10 nights in Portugal
 

Hello

I will be travelling (solo) to Portugal from 21 June until 1 July.

I will be flying in to Porto first and then taking the train to Lisbon. I know there will be a festival in Porto on the 23rd and 24th June.
Originally I planned to stay 5 nights in Porto and 5 nights in Lisbon.

Im not much of a museum person and prefer architecture. Also love to walk around all the streets and sit at cafes watching the world go by.

Is 5 nights too much to stay in Porto being a smaller city? Or should I stay longer in Lisbon? Someone suggested I stay a night in Aveiro and a night in Coimbra on the way to Lisbon.
I am also planning to visit Sintra as a day trip. Or is it worth staying a night or two there and also visiting Cascais?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Unless you mean a particular concert in the city, as you say there isn't any "festival" in Porto - you're talking about the usual celebrations of the municipal's holiday, on the 24th June, the Saint John's, where the highlight is the night on the 23rd, a spontaneous kind of fun on the streets, ending with fireworks, way into the night. Obviously there may be music around, but the celebrations itself are popular by nature, not "organized".

In June is the month of the so-called "Popular Saints" where many municipalities have their holiday - while many including Lisbon celebrates Saint Anthony, others celebrate Saint John, and later on Saint Peter, like Évora (with its traditional named fair of St. John) and Sintra on the 29th.

For visiting Cascais and Sintra, there are direct train connections from Lisbon - from Sintra to Cascais you will need a bus.

5 nights is nothing in the two main cities to visit them and nearby places. Aveiro and Coimbra.. that's up to your tastes. Like i said, there will be many street celebrations in that week, you are probably going to walk more in the streets than to be sitting at cafes.

Hello Voula,
I haven't been to Porto but have spent a week in Lisbon without taking any day trips. I could have stayed a few more days easily. You can click on my name to see my few tips on Lisbon.

I took a great street art tour, this gives you a great look at the city. I highly recommend it.

Like you, I did not spend most of my time in museums. The three museum I visited were awesome, though.

Thank you for the replies. Very helpful.

I have considered tours but may look at that when I am there depending on time.

Yes I meant the St Johns celebrations. I will definitely be walking a lot and not sitting at cafes all day.

Aveiro and Coimbra was just a suggestion from someone else.

So should I stick with 5 nights each or 4 nights in Porto and an extra night in Lisbon?

I am also thinking about doing a day trip to Guimaraes when im in Porto.

Hey :)

I visited Lisbon and did a day trip to Cascais. I haven't been to the other places you mentioned but I totally loved Cascais! It's a pretty coastal town, so you can simply walk around the place, check their tiny yet pretty beaches and cafes.

I spent 3 days in Lisbon and could see a lot within those days. I like writing my travel experiences. I hope this might help you to decide and plan a bit :)

http://traumchaser.com/a-hidden-gem-cascais-portugal

http://traumchaser.com/the-understat...isbon-portugal

From Lisbon, Cascais can be a half-day excursion. Catch the train at the train/bus/tram/metro/boat hub called Cais do Sodré, or board it in Belém if that is closer to your accommodation.

In Cascais you want to walk to the Hell's Mouth rock formation (maybe 20 minutes leisurely) where, with good winds and especially at high tide, the water foams mightily for good photo ops.

Then just wander around a bit. We had a nice lunch on the upper terrace at Reserva by Olivier, on the square by the water called Largo Mte. Henrique Anjos, overlooking the small harbor.

On this picture you see that terrace on the right, with the tightly-wound umbrellas looking like statues:

http://bit.ly/2p44uK9
ditto at
http://tinyurl.com/lq2r775

If you need it, the full URL is this monster:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/RE...190336!6m1!1e1

For Sintra (unless you go there on a triangle-trip via Cascais, Lisbon-train-Cascais-bus-Sintra-train-Lisbon), you take a different train line that starts at the Rossio train station which is a short walk (in a westerly direction) from the Rossio metro stop. The full name of the Rossio train station is Estaçao de Caminhos de Ferro do Rossio - trains leave from the upper level.

For both these train lines you can use the transportation card that gets you all over Lisbon, get it as soon as you arrive, load up maybe 10 Euros to begin with and trips become easy and cheap.

Thank you both for that. I will most likely visit Cascais as well. Sintra I am more excited about though (especially the well). I will be staying very close to Rossio station