Traveling with my husband from NYC--we are in our early 60's and, in addition to historic sights enjoy walking around interesting neighborhoods, local markets, and people watching. Good food is a plus, not interested in shopping. We have 10 nights--arrive Lisbon, depart Porto.

Plan A

Lisbon 4 nights

Porto 3 nights

The other 3 (in between) could be some combination of:

Sintra

Evora

Douro Valley

Evora looks interesting, but a little off-track. Is it worth overnight versus day trip? We could rent a car and take a day trip to Duoro Valley from Porto. Since we are traveling in November and it might rain, that would give us flexibility.

Plan B: I'm leaning toward adding a night in Lisbon or Porto and spending two nights in Sintra. Keep it simple. Take day trips. Sentra because I keep reading it's worth staying overnight.

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks,

Jen

Give me just a second to contain my envy..... OK, then.

During the daytime the market in Lisbon functions as a traditional market. At night it transforms into a foodie haven with communal tables and a range of stalls offering various foods, mostly local. Both are quite enjoyable. The place is now "branded" as the Time Out market but remains a great place day and evening. I had a smashing time doing a market shopping and lunch preparation on one day, and the next day doing an all day winery tour with a lovely American woman who now lives in Lisbon. Contact Maureen via her web page at grapeolivepig.com but do so soon as her services are increasingly popular and she books up. Worth every penny!

In Lisbon, don't miss the Azulejo museum, it is a gem. It can be combined with a wandering around the Alfama neighborhood where you will find a variety of hole in the wall places to have a great meal. Also in Lisbon, the Gulbenkian museum is a lovely place - the Founder's Collection will appeal to your interest in history, but the Modern Collection is equally worthy of a visit. If you venture to the Lisbon suburb of Belem (as you should!), do not miss the Maritime Museum. It offers a fantastic overview of the historic navigators who literally opened the world of international trade.

Evora overnight with a car makes sense if you have any interest in visiting Alentejo wineries (which I highly recommend, though I'd prefer someone else driving so I could indulge in wine tastings.) Douro by car - not so much. Unless you are quite adept at navigating narrow, winding, steep roads (with no guardrails) it may be better to do a private or small group day tour form Porto. We did that and loved it, though we generally eschew group tours this was marvelous. We booked via a third party site but the actual tour was done by these folks (the three winery tour)

Lisbon to Porto is easy on the train. In Porto we had a lovely room overlooking the river at Vila Galé Porto Ribeira. Room was perhaps compact by American standards but sparkling clean and comfortable, and the staff was wonderful.

Overnight in Sintra would be nice. If nothing else, you will be exhausted from climbing the endless hills at the Pena Palace!

We ddi your plan A.
Only 2-3 nights in Lisbon and fro me one in Porto (we ddidn't like Porto that much)
Inbetween : Coimbra, Obidos, and some other places.

Seamus--thanks for your helpful suggestions--they align perfectly with our interests. Can't wait to spend time at the Lisbon market! I love museums, but haven't looked into them yet, so your suggestions are most welcome. I'll have to think on the Evora/Duoro/winery options, but a day tour from Porto makes a lot of sense. Thanks so much for the Porto hotel suggestion--it sounds perfect. I'd love to have a room with a view.

My original plan was to just stay in Lisbon and Porto and take day trips, but I've read several places that staying overnight in Sintra is worth it because the evenings and early mornings aren't crowded and it is better experienced at a leisurely pace. Someone said they started their trip with two nights in SIntra, which is interesting. However, it's so close to Lisbon that a day trip is easy, and I hope it won't be too crowded in November.

I stayed in Bologna once and took several day trips, including to Florence, and loved having that one home base, so maybe that is what I should do in Lisbon and Porto.

Jen

Plan B in late fall IMO - take trains between two and day trips- stop at Coimbra en route to Porto - book trains early for discounted fares at www.cp.pt - Portuguese Railways site - general info trains and where to go and what to expect BETS-European Rail Experts and www.ricksteves.com. I liked Porto a lot but not that much per se to see besides neat old-world town itself - easy to take trains to Braga and Guimares - two really neat nearby old historic towns.

Thibaut--thanks for weighing in. Coimbra and Obidos are definitely on my list. So many wonderful places so see. Just can't decide whether to do a few one-nigh overnights, or base in Lisdon and Porto and do day trips. Both have their advantages! Jen

PelenQ--Thanks so much for weighing in. If we stopped at Coimbra en route to Porto is there a place to store luggage? Will look into Braga and Guimares--they sound like places we would enjoy! Jen

I think Coimbra-B - main station for old town - may not have luggage storage - but Google and see if any available.

Yes, overnight in Evora, Coimbra too if possible. We also stayed in Guimares, at least do a day trip there.
We really loved staying at Hotel Infante de Sagres in Porto with it’s incredible service and delicious breakfasts.

Forgot to mention that in Porto be sure to check out the Serralves museum. The architecture and landscaping are as impressive as the collections!
We adored Porto, thought it was a perfect place to get away from mundane reality and just enjoy.

HappyTrvlr--would it make sense to rent a car in Lisbon, drive to Evora for a night and then drive to Porto? Torn between that and staying closer to the coast. Thanks for the hotel recommendation!

Thanks, Seamus! Glad to hear you liked Porto. I am torn about whether to just stay in Lisbon and Porto, or add a night or two or three elsewhere between the two cities. One thing I am considering is that in November it will be dark early and staying in the smaller towns might not be as interesting as in summer when you can go for evening strolls. In the cities there will be things to see in the evening.

Coimbra would be one nice larger city and university town to stay a night or two in. Or Evora as a day trip from Lisbon for a few days.

Thanks, PalenQ--so hard to decide!

But you can go wrong in Portugal with whatever you decide!

Following along as we are planning a similar trip in late May / early June. Fly into Porto and out of Lisbon with day trips frim each. Also a couple of days at a beach resort to rest at end of trip. Considered the Algarve but too far so perhaps Cascais or other nearer to Lisbon. Will take the traun from Porto to Lisbon. Also wondering about luggage storage uf we want to stop enroute.

don't think much luggage storage at train stations in between - like Coimbra apparently has none - but there often are alternative storage places nearby - Google that.

Hi benmia--I would plan my trip differently going in May/June, when the days are longer. I think your idea of the coast is lovely and even in small villages you can enjoy the evening dining outside, taking walks, etc. I've decided to limit our stays to Lisbon and Porto, but I found a hotel in Porto that has parking, so I think we will rent a car there. There are fewer train options than in Lisbon and some beautiful scenic drives. If the rental price from one airport to the other isn't excessive we may also drive from Lisbon to Porto--make a nice day of it with a few stops along the way. Have fin planning your trip!

Obidos would make a nice easy stop in a day driving between Porto and Lisbon. Walled medieval small town. Few hours enough.

We loved our too-short 5-night stay in Lisbon. It seemed like a very open and friendly place, where they welcome tourists. Language is no problem, as they teach English in Portuguese schools.

We stayed at the Hotel Avenida Palace, and highly recommend it. Fantastic breakfast/brunch buffet in a gorgeous dining room, with tablecloths and a hostess. Great way to start the day. The elegant hotel has a free library with novels and travel books to borrow. Customer service is outstanding there.

We took day-trips by train to Sintra, Cascais and Estoril. Very inexpensive and easy to do. Just make sure you go to the correct train station for your destination.