lily3

Just returned from a wonderful first trip to Portugal, and now can't wait to go back and explore more of the country!. We only had 8 days, but feel like we saw a lot, at a good pace, and a great mix of cities and countryside. Stayed first 4 nights in Lisbon in an apartment in Baixa. Loved the great, central location, from where we could walk everywhere. Spent 4 days in Lisbon, including a day trip to Sintra, which was wonderful, and easy to do by train. Could have used one more day in Lisbon. We didn't visit many museums as the weather was so fabulous the entire time we preferred to wander around the city, enjoy the cafes and wonderful viewpoints. We did spend most of one day in Belem (loved the pastel de natas at the famous cafe there, best in town!), would have visited the Gulbenkian museum if we had another day. We then picked up our rental car from the Lisbon airport, and drove to Evora, where we had a great lunch and explored the town, then overnighted at the pousada in Arraiolos. Visited the small Alentejo towns of Arraiolos, Estremoz, Vila Vicosa the next day en route to Marvao, which was magical, and where we spent the night. Would never have though to go to Marvao without reading the Fodor's board, and this was a highlight of the trip. The next day drove from Marvao to Nazare, visiting Tomar and Fatima on the way. Fatima was particularly interesting when we visited (though neither of us are Catholic) as it was the day before one of the major pilgrimages of the year, so was full of pilgrims and activity. Stayed 2 nights at Quinta das Rosas, a lovely bed and breakfast in the hills above Nazare with a wonderful view of the beach and a wonderful inn keeper. Visited Nazare/Sitio, Alcobaca and Obidos the next day, and drove back to Lisbon the next morning for our flight home.
Would have loved to travel further north, particularly Porto and the Douro valley, as well as the Minho - but those will have to wait for the next trip! We found Portugal to be a lovely, laid back, friendly, relaxing and uncomplicated place to visit.

amer_can

Favorite spots of ours. Next time hit the north part or for that matter the south part of this remarkable country!! More to love!!

lauramsgarden

thanks Lily, we are planning a trip for this summer, wonder if you could share why you loved Marvao so much, and how was the driving to Evora? we are planning on renting a care, but a little nervous about driving in Europe (being Americans) lovely trip report, I will take a look at Quinta das rosas. which Posada did you stay at and did you like it?

TDudette

So many places, so little time! THanks, lily3.

lily3

Lauramsgarden, the drive to Evora from Lisbon was very easy! We are American too, and you drive on the same side of the road and don't need an international driver's licence for Portugal. If you pick up the car at the airport you avoid driving in the city, and the main highway to Evora is really close to the airport. The driving in general was much easier than we thought - the entire time, there were hardly any other cars on the road, we kept thinking, where are all the people?! This might be because we went in October, and summer may be different, but I doubt it wold be that much more difficult. The signage was very good too, at least in places we visited. Marvao was wonderful because it feels so remote, the views are spectacular, and you feel like you are on the top of the world when you are up on the castle. You don't need more than an evening (best time to be there, to enjoy the sunset) and a little time in the morning before you move on, though.
The pousada we stayed at was in Arraiolos, 10-15 min drive from Evora, in a converted monastery with a beautiful tiled chapel, but with very modern decor. We liked it a lot, but there is another pousada in Evora right in town, and other nice places to stay in Evora as well, if you prefer to be in town.

springstein

Starting to plan our first adventure to Portugal in March, so your report is quite helpful. Thank you.

bilboburgler

nice report, glad you enjoyed one of the better, out of the way, countries

lauramsgarden

thanks so much Lily, really helpful

Sberg

We loved Portugal too. Very easy to drive around. Next time be sure to spend a few days in the Douro Valley. It is spectacular!

HappyTrvlr

We stayed in the other pousada in Evora and loved it. It is right in town but has a lovely pool area.
We especially enjoyed the Minho so you must return! We plan to return to the Minho again and also want see more of nearby Galicia,Spain.

lauramsgarden

hi Happy Trvlr - wonder what you liked best about the Minho? and how many night would you stay in Evora?

