Portel is another small Portugese castle that has been nicely restored and is a pleasant visit in a nice setting. The castle and single tower dominate the surrounding area, as you’d expect. Parking is an issue so if you’ve driven I’d recommend parking on the edge of the town.
Visiting Portel Castle
The castle is free to enter and well signposted, however we found the multitude of tinsy streets (often made smaller by parked cars) and one way roads too irritating. We parked on a side street a few minutes walk away and then when we got to the castle there was actually a small car park outside but I still have no idea how to reach it as we left the castle by a different route. There is no cafe or any facilities inside the castle.
My Experience
Our next stop after Mourao Castle was about half an hours drive to visit the town of Portel and, shocking I know, another castle! This one was well maintained but the main defences seemed to be narrow one way streets with parked cars and no signs so we dumped ours a little way away and walked to the castle. This was also free to enter and had an excellent exhibition about the castle’s history.
The castle itself had fully intact walls that you could walk on but there were no barriers so it did feel a bit dodgy. The views were again impressive though. Inside the main tower was closed and there were no interior buildings other than a ruined chapel but it was still lovely to walk around and enjoy the sunshine. We then navigated a route back to the car and eventually left the town after some very low speed manoevering past parked cars.
Portel Castle Photo Gallery
Portel Castle interior 
Portel Castle information board 
Portel Castle interior 
Portel Castle from the walls 
Portel Castle view from the walls 
View of Portel Castle from the main road 
View of Portel Castle 
View of Portel Castle as you walk towards the entrance 
Portel Castle chapel 
Portel Castle chapel 
Portel Castle 
Portel Castle view over the walls 
View over Portel Castle walls 
Portel Castle tower 
Portel Castle 
Portel Castle 
Portel Castle entrance 
Portel Castle exit
History
The castle was built in the 13th century, during the reign of King Denis. It was largely remodeled in the 15th century and then again in the 16th century when a barbican was added to the structure.
From the end of the 19th century, the castle was gradually abandoned until the structure turned into a ruin. Some consolidations were made in 1938, but the degradation continued to progress.
In 1999, the walls were consolidated after a massive collapse. Today, the castle dominates the skyline and can be seen from miles around. Inside the castle, the ruins are interesting to wander around but the main attraction is the views from the castle walls.
References
The history above is copied from one of the few sources with useful information I could find online, on castlesworld.
The Wiki site here has more information but the translation to English isn’t good.