Ranking · 797 towns · updated Nov 2026

Best towns for car-free living in Portugal

Olhão, Viana do Castelo and Cacém rank highest for car-free living in Portugal, with scores of 98, 97 and 96 out of 100. The score combines 5 measures with fixed weights.

How towns are scored

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Places within a 15-minute walk (grocery)30%
Places within a 15-minute walk (pharmacy)10%
Places within a 15-minute walk (cafe)10%
Distance to nearest (train station)25%
Distance to nearest (bus station)25%

Only towns with values for at least 60% of these inputs are scored; 797 of 807 are. Methodology

1
Olhão Algarve
98 / 100
Car-light living: 26 grocery stores within a 15-minute walk and public transport close by.
Grocery stores on foot
26
Pharmacies on foot
7
Cafés on foot
52
Train
0.2 km
Bus station
0.0 km
2
Viana do Castelo Norte
97 / 100
Car-light living: 21 grocery stores within a 15-minute walk and public transport close by.
Grocery stores on foot
21
Pharmacies on foot
7
Cafés on foot
41
Train
0.3 km
Bus station
0.2 km
Weaker fit for anyone who dislikes rain: 133 rainy days a year.
3
Cacém Lisbon area
96 / 100
Car-light living: 14 grocery stores within a 15-minute walk and public transport close by.
Grocery stores on foot
14
Pharmacies on foot
7
Cafés on foot
29
Train
0.1 km
Bus station
0.1 km
4
Setúbal Lisbon area
95 / 100
Car-light living: 25 grocery stores within a 15-minute walk and public transport close by.
Grocery stores on foot
25
Pharmacies on foot
15
Cafés on foot
88
Train
0.2 km
Bus station
0.6 km
5
Porto Norte
95 / 100
Car-light living: 98 grocery stores within a 15-minute walk and public transport close by.
Grocery stores on foot
98
Pharmacies on foot
32
Cafés on foot
192
Train
0.3 km
Bus station
0.7 km
Weaker fit for anyone who dislikes rain: 119 rainy days a year.
6
Caldas da Rainha Oeste e Vale do Tejo
95 / 100
Car-light living: 30 grocery stores within a 15-minute walk and public transport close by.
Grocery stores on foot
30
Pharmacies on foot
9
Cafés on foot
53
Train
0.4 km
Bus station
0.4 km
7
Pombal Centro
94 / 100
Car-light living: 16 grocery stores within a 15-minute walk and public transport close by.
Grocery stores on foot
16
Pharmacies on foot
5
Cafés on foot
21
Train
0.2 km
Bus station
0.2 km
8
Fundão Centro
93 / 100
Car-light living: 15 grocery stores within a 15-minute walk and public transport close by.
Grocery stores on foot
15
Pharmacies on foot
7
Cafés on foot
17
Train
0.4 km
Bus station
0.1 km
Weaker fit for heat-sensitive people: 16 days a year above 35°C.
9
Torres Vedras Oeste e Vale do Tejo
93 / 100
Car-light living: 28 grocery stores within a 15-minute walk and public transport close by.
Grocery stores on foot
28
Pharmacies on foot
10
Cafés on foot
27
Train
0.4 km
Bus station
0.7 km
10
Moscavide e Portela Lisbon area
93 / 100
Car-light living: 27 grocery stores within a 15-minute walk and public transport close by.
Grocery stores on foot
27
Pharmacies on foot
15
Cafés on foot
33
Train
0.3 km
Bus station
1.3 km

