3.5 free days in Portugal, what to do?

[katieb4tom]

Hi, I am going to have a free 3.5 days ahead of a work trip in Lisbon. What should I do? I will have a car and be on my own. Thinking to go south and possibly into Spain. I am completely open to suggestions or itineraries, as well as recs on where to stay. I have never been to Portugal, but spent a decent amount of time in Europe. I love history and pretty sites.

[wanderingback]

I don’t have specific recs because it’s been several years but staying in Lisbon would be lovely! I think we had about that amount of time (then went to Malaga) and could’ve stayed longer. The food is so good, fresh and inexpensive. I do want to go back and explore another city in Portugal but if you’ve never been there and have 3.5 days, Lisbon sounds great!

[Deleted]

I would do a day trip to Sintra one day. I loved Sintra, it’s so cute and has so many interesting sites. I would do a day trip to Evora one day and stop at Almendres Cromlech on the way there or back for a few minutes. Evora is a super cute walled city with a chapel of bones and some other interesting sites. Almendres Cromlech is a megalithic site. It was pouring down rain when we stopped so we just took a peek, but it was interesting and it is good for like 30 minutes or so.

The other day and a half could probably be spent in Lisbon. Or you could take a day trip to another nearby town (Cascais is one that I’ve heard is worth doing, but we didn’t get there).

[dutchgirl678]

I would stay in Lisbon. It’s a gorgeous city. You could go to Sintra for a day and check out Belem for another day and Lisbon itself. No need for a car as there are trains and trams.

[neeps]

Like MrsGreeko said, Sintra and Evora are both great options. I highly recommend not taking a car to Sintra. You can't drive up to the castles anyway and parking is awful in the high season. The train from Lisbon is easy and takes you right to the center of Sintra where you can catch the bus that will take you to the palaces.

Lisbon has lots of history so could take up some of that time, some is best found on a guided walk because the Earthquake of 1755 destroyed so much of the city. Other options I'd recommend are Obidos and Mafra. Obidos is such a lovely walled, historic city and the drive to get there is nice as well. Mafra is another option with the massive palace there.

I live just outside Cascais and I wouldn't recommend it for a limited time tourist trip, unless you want to go to the beach. I love it for living, but there are better options to see in Portugal.

[katieb4tom]

neeps I will have ten days in Lisbon, so am looking at what to do outside of the city for 3.5 days? I have a car and am considering the Algarve, but am entirely open to ideas. I will have time while in Lisbon for the day trips.

[mrsukyankee]

katieb4tom, driving to the Algarve (even to the closest town) would likely take over 5 hours, so just keep that in mind. I'd personally take public transport to Porto and spend my time there - it's a good place for that amount of time and you can use one day for a tour of the Douro Valley (I can suggest a tour for both port at Porto and the valley tour).

[neeps]

Apr 15, 2024 6:32:03 GMT -5 katieb4tom said:

neeps I will have ten days in Lisbon, so am looking at what to do outside of the city for 3.5 days? I have a car and am considering the Algarve, but am entirely open to ideas. I will have time while in Lisbon for the day trips.

Ahh...I see. In that case, yes go north. The Douro Valley is worth it. Things to note about driving though: it is just about the same time driving as the train. Tolls and fuel are expensive in Portugal and parking in Porto is pricey. But you have the freedom to hit up all the pretty cities and sights on the way. Ideas would include: the Mafra National Palace, Ericeira is a cute surfer town, but can get crowded, Obidos small but lovely medieval city and nice to just wander around and the views from the castle walls are amazing. Leiria, the Monastery of Batalha, Aveiro has lots of canals and painted boats that are kind of fun.

Coimbra, Fatima and Tomar on the way back. Or skip Fatima if that's not your thing, Tomar is a bit of a detour but the last city built by the Templars in Portugal and has lots of history. So does Coimbra with the University founded in 1290 and moved to Coimbra in 1537 (UNESCO site).

Or you could just make it easy and spend the whole time in Porto - 2 days there with a day for the Douro is a good trip too. 

[katieb4tom]

You would recommend the north over the Algarve? I was leaning away from Porto since I’ll be in a city for so long. I can cancel the car and just do the train north, but thought I’d need it for the south. I was thing two nights in the Salema area and then one in Evora before returning to Lisbon.

Apr 18, 2024 5:31:27 GMT -5 neeps said:

Apr 15, 2024 6:32:03 GMT -5 katieb4tom said:

neeps I will have ten days in Lisbon, so am looking at what to do outside of the city for 3.5 days? I have a car and am considering the Algarve, but am entirely open to ideas. I will have time while in Lisbon for the day trips.

Ahh...I see. In that case, yes go north. The Douro Valley is worth it. Things to note about driving though: it is just about the same time driving as the train. Tolls and fuel are expensive in Portugal and parking in Porto is pricey. But you have the freedom to hit up all the pretty cities and sights on the way. Ideas would include: the Mafra National Palace, Ericeira is a cute surfer town, but can get crowded, Obidos small but lovely medieval city and nice to just wander around and the views from the castle walls are amazing. Leiria, the Monastery of Batalha, Aveiro has lots of canals and painted boats that are kind of fun.

Coimbra, Fatima and Tomar on the way back. Or skip Fatima if that's not your thing, Tomar is a bit of a detour but the last city built by the Templars in Portugal and has lots of history. So does Coimbra with the University founded in 1290 and moved to Coimbra in 1537 (UNESCO site).

Or you could just make it easy and spend the whole time in Porto - 2 days there with a day for the Douro is a good trip too. 

[neeps]

Apr 19, 2024 6:21:11 GMT -5 katieb4tom said:

You would recommend the north over the Algarve? I was leaning away from Porto since I’ll be in a city for so long. I can cancel the car and just do the train north, but thought I’d need it for the south. I was thing two nights in the Salema area and then one in Evora before returning to Lisbon.

If you do want to mix it up and not have all city then yes, the Algarve is great for that. It's really personal preference. I find the south boring, but I live here so I have access to beautiful beaches all the time  

[katieb4tom]

Please share your tour recs! Also, I don’t like port. Is it still a don’t miss?

Apr 16, 2024 15:20:32 GMT -5 mrsukyankee said:

katieb4tom, driving to the Algarve (even to the closest town) would likely take over 5 hours, so just keep that in mind. I'd personally take public transport to Porto and spend my time there - it's a good place for that amount of time and you can use one day for a tour of the Douro Valley (I can suggest a tour for both port at Porto and the valley tour).

[tacokick]

Apr 20, 2024 7:38:47 GMT -5 katieb4tom said:

Please share your tour recs! Also, I don’t like port. Is it still a don’t miss?

Apr 16, 2024 15:20:32 GMT -5 mrsukyankee said:

katieb4tom, driving to the Algarve (even to the closest town) would likely take over 5 hours, so just keep that in mind. I'd personally take public transport to Porto and spend my time there - it's a good place for that amount of time and you can use one day for a tour of the Douro Valley (I can suggest a tour for both port at Porto and the valley tour).

I would not bother going to Porto if you don’t like port! The city itself was not the easiest to get around, imo. The easiest to navigate with places close together and quickly walkable is on the river where the port houses /tastings are and that’s pretty much all that’s in that area. We did enjoy other things in Porto but it was pretty spread out and public transport wasn’t very frequent.

If you want something else to do, I’d do Cascais.
It’s closer to Lisbon, lots of beaches and restaurants and pretty chill.

[mrsukyankee]

I agree with tacokick, that the biggest reason for us to visit Porto was for the port. And the tours we did there were all about the port and port tasting.