From the Mount of Santa Luzia overlooking the city of Viana do Castelo, you can see everything that makes northern Portugal so awe-inspiring…all in a single frame.
Dominating the hill is the Basílica de Santa Luzia—a towering church whose architectural style is a captivating and eclectic mix of Byzantine, Romanesque, and Gothic influences. Simply put, it’s majestic. The church also offers stunning views of the city, the River Lima, and the Atlantic Ocean.
From above, Viana do Castelo is a collage of glistening white-washed buildings and red-tiled roofs that runs down to a modern waterfront on the north banks of the river mouth.
Ocean…beaches…river…forests…mountains…a stunning Old Town…history and culture…
Viana do Castelo is one of the most complete destinations in Portugal.
And yet there’s hardly anyone here…
Sure, the restaurants are busy, but not crowded. The streets lively, but not packed. It’s all so…civilized.
And it demonstrates just how unexplored northern Portugal is.
Northern Portugal is beautiful, historic, and culture-rich, boasting some of the most pristine and livable cities and towns in the country. Yet it remains overlooked…
My name is Ronan McMahon and I’m an international real estate investor. For almost two decades, I’ve been seeking out the best real estate opportunities in some of the most appealing locations around the world. And Portugal has been on my overseas real estate beat for a long time.
I first started scouting for real estate opportunities in Portugal’s southern Algarve region in the early 2000s. And in that time I’ve watched the region explode in popularity.
The Algarve has long been a popular vacation spot for northern Europeans, but now it’s evolved into a major destination for retirees, young families, digital nomads, and the footloose, work-from-anywhere crowd.
Prices have risen sharply in the Algarve and I believe the buying moment has passed…for now at least.
As the Algarve got busier and gentrification swept through Lisbon, people began looking for quieter havens in Portugal away from the madding crowds. I was one of them…
A few years back, I bought my condo on Portugal’s Silver Coast—or Costa de Prata—a roughly 90-mile stretch of western Atlantic coast between Lisbon and Porto. This is a stunning region, with beautiful Atlantic beaches, incredible weather, exceptional golf courses, and excellent food.
Go back several years and this coast was little known outside of Portugal. But now, prices here are on the rise. As an example… My condo in the golf and beach community of Praia D’El Rey cost me €300,000. Last year, a local real estate agent wanted to list it for €450,000.
Which leads to a question, “Where will people go next in Portugal?”
To me, the answer is clear… They’ll go north.
There’s Opportunity Here…For Now
Let me back up for a moment and explain what I mean by “northern Portugal.”
Porto, the country’s second-largest city, is in the north. But Porto has been gentrified. Real estate prices have exploded higher there in the past five years. This is a place where you’ll now find those throngs of tourists and insane lines.
But head 30 minutes or so north of Porto, outside the reaches of its extended metropolitan area, and all that fades.
The coastal towns and cities become local and residential. These are places well-known to the Portuguese, but where foreign tourists rarely thread.
This is the northern Portugal I’m referring to…the undiscovered north. And because it’s long been overlooked, you’ll still find astonishing real estate bargains here.
But very soon, that will change. This region will be discovered. Prices will soar.
You see, there’s a major trend unfolding that will push people to the north of Portugal…
In recent years, the same headlines arrive every summer about heatwaves, wildfires, soaring temperatures… So increasingly, people want destinations where they have the sun and the beach, but where the climate is more conducive to being active and outdoors.
The weather in northern Portugal is milder and more temperate than in the south, with daytime averages of between 60 and 80 F for much of the year. Here, warm, sunny afternoons are followed by gentle, cool evenings…providing perfect conditions for outdoor activities during the day and restful sleep at night.
But for now, Northern Portugal sits at a perfect nexus…
It has the beaches, history, food, culture, and climate that people are increasingly looking for. Yet, because it’s long been overlooked, you’ll still find astonishing real estate bargains there.
In northern Portugal, you’ll find stunning beaches like these. But this region is virtually unknown to the tens of millions of foreign tourists who flock to Portugal each year.
This is one of the best real estate investment opportunities on earth.
And the moment is now!
I first visited Northern Portugal last year and was blown away. Recently I sent two of my team members back there on an in-depth scouting trip. Over the course of a week, and hundreds of miles, they uncovered three beach towns that I believe are ripe for opportunity.
Northern Portugal’s Most Livable City
The city of Viana do Castelo is an hour’s drive north of Porto, at the mouth of the Lima River on the country’s Atlantic coast.
It is the largest city north of Porto and Braga. Though “city” is perhaps a generous way to describe it. The wider metropolitan area, encompassing nearby commuter towns, has a population of less than 90,000. Within Viana itself, there are just 36,000 people.
This helps explain its charming small-town atmosphere.
