Sintra, Portugal – 12 September 2026
Nearly 20 years after the original 2006-07 campaign culminated in the first Seven Wonders of Portugal, the country has renewed its national canon of extraordinary heritage. The New Seven Wonders of Portugal were declared on September 12 at a spectacular, nationally televised final staged outside the Palácio Nacional de Sintra, in the heart of the historic city near Lisbon. Broadcast live in prime time by TVI, the celebration brought together 21 national finalists – three in each of seven categories – for the final public decision.
Among leading national Portuguese culture, tourism and government representatives attending the Sintra declaration were also Bernard Weber, President and Founder of New7Wonders, and Jean-Paul de la Fuente, Director of New7Wonders.
Bernard Weber personally revealed and handed over the first trophy of the evening to the Castles category winner, Castelo de Leiria, the hilltop medieval landmark in Portugal’s historic Beira Litoral region, and told the audience: “In today’s world and time we live in it is more important then ever that we celebrate and unite the people in Portugal and in the whole world not with the negative, but with the positive achievements humanity has left and is still is leaving on this planet!”
The seven newly elected wonders in addition to Castelo de Leiria are: Aqueduto da Usseira, Óbidos, for Major Works; Ruínas de São Cucufate, Vila de Frades, for History; Sé de Lisboa, for Religion; Mercados de Olhão, for 20th-Century Architecture; Tiago Cabaço Winery, Estremoz, for 21st-Century Architecture; and Jardim do Paço Episcopal, Castelo Branco, for Tourism. Together, they span nearly two millennia of Portuguese history, from Roman remains and medieval fortifications to contemporary architecture.
The 2026 campaign was organised by EIPWU, the New7Wonders officially licensed partner, under the leadership of Luís Segadães and his team. With ten previous officially licensed Portuguese Seven Wonders editions preceding this renewal, the latest campaign is the 11th in a series that has made Portugal the leading global “laboratory” for the national version of the highly successful New7Wonders participatory concept.
The scale of the latest election reflected that tradition of public participation. The campaign attracted 629 applications from across mainland Portugal and the islands, and successive regional stages reduced the field to 49 national semi-finalists and ultimately 21 finalists in Sintra, with the public vote determining the seven winners.