need help with itineraries for next week in Portugal
 

I and my 23 y. old daughter arriving to Lisbon next Friday, March 6. We like to walk a lot and go to the museums, eat local food (and any seafood!). We will use public transportation (small carry-on suitcases:)
We need your help to make wise selection for the city/sites for Monday-Tuesday . We cannot decide what to choose after Evora, because we a torn apart between all parts of Portugal, we wish we have 3 weeks, but we have only 5 nights in Portugal (someone needs to work to help economy).
Friday - After checking into hotel in Lisbon (Baixa) we are planning to go Sintra.
Saturday - we will see Lisbon (walking tour + more sightseeing ).
Sunday - we will go by bus (?train) to Evora and stay overnight there.
Monday? -
Tuesday - morning? We will return to Lisbon
Wednesday - go back home to DC yearly in the morning

Hi hope; One suggestion would be to stay overnight in Evora for two nights. From Evora there would be many choices to visit. Monsaraz is a lovely walled town. Then there is Villa Vicosa, Estremoz, and Evoramonte, all within easy reach of Evora. If there were no bus tours, ask your hotel about a 'private car' for eight hours. This would be time well spent. There are many places north of Lisbon, but now you would have to take time to double back and lose valuable hours. With only five days, keep your trip in a 'compact' area. Google each town and go to images. iris1745/dick

Dear Hope: IMO I think you're carving too wide a circle for such a short trip. You're facing moderately lengthy bus trips (Lisbon to Evora, about 80 miles each way . Getting to many of those lovely Alentejo locations may be far more difficult and time-consuming than one would think (with a car, no problem, but public trans...another unpredictable story)...
In the five actual days that you have set aside, just doing the very histroically fascinating Lisbon/Belem circle, where public trans. is excellent..by trolley or bus (or taxi)..and spending a day in Sintra by train, and possibly Cascais/Estoril..pretty much eats up your five days. Again, the Sintra/Cascais/Estoril/Cabo da Roca triangle can be a perfect close-in solution for that private car Iris suggests That's what I suggest, based on recent personal experience (and we had a rental car).

Hope, please don't shoot the messenger..but I wanted to give you a sensible option of far more comfort and a lot less rush. I am sure when all is said and done, you and daughter will enjoy the visit far more.

Lobo, if you're there..please chime in....(he's our Lisbon residing maven on all things Portugal)

stu t.

Hope...when you finalize your plans, we will all chip in with restaurant and site recommendations for whatever locations you choose. I promise.

stu

I agree with Stu---Lisbon with a day trip to Sintra and Evora is plenty for 5 days.

Hello everyone, thanks for calming me down and make me feel less guilty about giving up all other places ... It was planned as a short escape and BD present (for me).
I like both ideas to stay in Lisbon and tour around and also to stay 2 nights in Evora. My daughter sad that she would like to visit Evora and I like the idea to explore areas from there. I may consider to rent a car for Evora trip.
We have two nights reserved in Lisbon, for the rest we are open. If we go to Evora for:
1. for 2 nights (Sunday-Monday ) we will return on Tuesday to Lisbon. (we may rent or get a "private" car?).
2. for 1 night - what is a better choice to return to Lisbon on Monday or Tuesday? (explore more Lisbon/Belem circle)
There are two reasons that I don't want to drive car in Portugal: I am uncomfortable to drive in unknown areas; and reviews about drivers in Portugal is not encouraging me to try. (I am not lost completely - I drive stick shift everyday;) Also on vacation I have a chance to be without car.

Hi; You could rent a car for three days at the airport on the way to Evora. When in Lisbon spend the whole day in Lisbon [skip Sintra]. When leaving Evora after two days, you could then stay in the Sintra area for your last night. It is near the airport. You might also on that last day have time to visit Marfa, a great monastary, just north of Sintra. If you don't mind driving, renting a car for three days would probably be cheaper than a 'private car' in Evora. This is a reliable company. www.sixt.com iris1745/dick