The city of Viana do Castelo is an hour’s drive north of Porto, at the mouth of the Lima River on the country’s Atlantic coast.
Viana was once a hard-working industrial city known for shipbuilding and fishing. These industries remain today, though in reduced form. Ships are still built in Viana. Trawlers still sit along the banks of the river. And more modern industries have come…wind turbine manufacturing is big business here now.
But over the past two and a half decades, the city has been quietly gentrifying…
In 1999, the town’s working riverfront was extended and transformed into a vast new public space called Praca da Liberdade, with parks, restaurants, and exhibition venues.
Steps were also taken to restore its walkable Old Town, known for its medieval architecture, elegant squares, and traditional homes and stores with their intricate azulejo tiles and cast-iron balconies.
Walk Viana’s historic center today and it appears pristine…its white-washed buildings filled with upmarket stores and charming restaurants serving cuisine that has a heavy focus on fresh seafood.
Then there are the city’s Atlantic beaches…
On the coasts north and south of the river mouth, you’ll find five or six to choose from. The most well known is to the south. Called Cabedelo, it’s a popular surfing and wind-surfing destination, with surf schools and restaurants set just back from the shore amid the small pine forests that dot the area.
From the center of Viana, the beach is a less than 10-minute drive across Ponte Eiffel, or Eiffel Bridge (named for its creator, engineer Gustave Eiffel, who also built the Eiffel Tower in Paris). Alternatively, you can take the small, quaint passenger ferry that leaves from the north bank of the river.
It all adds up to one of the most livable destinations in the world.
Click on the image above to watch video footage my team captured when they had boots on the ground in Viana do Castelo.
As Viana has become more gentrified, new wealthy residents have been moving here…
In the center of the Old Town, on a pedestrianized street that serves as one of Viana’s main commercial spaces, a developer has converted a grand old historic structure into a luxury condo building comprising 16 homes.
These condos are large, bright, and spacious, spanning two floors across 1,400 square feet, with original historic features from the building integrated into the design of the condo. The price tag…a whopping €690,000.
High-end luxury residential projects like this are increasingly common in Viana…
On the outskirts of town, along the riverbank, new waterfront condo developments have been popping up. These are vast homes, with price tags there can run well over a million euros.
Not that you need vast sums like this to own in Viana.
In fact, you can own here for a tiny fraction of this…
This is a pattern I’ve seen play out time and again in emerging destinations around the world. The wealthy are often the first to discover an inherently beautiful destination.
They come for the natural beauty, the livability, and to escape the madding crowds. As their wealth pours in, others follow. But there’s a lag…
Viana, like many of the destinations in northern Portugal, now exists in that incredible sweet spot. The wealthy have discovered this city, but it remains virtually unknown to the millions of foreign tourists, expats, and second home owners who flock to Portugal each year.
Viana’s long and rich history is evident throughout its immaculate Old Town and has been attracting those in the know for some time now.
Here’s what undiscovered looks like…
Last year, Viana saw a 22% spike in visitor numbers. But even at that, it welcomed just over 185,000 people, and many of these were domestic tourists or visitors from Spain, which is less than an hour’s drive to the north.
According to the official figures, just 5,613 Americans visited Viana in 2023. This city continues to fly firmly under the radar…and that means you can still find incredible value real estate here.
Homes in the Old Town tend to be smaller due to the nature of the historic buildings, but if you don’t mind a reduced living space you’ll find options right in the very center.
A small apartment that spans 720 square feet and is in good condition with views of the Basílica de Santa Luzia is listed for €170,000 ($182,800).
The Basílica de Santa Luzia stands guard over the city of Viana do Castelo…and can be seen from all over town.
A one-bedroom, 750-square-foot home near the town’s central plaza, Praça da Republica is on the market for €225,000 ($241,900). Renovated in just 2023, it has a modern open-plan layout and design.
Consider the opportunity here. If you bought a property for €170,000 and got a 30-year mortgage of 70% at 3% interest (mortgages like this are available to non-resident foreign buyers in Portugal), you can own here for less than €500 ($540) per month.
Head out of the Old Town and you’ll find ever greater value.
Across the river, on the south bank, there are river-view residential communities that are just a few minutes’ walk from the beach. Traditionally, this area, known as Darque, was considered less desirable. It’s across the water from the Old Town and the government built social housing here. But as Viana has been gentrifying, and as word has spread about the incredible beaches on the coast south of the river mouth, Darque has been coming into its own.
Prices, though, haven’t caught up to this reality.
For instance, there’s a modernized four-bedroom condo set across 1,730 square feet with views of the river and Viana’s Old Town beyond listed at €235,000 ($252,700).
There’s another play to consider here in Viana…own on the coast directly north of the city.
