Dukey1

I am the first to admit that I am NOT a big fan of what I call "so I don't have to spend any money on a guidebook" posts asking "where should we go?" and "what should we do?"

We will have a week but could extend it to ten days. We will have a car. We will probably go in the July (2018) time period.

We like museums, churches, memorable scenery, and living right on the beach as we do, yeah, we like beaches, too.

Good food that doesn't require a microscope to see on a plate.

Hotels! Not B+B's (nothing against those truly wonderful places but not for this trip) and yes those supposed "grand dame" or "landmark" places but offering more than just <B>their name</B> would be of interest. "Chic?" Please; hotel name dropper I am not.

And one request: if you think "It's the obvious choice" and assume I'm gonna automatically know that, sorry. Rationale does wonders for one's reputation IMO.

Appreciate recs and thanks for this start-out.

tailsock

My contribution for must sees in and around Lisbon :

Praça de D. Pedro IV/ Rossio Square
Praça do Comércio
Cathdral Sé
Castelo de São Jorge (especially near sunset)
Torre de Belém
Elevador de Santa Justa

Sintra:
Pena Palace
Castle of the Moors

try the Pastéis De Belém. They're world famous and worth the stop. Avoid the long line, walk right in and grab a table inside somewhere.

Dukey1

Tailsock, thanks very much. I just finished reading the trip report from another poster, also.

outwest

We really enjoyed our daytrip (from Lisbon) to Cascais. It's a pretty beach town with some charming museums. We went a great house museum, the Museu Condes de Castro Guimarães, that's situated in a lovely park and also a museum dedicated to the paintings of Paula Rego.

bilboburgler

Porto for its dusty charm and napoleonic history

Azores for the people and countryside

Alentejo for the wine.

Casa Fajara Rustic Boutique House & Hotel for one of the best pieces of quality staff work I've seen. We turned up dirty to this place in November, no other guests. Reception, chose a room for us, but offered any others, cooked a fantastic meal, etc etc sorted out bike problems did all that he could to make the night memorable. Beach a short walk away.

WoinParis

Hi

Sintra would be toplist.

Then I loved Coimbra and the university and we loved the valley of the douro.

Obidos was fantastic and inbetween we saw 256 old monasteries. All great.

Have a good time !

We were no big fans of Porto - not our cup of tea ?

OReilly

Sintra, Oporto, Lisbon, Evora area.

Dukey1

Thank you very much for these additional suggestions which are helpful.

tdk320n

ttt

HappyTrvlr

In Sintra do not miss Nacional Palace which is in town. Obidos is a pretty but very small town dedicated to tourism. It doesn't need much time.
Gulbenkian Museum and Tile Museum in Lisbon, and Belem area of Lisbon should all be seen.
Towns/ cities we enjoyed included Coimbra, Alacbaça for the cathedral, Elvira and Guimares. Hotels we enjoyed include Quinta de las Lagrimas in Coimbra, Hotel Infante de Sagres in Porto, pousada for Guimares. We rented an apartment in Lisbon.

PalenQ

Obidos a great stop going north - Coimbra too - Porto I loved for its old-world looks and unGodly number of old churches with gorgeous azueljo tiles- plus Port wine tours.

Adzas

For the beaches i would say Algarve, but if you plan to stay around the Lisbon area, then drive up to Nazaré and Sao Martinho de Porto, I love those two places!

Tabernash2

We loved Lisbon, and our stay at the Hotel Avenida Palace. It is fantastic.

Dukey1

This has been a wonderful start and again, my thanks come with this.

Portugal has kinda been on and off the radar for years and at this stage I really need for it to be ON the screen as part of a trip which will include some of our more usual activities in the Mediterranean region.

Tabernash2

Dukey1, we stayed 5 nights at the wonderful Avenida Palace. Lisbon is wonderful for wandering around. Taxis are really cheap, if you get tired. (Be careful of the extremely slippery granite sidewalks!).

We took the train to Cascais, which we liked a lot. Very small town, lots of beach activity, and small shops.
While there, we found a classy and expensive-looking beachside hotel with a café overlooking the water. We stopped for lunch there. It is pricey, with very disginguished-looking hotel clientele.
The Albatroz Hotel in Cascai
Rua Frederico Arouca
100- 2750- 353 Cascais
www.thealbatrozcollection.com (http://www.thealbatrozcollection.com)

PalenQ

Nazarre is a really neat seaside city that is not all tourist- locals still being in the day's catch and folks set up BQs in small lanes cooking and selling it to tourists.

Well poistioned for Batalha -UNESCO World Heritage monastery and Alcobaca's similar monatery.

Fodorite018

Portugal was my first overseas trip, so holds a special place in my heart as it was that trip that got me hooked on travel

We split our time staying in both Lisbon and Cascais, and we enjoyed that. It was nice to have time in the city as well as the relaxing seaside town. Many people do day trips to Cascais, but we loved staying there and the evenings were especially relaxing. We did a day trip from there to Sintra, which was wonderful and very easy.

We (the kids and I) took a taxi from Lisbon out to Cascais, and it was a really nice drive and quite scenic, right along the river. Ironically, we could see my DH's sub on the surface in the river headed out to sea, so that was pretty cool as well.

We hit the same sights that tailsock mentioned above.

Cascais has a wonderful walking trail along the water, and the Boca do Inferno was fascinating to watch. Very easy to walk there from downtown, and a must, IMO.

Dukey1

Tabernash2, I do like the way you think, hotel-wise in particular. Pal, I am definitely planning to include a stop in Nazare, too.

NOW, what I have to try to figure out is time periods. I am thinking at least three full days in Lisbon and perhaps four.

I think for this trip, major stopovers (thus far, subject to change) would be Sintra or Obidos or both; Nazare, Coimbra, and Porto.

We have decided to extend this trip to include Santago de Compostella and will probably opt for the drop charge and leave the car there and fly on to Italy.

This trip is obviously going to take a couple of weeks the way it is looking so am concentrating on particulars now.

Thanks agaio=n for all the suggestions.

Tabernash2

Dukey1, the Avenida Palace is in a fantastic location, next to the Rossio train station and facing the square. Perfect for walking. That hotel has the best customer service, and gorgeous breakfast included.

In fact, we arrived at 10am from the States, and the hotel had our room ready for us! What a treat. We had fully expected to have to wait till 3. Also, there was an international bike race, happening right under our window. One of DH's passions is bike riding. It was an omen.

You don't need a car in Lisbon. It's walkable, there are trolleys, cabs and the funicular.

We took the funicular up the hill one evening. It passes by some very creative street art. At the top of the hill is a pretty little park, with sweeping views of Lisbon below.

As you walk back down the hill, you will pass numerous little streets with cafes, spilling their chairs out into the avenue.

You will see historic apartment buildings, boarded up, in their slow economy. Buildings with lots of potential. Hopefully, they will come back to life soon.

We thought Lisbon had a lively, really friendly and charming atmosphere. Also very affordable. People speak English, and we felt they welcomed tourists.

Tabernash2

PS. You mentioned guidebooks. The Avenida Palace has a lovely little library on one floor, with books you can borrow. I found a current Portugal book, which was handy.

Did I say we liked this hotel??