Why Northern Portugal’s Viana, Esposende, and Caminha Are Real Estate’s Next Big Thing

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, eclectic mix of Byzantine, Romanesque, and Gothic influences.

Then there are the vistas. From its elevated position atop the hill, the church offers 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 run down to a modern waterfront… long stretches of golden sand nestle beside lush parks and pine forests.

Ocean… beaches… river… forests… mountains… a stunning Old Town… Viana do Castelo is one of the most complete destinations you can visit. And yet, this city remains virtually unknown to foreign tourists and expats.

Visit any time except peak tourist season in late July and August, and you’ll find restaurants that are busy, but not crowded… streets that are lively, but not packed… tourist attractions that you can stroll into without ever pausing in a line.

It’s all so civilized. And it demonstrates just how unexplored northern Portugal remains.

Undiscovered Portugal… for Now

Portugal is one of the world’s most popular destinations among vacationers, expats, and real estate investors. Every year, tens of millions of visitors travel to hot spots like the capital Lisbon and the southern Algarve region.

But there’s a stretch of coast in the north of the country that’s undervalued and overlooked—one of the most opportune destinations on the planet for real estate investment.

Today, I want to dig into that opportunity, but first let me 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 there in the past five years. This is a place where you’ll now find 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 tread.

This is the northern Portugal I’m referring to: the undiscovered north. And because it’s long been overlooked by foreigners, you’ll still find real estate bargains.

Very soon, though, that will change. Prices will rise. More people will come. 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 in the US and Europe about heat waves, wildfires, and soaring temperatures. As a result, people increasingly want destinations where they have the sun and the beach, but the climate is still tolerable.

The weather in northern Portugal is milder and more temperate than in the south of the country, 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.

So, 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, real estate prices there are a fraction of what you’ll pay in coastal regions to the south.

This is one of the best real estate investment opportunities on earth. And the moment is now.

I scouted northern Portugal last year and was blown away. So I recently sent two of my Real Estate Trend Alert team members back there on an in-depth scouting trip. Over the course of a week, and hundreds of miles of exploration, they dug deep on the opportunities in northern Portugal, investigating three beach towns that I believe are ripe with potential.

Viana: Portugal’s Most Livable City

A scenic view of Viana do Castelo, Portugal's most livable city.|©iStock/peeterv

Viana do Castelo is an hour’s drive north of Porto, at the mouth of the Lima River on the country’s Atlantic coast.

This 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 small-town atmosphere.

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. The city also took steps to restore its walkable Old Town, known for its medieval architecture, elegant squares, and traditional homes with their intricate azulejo tiles and cast-iron balconies.

Walk Viana’s historic center today, and it appears pristine. Its white-washed buildings are filled with upmarket stores and restaurants serving 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 less than a 10-minute drive across Ponte Eiffel, or Eiffel Bridge (named for its creator, engineer Gustave Eiffel, who—you guessed it—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 a hugely livable destination.

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 that can run well over a million euros.

Not that you need huge sums like this to own in Viana. In fact, you can buy here for a tiny fraction of this. 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 good-value options. My scouts found small apartments spanning 720 square feet—in the Old Town, in good condition—from €170,000 ($182,900).

Buy While Viana’s in the "Sweet Spot"

The historic main square of Viana do Castelo. |©iStock/Armando Oliveira

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.

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 over the year, and many of these were domestic tourists or visitors from Spain—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.

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 nonresident 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 even greater value.

Across the river, on the south bank, river-view residential communities sit 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 come into its own.

Prices, though, haven’t caught up to this reality. For instance, my team found 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 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. Yet prices can be shockingly affordable.

Properties without ocean views—such as modern 1,500-square-foot, three-bedroom condos—are available for around €200,000 or less.

Now let’s talk rental income in Viana.

Agents here say there’s a shortage of homes for rent on the long-term market within the city. When my team checked a major listings site for long-term rentals, they found just 13 available in the Old Town. According to local agents, 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.

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%. (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, and the city too livable. The world hasn’t discovered Viana yet, but it will.

Esposende: Beachfront Living in a Wealthy Enclave

Esposende's seaside promenade on a clear, sunny day. |©iStock/AnaMOMarques

A 25-minute drive south 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.

A wide palm tree-lined boulevard runs along the river 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, over this protected sandy region, out to the Atlantic.

The view is even better from the town’s soft-sand Atlantic 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 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 therefore more intimate than larger Viana. The historic center stretches no more than a few blocks in each direction. Nestled within, you’ll find 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, 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 oceanview 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 second homes. 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 updated 1,000-square-foot, two-bed condos listed at about €190,000 ($202,600). My team also found 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).

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 views of the Atlantic Ocean on one side and Esposende on the other.

Three towering condo developments, built between the late 1970s and mid-1980s, overlook Ofir beach. These condos literally hang over the beach. Residents are mere steps away from the sand of Ofir and they have private access.

Today, developers in Portugal are no longer permitted to build this close to the coastline, but these developments are grandfathered in. And the views are mesmerizing.

My team found a one-bed, ocean-view condo in this community listed for just €250,000 ($269,900). Also on the market right now: 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 as I told members of my Real Estate Trend Alert group, a community 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 nonresident foreign buyers in Portugal), that’s a monthly repayment of only around €734.

Caminha: Life by the Beach in Idyllic Small-Town Portugal

Caminha's historic City Hall and Clock Tower. |©iStock/AnaMOMarques

A 30-minute drive north of Viana, sitting near the mouth of the Minho River that separates Portugal from Spain, is the town of Caminha.

I’ve mentioned Caminha before. (I named it my No. 2 destination in the world to own real estate in 2024. See the full list here.) But it’s worth revisiting because this is a destination where you can get the best of all worlds.

"Ocean… beaches… river… forests… mountains… and a stunning Old Town."

Sitting on the country’s far north coast, Caminha is an idyllic vision of small-town Portugal.

Its winding cobblestone alleys lead to medieval churches and towering stone walls that speak to 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. Restaurants and cafés ring the central square where al fresco diners sip coffee and snack on pastel de nata pastries in the shadow of a 16th-century stone fountain.

In Caminha, history is a constant companion.

Walk this town, which has existed since Roman times, and you’ll see constant remnants of its medieval past, from its ancient town walls… to the 15th-century Igreja Matriz de Caminha church… to 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 as a decade or even a few years ago have been lovingly restored. Today, they host restaurants, art galleries, cafés, and boutique hotels. Caminha is a town on the rise.

Surrounding all this culture are landscapes of outstanding 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 into the river mouth. This beach is interconnected with another on the Atlantic side called Camarido Beach that offers 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.

Yet, this wildly attractive corner of Portugal continues to be overlooked. The beaches are generally blissfully quiet. And for the most part, the only visible visitors in the town itself are the constant stream of hikers passing through, as they follow the pilgrim route of the Portuguese Coastal Camino that leads from Porto to Santiago de Compostela in Spain.

There is evidence that 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. You still have the chance to own homes near the beach in an impossibly picturesque town at prices that are frankly jaw-dropping.

While scouting the town in June, my team found an 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 was also a 2,240-square-foot, five-bed historic home in the heart of the Old Town 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. Agents my scouts met in Caminha also said that short-term rentals are allowed here—not the case in every town or city in Portugal. (See Real Estate Q&A for more on this.)

Find the right property in Caminha and with a mortgage, you could more than cover the cost of ownership. In essence, you could own a home by the beach in idyllic small-town Portugal, and it wouldn’t cost you a dime. That’s the power of being ahead.