beginning to zero in on an itinerary, we are particularly drawn to the Alenteja and the estremadura and perhaps the Minho. we are trying to sort through all the wonderful options. (love history, natural beauty, small villages) and prioritize (yes we will have a car)
Among the sites that have called us: Evora, Batalha, Tomar, Castelo de Almourol, Conimbriga, Bucaco (hotel already full ) Castelo branco, Braganca, Berlenga islands, Obidos, Pombal, Leiria, Alcobaca...as you can see way more than is practical. I would love to hear what your favorite smaller stops are (outsie of Lisboa and Oporto) and why. thanksssss

Alcobaca has the wonderful cathedral where King Pedro ans his Ines are entombed. Beautiful structure, simple lines. Did not care for Batalha, especially the cathedral. I would add seaside Nazare, wonderful seafood and Guimares which has a lot to offer, castle, etc a real town. Liked it a lot. You can see Obidos in a few hours at most although the parador, a castle, is very nice, good dining room too.

You might consider driving up to Marvao after touring the Alentejo. The Pousada is not the nicest we've stayed in but very comfortable with spectacular views...overlooking Spain.

Obidos (Obidoosh)is a major tourist attraction because it is also well situated..sure it's "touristy." a ridiculous word! We are all tourists, are we not? The pousada was full but we enjoyed staying in the Estralagem do Convento next to the town wall. Very reasonably priced and convenient to walking the town. Nearby Nazare' its colorful fishing boats and it's hilltop village of Sitio is worth a day visit from Obidos. All of these places are small compared to the two big guys, Porto and Lisbon

We also liked Sintra and it's three major attractions... and little Belmonte in the Sierras (wonderful new Pousada)..to which we drove after Marvao..looked up its once hidden Jewish community, its modern sinagoga and its small museum commemorating the phenomenon of 500 years in fear and "hiding"...

There is much to savor in Portugal..but don't ignore Porto or Lisboa. I'll post pix for you below in order to familiarize you with some of the places I mention herein. Try your best not to plan too much..pace yourselves in beautiful Portugal.
stu

https://picasaweb.google.com/stuarttower/Portugal2008

thanks so much happy trvlr and tower, that is so helpful. Tower, do you know of any other sites with Jewish history - I would love to explore that more. I know Tomar has an old synagogue and Juderiea so plan to stop there. useful feedback re Obidos, maybe Tomar would be a better base for that region. We do plan a day in Sintra, I'll have to look up more about Guimares, marvao and Belmonte.

yes, Tomar for one and Castel de Vide just west of Marvao with it's ruins of a sinagoga. In Lisboa, be sure to visit the elegant little shul (see pix) in the Herculano/Libertade area...actually a few blocks west of Libertade. There is one of the congregants (Antonio)on duty every day to welcome you.

If you're staying near Rossio (train station) it can be walked. A very pleasant stroll up tree-shaded Libertade and then left on Herculano...ask anyone in the area for "sinagoga"...there also may be some trace in Cascais or Estoril, but we found none.

If you wish, I can send you my list of "Synagogues Visited Worldwide" (100+) for future reference. Write to stuarttower at aol dot com
Enjoy your trip.
Stu

p.s. Laura, there is a small Juderia in Sintra but I found nothing else other than a sign so indicating. You'll see it in my pix.

Stu and I like the same places.
I would not miss Marvao, and we spent an Easter Sunday in Castel de Vide. I also like Nazare. Have fun !

Smaller towns and places I loved in Poertugal - Sintra - day trip from Lisbon for the two famous castles and nice town

Obidos - one of the finest walled cities in Europe - the local Pradour (or Posada I guess in Portrugeuse is right in the town walls

Seaside towns near Porto - Nazarre - great base for Batalha and Alcobaca monasteries and a neat old fishing town - local grill fish in alleys to seel

Coimbra - well a big town but the upper town with the university is really nice

Braga and especailly Guimares, in many ways a town of Portugal's patrimony

and the Duoro River Valley

and close to Lisbon Cabo de Rabo (sp?) the westernmost part of Europe - waves smashing into the rocks from the viewing platform.

so many neat things in Portugal.

Bob the Navigator...we sure have proven over the years that we indeed favor the "right" places...amazing but true. By the way, off-topic, met Mr and Mrs Go at Boston GTG..such a pleasant couple!
stu

Grazie Stu,
They are much more advenuresome travelers than we.
They flew from Chicago just for that GTG.

does bob like Palenque too - pas moi but the town in Chiapas where we - stu and I - met each other without knowing it I believe.

