Wine & Food Travel Blog

How to Visit the New 7 Wonders of Portugal (2026)

Written by Alexandra Monteiro | 15 Sept 2026, 09:03:49

What are the New 7 Wonders of Portugal? On September 12, 2026, Portugal revealed the winners of its New 7 Wonders competition, nearly 20 years after the original 2007 edition. The seven winning sites span the country, from a Roman ruin in the Alentejo wine region to a cathedral in Lisbon.

Here's the complete list and how to see them for yourself on a custom wine tour.

What Are the New 7 Wonders of Portugal?

Category Winner Location
Religion Lisbon Cathedral (Sé de Lisboa) Lisbon
21st Century Tiago Cabaço Winery Estremoz, Alentejo
Major Works Usseira Aqueduct Óbidos
History Roman Ruins of São Cucufate Vidigueira, Alentejo
Castles Leiria Castle Leiria
20th Century Olhão Markets Olhão, Algarve
Tourism Episcopal Palace Garden Castelo Branco

The seven winners were chosen by public vote from 21 national finalists (three per category), in a process audited by PwC. The gala final was held at the Sintra National Palace and broadcast by TVI, run by Turismo de Portugal in partnership with the New 7 Wonders Foundation.

1. Lisbon Cathedral (Sé de Lisboa)

Construction of Lisbon Cathedral began in 1147, immediately after King Afonso Henriques took the city from the Moors, making it the oldest church in Lisbon. Designed by Mestre Roberto in the Romanesque style, with a Gothic cloister added later under King Dinis, the cathedral suffered severe damage in the 1755 earthquake, which brought down its Gothic chancel and both towers. Rebuilt between 1761 and 1785 and restored again in the early 20th century, it was classified as a National Monument in 1910 and still holds the relics of Saint Vincent, the patron saint of Lisbon.

© Marc Bruxelle / Getty Images via Canva.com 

Add it to our 5-Day Lisbon Premium Tour:

  • Lisbon's historic center paired with Sintra, Cascais, and Óbidos
  • Private tastings at the Wine Estates of Lisbon
  • A route built around architecture and heritage as much as wine

2. Tiago Cabaço Winery, Estremoz

The only winery among this year's winners, Tiago Cabaço Winery in Estremoz, is built into the landscape rather than on top of it: a crescent-shaped, partially subterranean structure that keeps the cellar naturally cool and preserves an unbroken line of sight to the vineyards it works. Its glass-walled tasting room looks out toward Estremoz Castle, Serra d'Ossa, and Évoramonte Castle, a panorama that has made the winery a symbol of Alentejo's growing reputation for contemporary wine architecture.

Vineyards © mtcurado / Getty Images Signature via Canva.com

Visit it on our 6-Day Tour in Alentejo, through Europe's "new Tuscany":

  • Six days across Alentejo's plains and wine estates, with private visits to top wineries
  • 5-star accommodation and spa treatments included
  • Gourmet, olive-oil-driven Alentejo cuisine at every stop

3. Usseira Aqueduct, Óbidos

© Leonid Andronov via Canva.com Pro

Commissioned around 1570 by Queen Catarina de Áustria, the Usseira Aqueduct carries water roughly 3 kilometers from a spring in Usseira to the walled town of Óbidos. Its stone arches have been protected as a Property of Public Interest since 1962, and today the aqueduct is one of the most photographed sights in Óbidos, second only to the castle itself.

4. Roman Ruins of São Cucufate, Vila de Frades

In the Vidigueira wine region of the Alentejo, one kilometer from Vila de Frades, the Roman ruins of São Cucufate began as a modest villa in the 1st century CE, built around baths and a peristyle courtyard. A major 4th-century expansion turned it into one of the largest Roman villas ever built in Portugal, roughly 115 by 170 meters, used for wine and oil production.

After the villa was abandoned, the site had a second life as a monastery from around the 9th century until the 18th century, first under Augustinian canons and later Benedictine monks. Vaulted ceilings, walls, and a chapel still stand, and an interpretive center has welcomed visitors since 2001.

5. Leiria Castle

Founded in 1135 by King Afonso Henriques as a stronghold in the reconquest of central Portugal, Leiria Castle was later transformed by King Dinis into a refined royal residence, home for a time to Queen Isabel of Aragon.

© Andrey via Canva.com Pro

 The result is a rare blend of military austerity and Gothic elegance. Damaged during the Napoleonic invasions, the castle was restored in the early 20th century by architect Ernesto Korrodi and has since become an award-winning, fully accessible cultural landmark and the city's defining symbol.

6. Olhão Markets

Built between 1912 and 1916, the twin iron-and-glass market halls of Olhão, one for fish, one for produce, were raised on 88 piles each, linked by masonry arches and finished with four glazed circular turrets, an Algarve landmark of early 20th-century Belle Époque design. Restored and reopened in 1998 with new azulejo tilework inside, the markets remain the daily heartbeat of the town and one of the best places in the Algarve to see the morning's fresh Atlantic catch.

© EunikaSopotnicka / Getty Images via Canva.com 

Pair a visit with our 3-Day Tour in The Algarve With a Private Cruise:

  • Three days combining the Algarve's beaches with its wine and gastronomy scene
  • A private cruise along the coast
  • Local producers are rarely covered on a typical Algarve trip

7. Episcopal Palace Garden, Castelo Branco

Laid out in the 18th century for Bishop João de Mendonça, the Episcopal Palace Garden in Castelo Branco is one of Portugal's finest examples of Baroque garden design, and one of its most playful.

© Chico Ferreira de Almeida via Unsplash 

Statues of saints and apostles line the hedges, stone lions gaze into ornamental lakes, and stone monarchs stand guard along the balustrades, including deliberately undersized figures of the Spanish kings, a quiet dig at the 60 years of Iberian Union. The garden and palace were jointly classified as a National Monument in 2018.

How to Visit the New 7 Wonders on a Custom Tour

The seven winners are spread from Óbidos to the Algarve, which makes seeing more than one or two of them a matter of routing, not distance. Wine Tourism in Portugal already threads two of this year's winners, Tiago Cabaço Winery and the Roman ruins of São Cucufate, into its Alentejo itineraries, and can build a stop at the Usseira Aqueduct, Leiria Castle, Lisbon Cathedral, Olhão Markets, or the Episcopal Palace Garden into any wine tour on request. Rather than choosing between a fixed package and doing it alone, tell us which wonders you want to see, and we'll build the itinerary around them.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • What are the New 7 Wonders of Portugal? They are seven pieces of built heritage, one per category (Major Works, 20th Century, 21st Century, Tourism, Castles, Religion, and History), chosen by public vote in a nationwide competition run by Turismo de Portugal. The 2026 edition is the second, following the original 7 Wonders of Portugal in 2007.
  • When were the New 7 Wonders of Portugal 2026 announced? The winners were announced on September 12, 2026, at a gala final held at the Sintra National Palace.
  • Can I combine the New 7 Wonders with a wine tour in Portugal? Yes. Two winners, Tiago Cabaço Winery and the Roman ruins of São Cucufate, are located in the Alentejo wine region and fit naturally into an Alentejo wine tour. The other five can be added as stops to a custom itinerary built around your route.