Lisbon and Porto are the best cities to live in, visit, and conduct business, according to the newly released research from consulting firm Bloom Consulting.

The research, which is based on the year 2021, evaluates the socioeconomic performance of all 308 municipalities across Portugal. The report utilises various metrics, including each municipalities ability to attract tourists, investors, and new residents.

The data is then converted into three separate rankings: best for living, best for visiting, and best for investing in. The three rankings are then combined into a final weighted ranking. Lisbon and Porto lead in all metrics in the study, as they have in previous years. They are followed by Cascais, Braga, and Coimbra.

No Algarve or Azores

No municipalities in the Algarve nor the Azores are ranked in the overall top ten. However, Albufeira rose to third place in the “best to visit” ranking, followed closely by Portimão and Sintra, respectively.

Ponta Delgada secured first place in all metrics in the Azores, as did Évora in Alentejo, Lisbon in the capital region, Porto in the north and Funchal in Madeira. Faro was the highest ranked overall in the Algarve and was also the best place in the region for business and living.

The consulting firm additionally awards a “Star Brand” to municipalities that performed exceptionally well in the rankings. The Star Brands were awarded to Setúbal (overall), Braga (business), Vila Nova de Gaia (living) and Albufeira (visiting).

Madeira (+47%) and the Azores (+45%) were the regions that grew the most in this edition. Furthermore, for the first time since the pandemic began, all regions showed growth in the study.

The great outdoors

Nature, parks, adventure, and the outdoors were the themes that had the biggest rise in searches across Portugal in recent years.

"Gardens" was the topic with the highest growth in 2021, with more than one million annual searches across the 308 municipalities.

In addition to "gardens", the search topics that registered the largest increases were "amusement parks" (+63%), "traditional markets" (+59%), and "inequality and intolerance" (+49%).

On the other hand, searches for themes such as "automobile sector" (-37%), "hunting" (-33%) and "family accommodation" (-10%) fell.