In Sintra, make sure you visit the much older National Palace (10th c.)in addition to to the Pena Palace(1840)The National Palace is right in town and has exceptional tile work.

We are just back from 15 days driving around Portugal, and I'm working on a (currently way too long) report. Many of the places you have identified are very nice, but many are places where there is one particular thing to see, and then it is "just a town" -- not bad, perhaps, but there are many similar towns. For example, monasteries at Batalha and Alcobaca were great, but after the visits and maybe grabbing a bite to eat, the towns were not exciting (Alcobaca a bit more interesting than Batalha). Fortunately, many places are close to each other -- we saw Tomar (Knights Templar castle/monastery), Batalha, Fatima and castle at Leiria all in one day, and we did not feel rushed. Marvao and Obidos were both very interesting walled medieval towns. Sintra is also a must. But one thing you'll pick up on is a lot of medieval towns or areas, and a lot of monasteries/cloisters. You should consider how many you want to see back-to-back-to-back before they're either boring or a bit of a blur.

yes, Sintra is definitely on my list, was actually wondering about spending the first night and day there since it is so near the airport. Dedlaw, sounds, like we have exactly the same amount of time as you did. Which towns did you base yourself in...my fear is that if we move too often we'll spend all our time checking in and out and trying to find the next town. If you were to suggest 3 smaller towns as bases in addition toPorto and Lisboa which would you choose?

Again, "soon" I'll post a trip report, but for now a few quick thoughts to answer your questions: Sintra was interesting, and we stayed there overnight before dropping off our car on the way to a few days in Lisbon. We stayed at Lawrence's Hotel, which was really well-located, and we had a huge room (I'm sure a suite although we paid standard room price of 135 Euros) and a nice dinner and breakfast there (only street parking, but you can likely find a very close space). The morning we left, before checking out we walked five minutes to Quinta da Regaleira, mostly interesting for its gardens, and worthwhile although often overlooked in comments on this sight. The other sites -- two palaces and Moorish castle ruins -- are also very worthwhile. Many recommend only a day-trip from Lisbon, but I thought this was worth the full day we spent there, and driving and parking were much easier than some comments suggest.

Leiria was a good base as noted in my earlier post -- there we stayed at Casa de Nora (just outside of town and a bit hard to find, but a nice room and a fabulous restaurant). On the way from Porto to Leiria we stopped to see Coimbra, and I think the two + hours we spent there were close to sufficient. This raises the point that you cannot see everything. Evora was a good stop, as was Marvao. We stayed overnight in Obidos, but I think we could have see Alcobaca on the way south from Leiria (as we did) AND Obidos in one day, on our way to Sintra. Obidos and Marvao are both old walled cities, the former touristier (but perhaps a bit nicer for a tourist) than the latter. We stayed at Casa do Visconde de Chanceleiros just outside of Pinhao one night, and the place was awesome, could have easily relaxed there for two or three nights. And that could be a good base for wine tasting in the Douro Valley, but I think that would require specific planning to make sure you could get into places you'd like to visit. The longest drive we had was from Marvao to Pinhao (and then from Pinhao to Guimaraes), because it's impossible to drive the speed limit on the smaller, winding and steep roads. I think eliminating stops along the way (Castelo de Vide, for example, not that interesting right after Marvao) would have been wiser. We packed fairly lightly, we stayed only one night in six different places, and we didn't feel particularly rushed because it was easy to get out right after breakfast. Happy to answer more specific questions.

<i>By the way, off-topic, met Mr and Mrs Go at Boston GTG..such a pleasant couple!</i>

Thank you so much, Stu! ms_go and I were delighted to finally meet you, and to hear about your latest book. We had a terrific time, and will most likely keep returning each year until we capture the camel trophy.

Good info - thanks all

Loved Sintra, lots to see and do. Great hike to the two castles. Also loved the gardens at Regaleira. Close to the coast. Obidose was beautiful but you only need part of a day to see it. Loved the Douro Valley. Spend a few nights there so you can really explore. Not touristy and soooo beautiful. Can't say enough about it. Porto is a fun city, especially if you like Port. Portugal was one of myfavorite vacations. Have fun!

Keep trying Busacco Palace or any other hotels nearby. The area is quite interesting as it was a major Penninsula War area and scenic besides. Take some of the back roads you will find small gems along the way. Also the coastal drive south of Lisbon to Porto Cova is a protected area and very quiet. I think it is a national park or something like that. Portugal ranks very high with our family as does the bordering Spain!!!