A Maven??? lol, I like it :-)
I read this post earlier this morning and I left it for further reflection since I don't know how to squeeze Lisbon, Sintra and Evora in 5 days.
Sintra is ok as a day trip. Train is the selected transport. Palacio da Vila, Castelo dos Mouros, Palacio da Pena and Covento dos Capuchos are the selected attractions. The last but not the least, pastries are a must. I can direct you to the right place. The biggest of the attractions is the Apple Beach tramway, over a century old, designed to carry the working classes to the nearby Praia das Macas (Apples Beach), but I don't think it doesn't work all year round. Another attraction is Toys museum, don't expect anything biiiiiggg, but is features a nice display of old days tin toys.
One day is ok for Sintra.
I'm not sure if I should encourage you to go to Evora. In contrast do Sintra, the bus is the selected transport to go to Evora. Evora is the heart of the Alentejo region (Alentejo means beyond Tagus river), and my very favourite region of Portugal (I took Mrs Wolf from there, so I know what I'm talking about). I you have a car, there are a lot of several little towns around, any of them known by some special reason. You might find small towns devoted to pottery, others to tapistry and so on. But if you don't have a car and you limit yourselves to Evora itself, I'm affraid that after one day, you don't find anything very exciting to do.
Regarding Lisbon itself, Matt from England, in the 1st post of his 1st series of "things to do in and around Lisbon", posted lot of suggestions. In my opinion, these are the best pages I've seen about Lisbon. My suggestions (not necessarily by order of importance) are Fado, chocolate cake, tea and scones, Oceanarium, Alfama (the true heart of Lisbon), Bairro Alto, Chiado, Belem (means Bethlehem after the sister town in the ME), people watching, port wine, pasteis de belem. Next days I'll try to elaborate around these aspects, if I find the opportunity. If you have any particular interest on any of these subjects, please let me know.

Hi hope; Not disagreeing with anything 'lobo' say's, but we have been to the area twice and returning in April. Evora is an easy one 1/2 hour drive from the Lisbon airport. With traffis, perhaps a bit more. For us, we love Lisbon, but we love these towns around Evora more. Lobo gave you a lot of good information, but just decide what is more important to you both. Another factor is whether or not you might return sometime in the future. If not, see as much as you can. iris1745/dick

Is it reasonable?

Friday - Lisbon and around (stay 2 nights in Baixa; for fun I agreed to stay at private room at Hostel!!! my older daughter (23) is very experienced traveler. I am 45, but not sure how I will handle this adventure, I passed my college age long time ago. )

Saturday - 3h morning walking tour - Lisbon

Sunday - Evora - I made reservation for 2 nights in Evora in Residencial Riviera. I also reserved a car in Evora about $35 for a day ~ 24 hours(but not paid yet).
Monday - Evora and driving near by (Monsaraz or/and Estremoz) . We decided with my daughter that we may just walk around and relax if we feel like not to going anywhere from Evora

Tuesday - Lisbon, possible stay in Sintra (there is no hotel for this night yet)


I will come back to Portugal with my husband, but not sure when.

special interest:
Lobo, I am creasy about "white and blue" ceramics, but not all kind, I like Russian style "Gzhel" with nice decorative brush strokes and different shades of blue, and recently I learn about azulejos. I noticed that every day I use a lot of big salad-bowls and plates made in Portugal (all white).

Hi hope; try this for Sintra. www.casadovalle.com/ iris1745/dick

High Hopes:

Now that you appear to have decided...set heavy thinking aside.... relax...and GO for it! You and daughter will have a marvelous time...and having her with you...precious!

Enjoy every minute of your Portugal experience...


stu T.

tower, iris1745, lobo_mau, and bobthenavigator!
Thank you for helping, I may have more Q. before Friday

I will check casa do valle

hope:

Just to give you another option for Sintra, we found the Tivoli to be very centrally located and a comfortable, large room hotel..just last May...walk everywhere, take a bus up to Pena Palace....here is their web page. With the Euro falling their rates are now quite a bit lower than they were in May at 1.55-1. I imagine around $100.

http://www.hoteltivolisintra.com/?gc...FRNN5QodYxkhmQ

Stu tower

A useful reference for Alentejo pottery is http://www.localnet.pt/olaria-pirraca/ In their site you may find the style of local production. It's basically a naif kind of art. Besides Redondo (where Pirraça is located), there is a village almost devoted to family run pottery industries. That Village is Sao Pedro do Corval http://www.cafeportugal.net/pages/ga...d=328&start=12
Both locations (Redondo and Sao Pedro do Corval are within a manageable distance from Evora.