CollK

Thanks for the report. We are planning a visit in Lisbon for May 2014 and would like to rent an apartment. Would you mind sharing details about yours? What you liked about it, links, pricing, etc. Thanks so much!

lily3

CollK, I found the apartment on airbnb - loved the location in the Baixa because it was so convenient, but wouldn't necessarily stay there again. It worked for us (2 friends) as we each got a bedroom, the location was ideal, and it was a cute place, but the bedrooms were pretty small and the bathroom was really teeny! Next time I'd look for another place in the same location (Baixa), or something in Chiado. We had wanted to stay in an apartment in Chiado recommended on this site before (if you search for Paulo's apartment in Chiado you should find it), but it was not available for our dates.
Another place that we considered and looked great online, was this one, not far from where we stayed (but don't actually know anything personally about it, as we didn't end up staying here).
http://www.baixahouse.com/en/

HappyTrvlr

We love the Minho and Galicia, Spain , very green and so much history. Guimares is where Portugal was founded and is an interesting small city. Pretty landscape, nice towns and cities. Gallic influences.
Evora..I would recommend two nights at Posada de Loios but one night could be enough to see Evora.

Mithaiwala

Visited Lisbon and Madeira Island last November and it was such a fun trip. Did not plan anything before leaving. Once we arrived at he hotel (beautiful, 5* hotel with a delicious breakfast buffet every morning, we checked with the receptionist and based on their recommendations, we took day trips to Sintra, Obidos, Fatima and enjoyed every trip. Fun shopping for handpainted tiles. Came back with a lot of pottery from Lisbon and Madeira.

Toured Lisboa in a cab. The drivers take great pride in showing you around the city. After 3 days in Lisboa, took a flight to Madeira and it is HEAVEN on earth! So pure, so green, just amazing! Rented a cab (same cab/driver for all 3 days) and took us around most of the island. Once again, he took great pride in showing us around. I may sound so naïve, but it is only on our way back, while on the plane back to Lisboa, that I saw on the map in the in-flight magazine, how far south Madeira was from Lisbon! Me, my sister, mom and aunt just took off on the trip and what a beautiful trip it turned out to be! I have a lot of pottery and tiles that remind me every single day.

CollK

Lily3, thanks so much for the apartment information. I checked out Baixa House and they look really nice although a little above my budget. I couldn't find anything for Paolo's apartments.

lily3

CollK, Here is the link for the Chiado apartments. There are several of them, all in Chiado, I believe the Rue Garrett location was the one I saw recommended on this forum. Yes, the Baixa House apartments were a bit more than we wanted to spend on the Lisbon portion of the trip too, which is why we didn't end up staying, but the location is great.

CollK

Hi Lily3, looks like you forgot to post the link but I think I figured it out. Are these the apartments you were talking about?

http://www.chiado-serviced-apartments.com

They look very nice and affordable too! Thanks again.

Nepheline

SO and I stayed in the Chiado apartment with one bedroom (Paolo's) on Praca Camoes just about 2 years ago. It's a very nice apartment, well-furnished, in a great location. However, the square it is on was, at least then, the gathering spot for all the young people who frequent the bars on the hill behind the apartment when the bars close about 1 a.m. The noise was like being at a fraternity party. It was kind of fun to watch from the window for a little while. If you're not young, or not a partier yourself, or would like to sleep between midnight and 3 or 4 a.m., this might not be the apartment for you.

lily3

CollK, Sorry I forgot to post the link. Here it is (looks like the same place you found):
http://www.chiado-apartments.com/en/hotel-overview.html

The Rua Garrett location may be better for the noise factor than the Camoes square, I'm not sure. The owner seemed helpful when I had contacted him, and he might be able to suggest which apartment would be quietest.