First, I've been reading this board for a number of years and I'd like to thank everyone for the wealth of information that helped me in the past.
My family and I will be in Portugal in July, we've never been in Portugal before. We are interested in art/architecture, food and mostly just aimless wondering around. Heat & walking is not a problem.
We'll be staying the first 4 night in Lisbon and, most likely, the last 1 or 2 nights in Sintra. We plan on renting a car after Lisbon. This leaves us with 3 or 4 more nights. A few things we are considering:
1. 1 night in Nazare and, if possible, see the caves in Estramadura Natural Park.
2. 2 night in Porto and a day trip to Douro or 1 night in Porto and 1 night somewhere up the river.
3. 1 night in Obidos?
I'd love to hear your thought on this. Is it too spread out for a short trip? Should we stay in Lisbon an extra day and go to Sintra for a day? What would be other places worth stopping by assuming the route we are taking?
You can combine it with the trip to Óbidos (it’s roughly 20 kms ahead)
- Óbidos is a gem of a medieval village (did you know that from the 13th century until the end of the monarchy it was given to every Queen of Portugal on her weddind day?) but it’s not a good overnight stop (you can do it easily from Lisbon as a daytrip – it’s one hour drive) because it’s both expensive and difficult to find lodgings and you can’t take the car inside the walls so negotiating those streets with luggage it’s not nice…
- one suggestion: Coimbra. It’s one of my favorite cities, with a ton of charm. Nice hotels, lots and lots of history (it was Portugal’s first capital and has the second oldest university in the world – first being Bologna) and the nearby roman ruins of Conimbriga (www.conimbriga.pt). http://www.portugalvirtual.pt/_tourism/costadeprata/coimbra/index.html
- Porto is a beautiful city, with lots to see and 2 days will be short stay; also traffic in Porto is murder because the natives drive like cars are going out of fashion in a jiffy. With that said, a few suggestions: tour the caves of the port wine producers but don’t miss a trip up the Douro River (www.douroazul.pt). There are some companies like Douronet (www.douronet.pt/) that have an alluring itinerary that includes a boat trip up river and the return is made on a steam train.
Hope this helps. Have fun and if you have any more questions please ask!
And I almost forgot this: a good site to check the distances between the cities, driving directions and how much fuel you’re going to need is this one: www.viamichelin.co.uk.
You will LOVE Sintra. We stayed in Portugal for almost three weeks the Christmas of 2006 and based ourselves in Tavira where we loved. We took a two day trip to Sintra and Lisbon because we were told you cannot miss Sintra. So glad we took that advice because it is like a fairytale location.
Hello: If you choose to visit Coimbra on your trip north from Lisbon, I suggest 2 stops -the convent of Christ (a knights Templar building with Manuline additions)in Tomar and Conimbriga with its museum and extensive Roman mosaics in situ. The museum is closed Mondays. The grounds are pastoral and a delight to walk on a sunny day.
We found Tomar a pleasant place to stay for an evening. Dennis
Posts: 190 | Location: Calgary, Alberta Canada | Registered: 08 November 2003
Hello Melanie: We stayed at the Residencial Cavaleiros Cristo. I have our review of it under other countries - Portugal - on this web site.
We are budget travellers but insist on clean, quiet accommodation. This fit the bill.
Nearby - just across the river and through the park - was a large modern hotel complex with on-site parking if pensions aren't your thing.
I mention that parking can be difficult. We always managed to find parking within half a block of the pension along the street that runs parallel to the river. Not too bad, considering the town was celebrating its annual Tuna festival.
A couple of other tips: entrance to the Convento is free Sunday mornings before noon. There is a pleasant patio cafeteria in the Convento where one can relax. Espacio Internet (free government internet service) is across the bridge in the newer part of town. I did a restaurant review for this website too. One I didn't include was a great afternnon spent eating and drinking at a bar about 3 to 5 doors down from the tourist office towards the river. Local wine and home-cooked food. Fatima is a short drive away if you're so inclined. Dennis
Posts: 190 | Location: Calgary, Alberta Canada | Registered: 08 November 2003
You could also check the Pousada in Ourém(www.pousadas.pt) which is a short drive away. It’s a beautiful place and if you decide to do it as you go along without booking previously, the pousadas have a 50% discount for last minute deals (I did that last year and paid €35 per person for a room in an historical pousada). Also if you’re over 55 years young you’ll have 40% off the regular price.