Ranks 11 to 100

Rank	Town	Region	Score
11	Algés	Lisbon area	92 / 100
12	Braga	Norte	92 / 100
13	Aveiro	Centro	92 / 100
14	Tavira	Algarve	92 / 100
15	Vila Franca de Xira	Lisbon area	92 / 100
16	Vila Nova de Famalicão	Norte	92 / 100
17	Portimão	Algarve	91 / 100
18	Castelo Branco	Centro	91 / 100
19	Parede	Lisbon area	91 / 100
20	Faro	Algarve	91 / 100
21	Sintra	Lisbon area	91 / 100
22	Algueirão	Lisbon area	91 / 100
23	Tomar	Oeste e Vale do Tejo	91 / 100
24	Lagos	Algarve	90 / 100
25	Calendário	Norte	90 / 100
26	Mem Martins	Lisbon area	90 / 100
27	Guimarães	Norte	90 / 100
28	Barcelos	Norte	90 / 100
29	Beja	Alentejo	90 / 100
30	Oliveira de Azemeis	Norte	90 / 100
31	Cascais	Lisbon area	90 / 100
32	Covilhã	Centro	90 / 100
33	Bragança	Norte	89 / 100
34	Évora	Alentejo	89 / 100
35	Monte Estoril	Lisbon area	89 / 100
36	Penafiel	Norte	89 / 100
37	Santarém	Oeste e Vale do Tejo	89 / 100
38	Vila Nova de Gaia	Norte	89 / 100
39	Leiria	Centro	88 / 100
40	Marinha Grande	Centro	88 / 100
41	Vila Real de Santo António	Algarve	88 / 100
42	São João da Madeira	Norte	88 / 100
43	Barreiro	Lisbon area	88 / 100
44	Estoril	Lisbon area	87 / 100
45	Lisbon	Lisbon area	87 / 100
46	Paredes	Norte	87 / 100
47	Sacavém	Lisbon area	86 / 100
48	Amadora	Lisbon area	86 / 100
49	Queluz	Lisbon area	86 / 100
50	Vendas Novas	Alentejo	85 / 100
51	Almada	Lisbon area	85 / 100
52	Piedade	Lisbon area	85 / 100
53	Castelões de Cepeda	Norte	85 / 100
54	Figueira da Foz	Centro	85 / 100
55	Bougado	Norte	85 / 100
56	Cacilhas	Lisbon area	85 / 100
57	Pragal	Lisbon area	84 / 100
58	Coimbra	Centro	84 / 100
59	Oeiras	Lisbon area	83 / 100
60	Trofa	Norte	83 / 100
61	Abrantes	Oeste e Vale do Tejo	83 / 100
62	Grândola	Alentejo	83 / 100
63	Peso da Régua	Norte	83 / 100
64	Águeda	Centro	83 / 100
65	Lavradio	Lisbon area	83 / 100
66	Bombarral	Oeste e Vale do Tejo	83 / 100
67	Corroios	Lisbon area	82 / 100
68	Areosa	Norte	82 / 100
69	Quarteira	Algarve	82 / 100
70	Rio Tinto	Norte	82 / 100
71	Angra do Heroísmo	Azores	82 / 100
72	Linda-a-Velha	Lisbon area	82 / 100
73	Cartaxo	Oeste e Vale do Tejo	82 / 100
74	Guarda	Centro	82 / 100
75	São Bartolomeu de Messines	Algarve	82 / 100
76	Afurada de Baixo	Norte	82 / 100
77	Carcavelos	Lisbon area	81 / 100
78	Ermesinde	Norte	81 / 100
79	Santo Ovídio	Norte	80 / 100
80	Paço de Arcos	Lisbon area	80 / 100
81	São Mamede de Infesta	Norte	80 / 100
82	Amora	Lisbon area	80 / 100
83	Pedrouços	Norte	80 / 100
84	São Domingos de Rana	Lisbon area	80 / 100
85	Esgueira	Centro	79 / 100
86	Póvoa de Santa Iria	Lisbon area	79 / 100
87	Caniço	Madeira	79 / 100
88	Laranjeiro	Lisbon area	79 / 100
89	Valenza	Norte	79 / 100
90	Sardão	Norte	79 / 100
91	Gondomar	Norte	79 / 100
92	Alvide	Lisbon area	79 / 100
93	Alcobaça	Oeste e Vale do Tejo	79 / 100
94	São Tiago de Custoias	Norte	79 / 100
95	Mangualde	Centro	79 / 100
96	Senhora da Hora	Norte	78 / 100
97	Loulé	Algarve	78 / 100
98	Albufeira	Algarve	78 / 100
99	Vila Praia de Âncora	Norte	78 / 100
100	Arrentela	Lisbon area	78 / 100

Questions about car-free living in Portugal

Which town ranks first for car-free living in Portugal?

Olhão (Algarve) ranks first, with a score of 98 / 100, ahead of Viana do Castelo and Cacém.

How is this ranking calculated?

Each town gets a score from 5 measures with fixed weights: places within a 15-minute walk (grocery) 30%, places within a 15-minute walk (pharmacy) 10%, places within a 15-minute walk (cafe) 10%, distance to nearest (train station) 25% and distance to nearest (bus station) 25%. A town is scored only when it has values for at least 60% of these inputs.

How many towns are ranked?

797 of 807 towns in Portugal have values precise enough to rank. Towns whose values are only known for the wider region are left out. This page lists the top 100.

Which region has the most towns in the top 10?

Lisbon area, with 3 of the top 10 towns.

How towns are scored

Olhão Algarve

Viana do Castelo Norte

Cacém Lisbon area

Setúbal Lisbon area

Porto Norte

Caldas da Rainha Oeste e Vale do Tejo

Pombal Centro

Fundão Centro

Torres Vedras Oeste e Vale do Tejo

Moscavide e Portela Lisbon area