The small beach towns of Afife, Carreco, and Areosa are all less than 15 to 20 minutes’ drive from the heart of Viana’s Old Town. But prices there can be shockingly affordable.
Take this 2,500-square-foot three-bedroom, four-bathroom ocean-view villa in Areosa, the closest of these towns to Viana just a 10-minute drive away. It’s listed at €335,000 ($360,300).
Properties without ocean views—such as a modern 1,500-square-foot, three-bedroom condo, also in Areosa—are available for around €200,000 or less.
Rental Income in Viana
Agents here say there’s a shortage of homes for rent on the long-term market within the city. When I checked a major listings site for long-term rentals, I found just 13 available in the Old Town.
One-bedrooms in good condition in the historic center rent for an average of €880 per month long term. Two-beds for €1,250. And luxury condos for €1,500 and up. Those figures chime with listings I’ve seen online.
This means yields here are very reasonable. Say you bought a one-bedroom apartment for €170,000 and rented it long-term for €880, then your gross annual yield is 6.2%. (A caveat: The situation with short-term rentals is in flux in Portugal, and it’s unclear if new short-term rental licenses will be granted in Viana.)
And here’s the thing about those yields…
They will rise.
In Viana, you’d be buying ahead of an explosion in new arrivals. More people will come to this city—to visit…to work remotely…to retire…
The offering here is too strong…the city too livable. The world hasn’t discovered Viana yet, but it will.
True Beachfront Living in a Wealthy Enclave
A 25-minute drive north of Viana, is the historic coastal town of Esposende. With a population of around 10,000 people, it sits at the mouth of the Cavado River, on its northern bank.
The town of Esposende is roughly halfway between Porto and Viana do Castelo, on Portugal’s Atlantic coast.
Along the riverside runs a wide palm tree-lined boulevard with a cycle track that leads to Esposende’s stunning wind-swept Atlantic beach, backed by low dunes and overlooked by the 17th century Fort of São João Baptista and the towering red lighthouse that sits beside it.
The geography of Esposende is intriguing. A long strip of sand, now a protected landscape, juts out into the river mouth, leaving only the tiniest sliver of space for the river to flow into the ocean.
Standing on the riverfront promenade in the center of Esposende, beneath the shade of its large palm trees, you’ll see a spectacular view across the river, over this protected sandy region, out to the Atlantic.
The view is even better from the town’s Atlantic soft-sand golden beach…
Located less than half a mile north of the town center, it looks south to the protected landscape and west out to the glistening blue waters of the Atlantic.
Esposende’s golden-sand Atlantic beach is only around a mile from the center of town.
Esposende shares certain similarities with Viana…it’s a former fishing hub, and a place that attracts watersports enthusiasts. Surfers, wind-surfers, and kite surfers frequent its Atlantic beaches. Sunbathers too.
Esposende, though, is much smaller and more intimate than larger Viana. The historic center stretches no more than a few blocks in each direction. Nestled within, you’ll find charming plazas, fronted by historic buildings like the town hall, expanded from an original structure dating to the late 16th century.
At the center of it all, on Esposende’s main boulevard, is the Church of the Misericordia, whose origins are just as old.
Despite its long history, however, Esposende today feels modern and affluent…a function of its wide, riverside boulevard and the numerous large villas surrounding the town center.
On the road into and out of town you’ll see expansive detached river- and ocean-view houses—some built in a traditional Portuguese-style with verandas and red roof tiles…others modern, with floor-to-ceiling windows, flat roofs, and large terraces. These villas sell for vast sums…even millions of dollars.
Esposende is where many of the wealthy of Braga and Porto choose to own coastal properties. The town is no more than 40 minutes’ drive from either city. Yet, as in Viana, and virtually everywhere else along this coast, Esposende offers exceptional value in the middle tier of the market.
Within the town center, you’ll find bargains like and updated 980-square-foot, two-bed condo in the town center that’s listed at €189,000 ($202,600). Or a 2,150-square-foot three-bed villa with a pool, tennis court, and sea views on a hill just outside the city priced at €320,000 ($343,000).
Nestled in Esposende’s Old Town are quaint shaded squares with charming restaurants and cafés.
Look to the south bank of the river and you’ll find something even more intriguing…
A 10-minute drive away from the quaint, compact town center, is the beach of Ofir. This is among the most stunning in northern Portugal, a sweeping stretch of pristine golden sand that’s popular with surfers and swimmers alike.
The beach sits within the North Coast Protected Landscape that’s visible from the town and stretches out into the mouth of the Cavado River. Walk along the dunes and boardwalks here and you’ll get incredible views of the Atlantic Ocean on one side and Esposende on the other.
