Castellanese

Hi everybody,

Well, the message title states it all.

Thanks.

cmc05ad

I've been to Lisbon and 3 days at the most should be enough if you are planning on Going to Porto which I wish I had done instead. Lisbon however is just an awsome place to walk around or take the trolleys into the various neighborhoods. Go to the port wine tastings, and if it gets to be too much time away from American food, there is a hard rock.
http://www.noambit.typepad.com

Amy

Three or four days in Lisbon will give you a good taste of the city; have you thought about including Sintra in your Lisbon time? It's worth two days at least in itself, and is quite easily accessible from Lisbon. Actually, I stayed in Sintra for two weeks with trips out to other towns and enjoyed it very much.

Sorry I can't help with Porto.

For Madeira, I'd think you could easily fill four or five days; I was there for three and wished that I had longer for the levada walks and visiting the various towns. (I'd like to have taken the wicker chair ride again, too!)

caroline_edinburgh

People here usually go to Madeira for either relaxing beach-type holidays (I know it doesn't really have actual beaches) or walking the levadas, and they go for 1 or 2 weeks. What are you planning to do there ?

For relaxing I can recommend taking the onward hop to Porto Santo, which has a 5 mile sandy beach.

cherrybomb

How many days do you have total?

I really like Porto and think that it is an underrated destination, IMO. It is easily worth 4 days. The food is great and you could easily spend 2 days touring the port houses (the tours are free and include tastings).

Taylor's is a nice property, has a pretty garden with peacocks and cats. Prices are also dirt cheap to buy port.

Debs

My recommendation would be 4 days Madeira and 5 in Lisbon. You can use Lisbon as your base and make day trips from there (Sintra, Cascais, and a quick stop at Cabo da Roca for its sheer beauty). As for Madeira, it's pleasant to stroll around Funchal and by all means take the chair lift up to Monte and the carrinho de cesto (basket car) back down for a memorable experience. Finding a place for dinner in Maderia was fun too - as you checked menus out at various places, each offered a small sampling of wine, regardless if you stayed for dinner or not. Haven't found another place that offers that! Enjoy!

Castellanese

Hi everybody,

I've decided not to include Madeira in my itinerary.

Concerning how many days I have in total, from 8 to 10 nights. I'm also visiting Paris, so I'd like to keep it simple and visit Lisbon and Porto. I'm not really a fan of day trips.

I'd like to include one or two days at the beach. I'm not interested in museums. I want to explore the cities and taste the food.

Thanks everybody for the advice you've given me so far.

ter2000

A lot less time in Porto than Lisbon I'd say. Two days in Porto is enough to see everything. The port lodges are worth a visit and if you have time, a day trip on the Douro is well worth doing.

Lisbon has much more to see and do and is well worth the extra time. As other people have pointed out, don't miss Sintra. Belem is also worth at least half a day (if only to eat those custard tarts!).

If you have a car, consider stopping off in Tomar, Alcabaca and Batalha - they're all quite close to each other and again, well worth your time.

Finally, keep a close eye on your bags in the cities - my bag was stolen in Lisbon which put a bit of a dampner on our trip there last September. Other than that, Portugal was just a wonderful place to visit - enjoy!

NEDSIRELAND

Depends on when (i.e., what season) you will be visiting Portugal. For Lisbon (Belém, etc.) allocate about 3-days. Then take the old road up to Porto; stop at one of the Truck Stop restaurants in the Méalhada region for the best roast suckling pig (leitao asado) you have ever eaten. Stop in Coimbra, a lovely old University town and continue on to Porto for 2-3 days (depending on whether you like Bridges and/or Port wine).

You could probably fit Fatima into your Lisbon-Porto trip if you are so inclined

Try Lisbon's Pastries (I like Pasteleria Versailles on Avda. Republica at Duque de Avila) so you can critically compare them with those you have in Paris.

Castellanese

Hi again,

Let's say I only visit Lisbon, would 7 nights (6 days) be too much? From what I've read this is the itinerary I've come up with:

day1: Arrival.
day2: Baixa and the docks.
day3: Alfama and the castle.
day4: Chiado and Bairro Alto.
day5: Belém.
day6: Day trip.

Am I splitting the time correctly? I'm thiking about dropping off Porto because, like I said, I'm visiting another city and I want to keep it simple. I'm torn between combining it with Paris or Naples, but I think that, in the end, I'll combining with Naples since I've always wanted to visit it and, unlike Paris, I've never been there.

