Hi Everyone, I planning one going to Portugal for 8 days in early September(I don't have more time).

Please advise on how many nights to spend in Lisbon, what day trips to take and what other cities I should make my home base. i will not be renting a car. Will be using public transportation.

Many thanks!

You can easily spend all that time in Lisbon (click on my name for my Lisbon TR). You don't provide much information - why have you chosen Portugal, what are your interests, do you need beach time?

Hi ThursdaySd thank you for your response! I chose Portugal because it is very affordable and it is one of the few countries in Europe I havent yet been to. I am interested in seeing Lisbon and also love smaller tons/villages. Costa del Sol would be amazing as well. I visited Nerja while I was in Spain. Can I access the beach and the smaller towns while making Lisbon my homebase or would you think that I should stay in Lisbon for a few days and then make another city my homebase? many thnaks again! Also, I saw some posts regarding crime in Lisbon-- is it more dangerous than the otehr European cities?

I think the charm of Portugal is outside of Lisbon. One of favorite towns to the west is Evora and to the north Braga and Coimbra.

Sintra is a fairytale town that arose naturally unlike a planned Disney Park.

I would not use Lisbon as a base for the beach - you either need to go south to Algarve (never been - I'm not a beach person) or north to somewhere like Nazare. You can visit Sintra and places like Estoril and Cascais as day trips from Lisbon. I'd second the vote for Coimbra.

Hi,

If you can you should try to go to the Douro Valley as September is possibly the best time of the year to visit the region as it is the harvest season. I know it's a stretch from Lisbon; you probably have to go to Porto the day before and pick a train or a boat cruise the following day. As there are many programs that only take a day you should consider it.

In Lisbon vicinities you must go to Sintra, as Aduchamp1 suggested. It's just... magical. Visit the Quinta da Regaleira, Palácio da Pena and Castelo dos Mouros. You won't regret it.

Hope you enjoy Portugal.