Betty Ann

<BR>We will be in Portugal in early November and would like to pick up a car at Lisbon airport and drive to a nice SMALL town, which we would use as our base for day trips. When we return the car, we will spend some time in Lisbon. <BR> <BR>Any advise on small towns and good car rental prices will be greatly appreciated. <BR> <BR>Obrigado! (Did I spell that correctly?)

Susan

Betty Ann, <BR>Try Sintra and Cascais (sp?). I visited both towns on daytrips from Lisbon about 6 years ago. Sintra was very quaint and charming and there's a nice walk/hike up to a beautiful castle. Enchanting! No recollection about the size of the cities. <BR> <BR>Susan

Jorge

Small town for a base? Sintra is about as good as it gets, but expensive to stay in. My advice depends on where you want to concentrate your travelling - North or South? The better half of Portugal, in my opinion, is the north. If you want to explore the central-north part of the country, station yourself at Torres Vedras. From there you'll have pretty good access to the northern part of the country. Don't miss: Batalha, Alcobaca, Fatima, Tomar, Braga, Coimbra, Porto, and Obidos. <BR>In the south don't miss: Evora and Portimao. The Algarve has nice beaches, but its crawling with tourists and ugly, bland modern architecture. <BR>Boa Sorte! <BR>

Jorge

I forgot to recommend "Auto Jardim" as a decent car rental place. Never had a problem with them through the 4 times that I've used them.

miles dinner

After leaving Lisbon, head through the Sintra area where there are some outstanding palaces. The government sponsered pousadas are incredible places to stay usually refurbished homes of former royalty. Head to Obidos which is an unforgettable medieval town (see the church where Joseph of Obidos presided).. you must go north to Bussaco where you can stay at the former hunting palace of the king. Don't miss Evora ...but by all means you can skip the Algarve unless you want to play some golf. Good luck