Overlooking Ofir beach are three towering condo developments built between the late 1970s and mid-1980s. These condos literally hang over the beach…residents are mere steps away from the sand of Ofir and they have private access.
The beachfront communities over Ofir beach, with the town of Esposende visible in the background.
Today, developers in Portugal are no longer permitted to build this close to the coastline, but these developments are grandfathered in.
There’s a one-bed, ocean-view condo in this community listed for just €225,000 ($241,200). Also on the market right now is a larger three-bed condo in these buildings listing for €375,000 ($401,800).
There’s a caveat with these condos. The buildings reflect their age. The communal spaces are weary, the building exteriors are an unappealing gray-green, and the facades are decaying in places from decades of being battered by the salty sea air. Remedial work is needed.
All that said, consider this… Unless the law changes, and that seems highly unlikely, nothing will ever be built this close to the beach again. Not on this stretch of coast…not anywhere in Portugal. The limited number of frontline beachfront communities that exist are all there will ever be.
And one like this—overlooking a beach of the quality and popularity of Ofir, and minutes from the wealthy enclave of Esposende—feels like a true find, especially when you can own here from €250,000. If you got a 30-year mortgage of 70% with 3% interest (available to non-resident foreign buyers in Portugal), that’s a monthly repayment of only around €734 per month.
Life by the Beach in Idyllic Small-Town Portugal
A 30-minute drive north of Viana, sitting near the mouth of the Minho River, which separates Portugal from Spain, is the town of Caminha.
Caminha sits right on Portugal’s northern border with Spain, at the mouth of the River Minho.
Sitting on the country’s far north coast, it’s an idyllic vision of small-town Portugal.
Its winding cobblestone alleys lead to medieval churches and towering stone walls that speak to its millennia of history.
Nestled amid its pristine white-washed homes, you’ll find buildings painted tinges of green and blue and yellow and pink, adding splashes of color to the historic surroundings.
Its central square is ringed by charming restaurants and cafés, where al fresco diners sip coffee and snack on pastel de nata pastries in the shadow of a 16th-century stone fountain.
Click above for video my team shot during their time in Caminha.
In Caminha, this history is a constant companion.
Walk this town, which has existed since Roman times, and you’ll see the remnants of its historic town walls…the 15th-century Igreja Matriz de Caminha church…and the 13th-century Torre do Relogio clocktower, which stands watch over the town’s main plaza.
And yet despite all this history, Caminha feels modern and upmarket. It has undergone a stunning rebirth in the past several decades. Buildings in the town square that were derelict as recently a decade or even a few years ago have been lovingly restored. Today, they host restaurants…art galleries…cafés…boutique hotels…
Caminha is a town on the rise.
A huge part of Caminha’s appeal is the surrounding natural beauty.
On its riverfront, a golden-colored walkway sweeps alongside the banks for a mile or so before turning to reach a lagoon beach that juts out into the river mouth. This beach is interconnected with another on the Atlantic side called Camarido Beach that offers stunning views out to the ocean. Just back from the twin beaches are pine-forested campgrounds. On the opposite side of the river mouth, less than 400 yards away at its nearest point, is Spain.
It’s difficult to imagine a more glorious coastal setting than this.
The main square, with its long centuries of history, is a stunning place to sit and watch the world go by. Al fresco dining is possible late into the evening. And bathed in sunlight, the beaches and river here glisten and shimmer. Out on the water, wind-surfers leap from Atlantic waves, while fisherman cast lines from bobbing wooden boats. It’s truly idyllic.
Yet, this wildly attractive corner of Portugal continues to be overlooked. But the beaches are blissfully quiet. And for the most part, the only visible visitors in the town itself where the constant stream of hikers passing through, as they follow the pilgrim route of the Portuguese Coastal Camino that leads to Santiago de Compostela in Spain.
The 13th-century Torre do Relogio clocktower is one of the many medieval structures you’ll see scattered throughout Caminha.
There is evidence word is slowly getting out about Caminha. It’s been appearing more frequently on lists of Portugal’s most attractive towns. But there’s no question Caminha remains under the radar.
Which means the opportunity is still available here…the chance to own homes near the beach in an impossibly picturesque town at prices that are frankly jaw-dropping.
We found a 830-square-foot, two-bed condo, close to the beach and with views of the river, listed for €190,000 ($203,600).
If you’re willing to take on a renovation project, there’s a 2,240-square-foot, five-bed historic home in the heart of the Old Town that would be a great short-term rental project, listed at just €174,900 ($187,500).
This town is on the cusp. More people will come. Caminha will be discovered. And that’s an immense opportunity.
Find the right property in Caminha and with a mortgage, you could more than cover the cost of ownership.
In essence you could a home by the beach in idyllic small-town Portugal, and it wouldn’t cost you a dime. That’s the power of buying ahead.
