Football lovers from around the world will know and appreciate the quality of teams and players produced by the country in recent years, and their stadiums don’t disappoint either.

With many being newly built for the European 2004 football tournament, Portugal really does have some of the best stadiums in Europe on offer for the sports mad traveller.

Here are 6 of the best for you to visit:

1. Estádio da Luz – SL Benfica

Photo by Crystian Cruz

In terms of highest capacity the Estadio do Sport Lisboa e Benefica (Estadio da Luz) wins the day holding a massive 65,647 supporters.

It is home to Benfica who are a team in the Primeira Liga which is the top division of the Portuguese football leagues.

Despite being one of the largest and well supported clubs in Portugal, Benfica’s last Primeira Liga title came back in the 2009/2010 season.

2. Estádio do Dragão – F.C. Porto

Photo by senalbuquerque

Located in Porto and home to the F.C. Porto football club, the Dragao can house just under 51,000 fans making it an impressive stadium by any measure.

Opening for business in late 2003 this stadium has seen its fair share of trophies over its short history including 7 Primeria Liga titles, 4 Portuguese Cups and a UEFA Cup amongst others.

3. Estádio José Alvalade – Sporting Clube de Portugal

Photo by blvesboy

Another Lisbon based stadium, the Jose Alvalade is the home ground of Sporting and has a capacity of just under 51,000 similar to the Dragao of Portugal.

The Jose Alvalade also opened its doors  in the second half of 2003 and was built with the Euro 2004 football tournament firmly in mind like many of Portugal’s top capacity stadiums.

Unfortunately Sporting have not won the league title since moving into their new stadium, but have won a Portuguese Cup back in 2007.

4. Estádio Cidade de Coimbra - Académica de Coimbra

Photo by Elapsed

Another relatively new stadium built for the Euro’s, the base of Academica (Portugal’s oldest registered football club) has a maximum game capacity of almost 30,000.

Located in Coimbra which is further north up the western coast of Portugal from Lisbon, Academica are classed as being in the second tier of Portugese football having never managed to clinch a league title.

The stadium has hosted some big pop acts in recent years including the massive U2 360 tour.

5. Estádio Nacional

Photo by Koshelyev

The National stadium of Portugal is in Lisbon however it is not really used very much anymore after falling into some disrepair according to many Portugal football fans.

The nation side tends to use one of the other Lisbon stadiums for their home games now, but the Estadio Nacional does still host the Portuguese Cup final every year.

It has a seating capacity of around 38,000 and is well worth a visit if you’re staying in or around Lisbon.

6. Estádio Municipal de Braga – Sporting Clube de Braga

Photo by LeonL

No list of Portuguese football stadiums would be complete without this one, which is home to Braga and has a capacity of slightly over 30,000.

Probably one of the most striking stadiums in Europe, it has been built on the side of the quarry of Monte Casto and the quarry wall sits directly behind one of the goals, at the other end there is also no stand giving panoramic views of the city of Braga in the distance.

A truly wonderful design that should not be missed.

Darren Atkinson is a keen football fan and runs a holiday accomodation website found at: www.villasinportugal.com.

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