I noticed on a couple of past threads that some of you have traveled to Portugal in the past year.
I’m contemplating a trip next year and considering late spring or early fall. We just had a house guest who is from Portugal and she mapped out a route for us that includes coastal areas of Portugal, from the Spain side of the Pyrenees and the French basque area. We will have around three weeks. Any input on these areas and logistics. She has offered us use of her car but I think we would do a one way route as it would take time to go so far and have to return her car.
Sintra, Porto and the Douro Valley are must sees in Portugal, and St. Sebastian in Spain.
We drove and found it easy to get around but the tolls were higher and frequent in Portugal, much more so than Spain.
If you want an amazing meal, I highly highly recommend Casa de Cha de Boa Nova outside of Porto.
1 Like
What type of food/dishes is served at the Portuguese restaurant ?
P.S. I googled the restaurant. Looks as though the dishes (seafood) of the tasting menu were featured.
Lots of seafood and the best clams I’ve ever eaten!
The restaurant I mentioned above was a tasting menu dinner of almost all seafood. One of the best meals of my life!
1 Like
Just be mindful of the dates for Easter. We were in Sevilla this past Easter without having planned it on purpose. Turned out to be a fabulous experience but we had to do some adjustment to our plans as a result.
1 Like
Just to pile on here, this region is like the Fertile Crescent of Michelin Stars and oodles of adjacent places which are phenomenal if not starred. If you’re a foodie, it may be the best place on earth, with apologies to Paris.
2 Likes
My parents just did Portugal and Spain. They preferred Portugal. They are older and said there was a lot of up hill walking and cobblestone if that matters.
H and I just returned from Portugal where we visited Porto, Lisbon and Sintra. Many, many hills and lots of cobblestones. Our average daily steps were 20K.
1 Like
The many steps and cobblestones is a reason I’m looking forward to getting a new knee.
I’m wondering if I’ve got to many areas for just three weeks. Anyone rent a car in Spain and return in Portugal?
Yes. We started in Spain (Barcelona) and returned the car to the airport in Lisbon. No issues.
And yes to needing to be able to walk inclines, steps, cobblestones, etc… Sintra was especially rigorous.
1 Like
I am glad you have a lot of time - that should be lovely.
A few years ago my husband and his brother did Madrid, Lisbon and Puerto over 8 days. I warned them it was overly ambitious, and they later agreed. But they did have a wonderful time!
S2 and DIL went to Portugal, Spain and the Azores for their honeymoon. Loved Portugal and the Azores, ate like royalty for very little $$$. Walked into some restaurants there were no restaurants – just the owner bringing out food caught that day and prepared deliciously. They both love food tourism, so they were quite happy with their culinary adventures.
S said if he hadn’t had five years of Spanish, they would have really struggled, even in Madrid (but they weren’t staying/eating in touristy areas). They LOVED Alicante – DIL has a cousin there. They wanted some place warm in October. Said there was still a fair number of tourists and that peak season stretches further into the fall these days (probably because those who could be flexible decided to avoid the chaos and masses of summer tourists).
Our houseguest raved about the Azores. My husband likes October to travel and that’s still an option. I was thinking spring since I’d like green landscapes.
Thanks for all the suggestions.
Stay in Paradores and Pousadas if you can manage it. Gorgeous historic buildings and not expensive. Paradores - Wikipedia
Pousadas de Portugal - Wikipedia
2 Likes
I’d plan 4 days in Lisbon, 1 day in Sintra. Use trains/public transportation in Lisbon and to Sintra (no non resident cars allowed in Sintra, bring good walking shoes). Then Porto, Coimbra to round out the week.
In Lisbon I found the Aljube very affecting (20th century Portugal, aka, years of dictatorship), especially since I knew very little about Salazar. National Tile Museum a must-see and cafeteria cheap& excellent (ham&cheese toasted sandwich, 3 sandwich-sized “pieces” for €3.50 was an amazing bargain).
Sintra’s Pena cafeteria or cafe to avoid at all costs.
Beware: Sintra’s Pena national palace and Sintra’s national palace are two different places!
1 Like
@tsbna44 didn’t you go to one or both of these places this summer? Any feedback for this poster?
Interesting. Lisbon was our least favorite of all our stops on our vacation (Barcelona, Valencia, Grenada, Seville, Lisbon, Sintra, Porto and lots of coastal towns). I would have said to skip Lisbon entirely!
1 Like
-
Pastel de nata!!
-
Perhaps book a food tour early in your Lisbon stay. That way you get the lay of the land and can get recommendations from both your guide and fellow tourists.
-
Get in good shape for lots and lots of stairs. (One day, my AppleWatch said I did 72 flights.) Get the most comfortable pair of walking shoes and sandals you can.
-
I pack my OOFOS, for when we return to our accommodations…and they double as shower slippers.
-
You might like this:
https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/audio/audio-tours/spain-portugal-audio-tours
2 Likes
Yes - we just went to Lisbon and then a day in Spain.
The Pastel de nada is great.
We did day trips to Sintra and Cascais. Wish we would have some more in the country.
We stayed at the My Story Hotel - I think Tejo - but they’re all near one another - a great place to base and a yummy daily breakfast.
I’m a chicken guy - so why they had a ton of seafood - I like the Piri Piri chicken.
I wish we had time to visit more of the country.
I only hear great things about Spain, especially Malaga…alas we just had one day in Madrid on a 9 hour layover. What I learned - nothing starts on time. The breakfast restaurant didn’t open til 9:30 or 10A. They take the siesta to heart!!
Enjoy the trip.
1 Like
Any particular reason that you found Lisbon disappointing ?