As for the day trip, which place shouldn't I miss? A lot of people seem to lean towards Sintra (according to my bookguide is gorgeous), but what about Cascais?

I'm planning on going at the beginning of June.

Thanks again.

indiancouple

In my opinion, you could easily squeeze your itinerary for Days 2, 3 and 4 into two days. Barrio Alto is interesting late in the evening, especially during a weekend. Not that much to do there in the morning.

You could easily combine Belem and Cascais into one day; when you go to Belem, you are already half-way to Cascais. IMO, do Belem in the morning, and head for Cascais the same afternoon.

Sintra and Cabo da Rocha could be also done in one day. Go to Sintra in the morning, and leave for Cabo da Rocha from Sintra around 4:30-5 pm. You won't need more than 30-40 minutes at Cabo da Rocha, but it is well worth the trip.

Castellanese

Well, I've done a bit of change in my itinerary. I'm definitely visiting Lisbon and I've decided to drop off Porto and include Madeira. Do you think 6 nights in Lisbon and 6 nights in Madeira will be OK?

Somehow, I feel I'll regret not including Madeira in my itinerary. I was talking to my cousin and she told me that she absolutely loved the time she spent there. The thing is that I don't want a trip just focused on cities. Last year, I went to Capri after spending a few days in Rome and I totally loved it. I love strolling around towns, doing hikes and sunbathing, so I think Madeira is what I'm looking for.

If I include Madeira in my itinerary, I'm definitely dropping off Cascais and including a couple of day trips from Lisbon.

Any comments on this decision?

richardab

I just returned from Lisbon and we did 6 full days and we were busy every day. That included a day for shopping, 3 days sightseeing in Lisbon, a day in Belem and a day in Sintra.

Personally, I would skip Belem and do 3 days sightseeing in Lisbon and then 1 day in Sintra. I have to say not to miss Sintra, it was the highlight of our trip. You should be able to do this as a day trip by train. When you take the train to Sintra, just go to the info booth in the train station and they will help you with everything.

We stayed in a great hotel in Lisbon, It was the Juan Carlos Liberty. It is not in the old part of Lisbon but up the Avenida da Liberdade. From here it is a pleasant walk to all the sights in the old districty or you can simply take the very convenient Metro which has a stop nearby. Seriously we loved the place. It is very sleek and modern and because it is not in the tourist central, you can get great rates.

Check out the websight. They make the rooms look a lot bigger then they are in the photos, but we loved it anyway.

http://www.domcarlosliberty.com

caroline_edinburgh

Forgot when you are going - summer presumably ? Your new Portuguese itinerary would suit me - busy week tramping the city streets followed by a laidback week on an island. Where does Naples fit in, though ?

Castellanese

Thanks Richard, I've read the same advice about Belém a few times.

Caroline, after visiting Portugal, I'm planning on visiting Naples since I can't get enough of Italy. How long is the hop from Madeira to Porto Santo?

Thanks again.

kleeblatt

Sorry but the Jeronimos Monastary in Belem is one of the most beautiful spots in Lisbon if you catch it on a day with few tourists. The tranquility, the colours and the design are truly a delight to the soul.

Remember, those trams are filled with pickpockets so make sure you're valuables are well hidden.

lobo_mau

The worth/not worth concept is always individual and depends on particular choices and preferences.
After saying that, I must say that IMHO Belem area is very worth more than one day. Some points of interest are Jeronimos Monastery as referred above by Schuler, Belem Tower (both 16th century), Monument to Discoveries with incredible views from the top, the CCB (Belem Cultural Centre) with the leisure are overlooking the Tagus and the new Berardo exhibition, the Botannical Tropical Garden (http://www2.iict.pt/jbt/?idc=204), Coches Museum is the most visited museum in Portugal (that's something you won't find somewhere else), a little further on the hill there is Ajuda Palace including a branch with selected pieces of Hermitage Museum and the last but not the least the Belem pastries shop

caroline_edinburgh

I flew (flight from London, touched down in Funchal first) - I think it was only about 10-15 minutes.

BeniciaChris

We will be in Lisbon for 4 days before we fly to Madeira-can anyone help me with what aiarline to fly there?? also a web site-Thanks for your help Chris

Debs

The Portuguese National airline, TAP, has numerous flights from Lisbon to Madeira.