Four weeks in Portugal (almost)
 

Here is our tentative itinerary for our trip to Portugal in October. We're staying in manor houses (upscale B&Bs) except in Porto and Lisboa, and we'll pick up a car as we leave Porto and turn it in before Lisboa. Any comments/advice would be welcome.
Porto - 3 nights
Viana do Castelo - 4 nights
Pinhao - 3 nights
Nazare (nearby) - 4 nights
Evora - 4 nights
Sintra - 4 nights
Lisboa - 4 nights

Can you provide more information as to what you already plan to see and do with your time in each area and comment on your interests as well.

Hello Ann, It looks great until the end. You will not need 8 days in the same area--Sintra and Lisbon.
I would drive south from Evora and spend at least 3 days somewhere on the Algarve--either Lagos or the Pousada at Sagres. And, 4 nites near Nazare is a bit much. How about 2 nites near Marvao or Estromoz between Nazare and Evora--stealing a day from each. You will like Portugal.

Hello, Bob and XXX. Our interests are mainly history, architecture, food and wine. We plan to use Viana do Castelo as a base for visiting Braga, Guimaraes, and the far north, and Pinhao as a base for Vila Real, Lamego, and the Douro. From our base near Nazare we'll vist Alcobaca, Batalha, Obidos, Tomar, Conimbriga and perhaps Coimbra. We'll stop at Marvao on our way to Evora, the base for Estremoz and Monsaraz. From Sintra (where it's easy to spend 2 days, I understand), we'll visit Cascais, Ericeira, and Mafra. One day in Lisboa would be spent in Belem, leaving 2+ days for the Alfama and Lisboa's museums. Thanks for the input and suggestions.

Hmmm ! I thought you were blowing me kisses--then I saw the above poster.
Hard to go wrong--we will expect a full report.

I like your planning, but I wouldn't forget Arraiolos (hand made tapistry), Sao Bento do Corval (pottery) and Vila Vicosa (House of Dukes of Braganza).

Arraiolos is a half an hour from Evora, Vila Vicosa is 20 minutes from Estremoz and Sao Bento do Corval is very near Monsaraz.

You can find pictures and descriptions of all these locations in www.discoverportugal2day.com

Your route is somewhat similar to what ours was although you have more time than we did. I have to agree with Bob about not needing 8 days between Sintra and Lisbon.

Just some thoughts on places you mentioned...
We were only in Braga to see Bom Jesus. Guimaraes was an unexpected pleasure. We found a few extra hours to see the castle and palace. If you enjoy castles, the Eyewitness Guide details a "Border Castle Tour" which we roughly followed. The drive to Almeida crossed countryside that seemed almost alien with its covering of huge boulders. As we came south, the village (the walled portion) of Sortelha was so quiet and deserted, it almost was spooky
Batalha, Tomar and Coninbriga were highlights.
We were disappointed in Evora. While surely worth a visit (especially the museum), I would not want to spend 4 days there even knowing it is a base for other day trips. Are you interested in the monoliths in that area? We also enjoyed Vila Vicosa. However, be aware that the tours are in Portuguese only. Our guide was kind enough to do much of the tour in English and Portuguese.

Marvao was absolutely magical. It seemed as if you could touch the clouds from the castle. I wish we had spent the night.

Driving on the toll roads is fast and easy. Be prepared for driving on secondary roads to take longer than you may expect. We always enjoyed Pousadas (especially Crato and Belmonte) and thought them to be an exceptional value (except Obidos).

As Bob said, you really can't go wrong with what you have chosen.

Thanks for all the input. If anyone has any favorite restaurants, we'd also love to hear about them.

I'd have to second that 4 nights is probably too much for Evora even with the daytrips. I spent 3 nights in Evora with a full day trip to Estromoz (and I was using public transportation). I had lots of free time and if I had had a car could have done the daytrips this entire day and had plenty of free time with three days/nights total.

I'd definately spend some time in Coimbra. I spent 2 nights there and it was one of my favorites.

Will send you restaurants for Evora - found one that I loved and ate there three times. I was hearbroken when they were closed on Sunday but managed to find another great place off the main street.

Here are my Evora restaurant recommendations:

1) A Choupana, Rua Mercadores 16, 266704427 telephone
Great find! Very local and small dining room with less than 10 tables. Adjoining bar where you can also order and eat at the counter. My meals were around 10 euros and this was including wine, water, acorda, etc.... The pork and clams was the best I had in all or Portugal - sounds like a strange dish but very typical for the region and wonderful. This place gets very busy at meal time. I don't know if they take reservations but it is a wonderful place to people watch too.

2) Restaurante Sao Domingos, Rua Amas Cardeal #9
When my favorite (above) was closed on Sunday I was heartbroken! I wondered past a few streets past some restaurants that looked more touristy and saw this place down a small street. It was very good. It was larger than A Choupana and (a little) nicer.

One of my most memorable experiences during my entire trip was outside at a cafe in the main square in Evora. I had a nightly routine before dinner of enjoying a glass (or 2) of wine outside at the Cafe Arcada (26 Cartao Espl - across the square from the tourist office). The Alentejans are famous for their singing and one of these evenings. Well, on a particular Saturday evening all of a sudden about 20 people came up and starting putting together several tables as a group. The waiter was very occupied trying to get their order and it was funny when he'd return and as more people had joined have to re-take orders. Everyone was in a good mood and I was trying to figure out if they were part of a church or wedding party. Once their drink orders were figured out and brought to them, all of a sudden they started singing beautiful folk like songs. A small crowd gathered around them and I felt like I had a front row seat. Talk about being in the right place at the right time!

Cathy, thanks for sharing the restaurant recommendations, and the memories. I'm hungry for pork and clams already!

the local name for pork and clams is "carne de porco a alentejana". Quite common in the south, but even more in Alentejo of course