate 75 years of the Portuguese Golf Federation as we approach the celebration of the 125 years of the Oporto Golf Club. Golf in Portugal is an example of a harmonious coexistence between sport and nature, with spectacular golf courses that serve as a perfect transition between land and sea. The century we live in promises to add more colour and personality to Portugal’s golf legacy. And we will be there, providing the best service for those who choose to enjoy their Portugal golf holidays with us.

Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned pro, Portugal’s golf courses offer something for everyone. From the Algarve’s stunning coastal courses to the Oporto’s historical courses, Portugal is a golfing paradise that should be on every golfer’s bucket list. So, why not book your next trip to play golf in Portugal today and experience the country’s rich golfing history for yourself?