Lisbon and Sintra
 

Planning on 5 days in Lisbon but also very interested in Sintra. This will be our first time in Portugal. Should we lodge all 5 days in Lisbon and take the train to Sintra for the day or spend 3 nights in Lisbon and 2 night in Sintra? Any helpful suggestions welcome.

I'd do the 3 in Lisbon, 2 in Sintra option. You can go late in the day from Lisbon to Sintra, giving you the better part of three full days in Lisbon, spend two nights in Sintra and have one full day there, plus the two nights.

I would split up your time between Lisbon and Sintra. Caiscais is also a pretty spot to visit and is about the same distance as Sintra. If you rent a car you can easily see both.The drive along the coast from Caiscias and Sintra is just a few hours and beautiful. I thought all three cities were charming. Lisbon can be seen in two to three days if you plan ahead. We hired a driver for a half day and saw many museums and churches. The guide was fascinating and able to park in front of the buildings we were visiting. It saved us alot of time. I think it is well worth the cost. You will have a fabulous time.

We have decided to stay 4 nights in Sintra and take the train into Lisbon to see the sights there. The decision was right for us as we prefer small town settings and like to minimize moving from hotel to hotel.<BR><BR>All advice we have received is to NOT have a car in Lisbon. It is not possible to rent a car in Sintra--Cascais and Estoril are the closest locations. Some companies will deliver a car to Sintra for a charge.<BR><BR>AJ, where else in Portugal are you going?

Thanks for the help everyone. Any more suggestions. xxx, We will just be in Lisbon and Sintra. I have though of staying every night in Sintra and train to Lisbon but I think we will split the time up between the two.

We were just in Sintra in September for a day trip but we did find a great place for lunch. I highly recommend it. It is to the right of the TI, just down the cobbled path and it's there on the right. It's not fancy from the outside, but had great reasonable food. If you're interested, let me know and I'll look up the name (can't believe I forgot it)

Brah,<BR><BR>I would love the name of the restaurant and any other information on Sintra that you would like to share. Do you wish that you could have stayed the night in Sintra?

Aj,<BR>The restaurant is called &quot;Talhas&quot; and the house specialty is a salt cod dish (Baccaral? spelled wrong - which didn't sound that good, but I ordered it, and it was WONDERFUL!!!) but others had the fresh fish, the veal in creme sauce etc. <BR>Um, well, we were just in the city centre and only for about 3 hours, and no, I wouldn't have wanted to spend the night there. Perhaps in a better location - I really didn't research it much. 6 of us hired a guide/car for 8 hours in Lisbon so I know very little about it. We did thoroughly enjoy Lisbon and would like to return there. There is a lot to do in Lisbon - plus easy train/bus transportation to the little towns around. I'd probably base in Lisbon and take day trips if desired. But read the posts from people who know more than I do about this!! Hope you have a great trip.

Brah, why would you have not wanted to spend the night there? What did you see while in Sintra if you were only in the city centre?

We really only had time to go through the palace and to walk around and take in some of the shops. That's why I would suggest listening to someone who has done their homework on Sintra - however since we loved Lisbon, if *we* were to go back, we would centre there.. We also enjoyed Cascai - so many wonderful sights to see in Portugal.

Thanks for the reply. I hope we've made a good choice in staying in Sintra. I've done as much homework as possible--but that can only do so much. Hearing other's first-hand experience is helpful. Where else in Portugal did you go?

I was in Lisboa for 9 days in 2001. My boyfriend and I took the train to Sintra from Rossio Station to spend the day. Sintra is a very beautiful town. My boyfriend and I also took daytrips to Fatima, Cascais, Estoril, Bathala, and Nazare. I would recommend Fatima to you because it is so surreal. Some people don't like Lisboa, but I find it wonderful because there is so much to do and there is a fantastic nightlife there. Go to the Docas to party. If you want the name of some hot clubs and restaurants, just ask. My ex is a party planner in Lisboa and knows everyone.

John G,<BR><BR>Give me some good shopping suggestions in Lisbon for special treats, household, decor, fabric etc. I think you gave some good advice on Florence awhile back. Just curious about shopping.

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