I'm researching a possible trip to Portugal over the last week and a half of November and the first few days of December this year. In total, my travel companions and I will have 17 to 18 nights on the ground. We've visited the Lisbon area once before, back in 2007. Our interests are history, culture, the unique architecture, castles and gardens, good food, hiking, and scenery. We would be using public transportation throughout the trip along with our own two feet; we can add taxis and private drivers where useful.

The definite places right now are Porto, Lisbon, the Algarve, and Madeira. We're thinking 3-5 nights in Porto - 3 if we focus on the city and 4 or 5 if we take day trips. Interests are the Douro Valley, Guimaraes, and Braga; not suggesting we would have time for all of it. Lisbon would be 3-4 nights including a visit to Sintra (we went when we were in Lisbon in 2007 and are hoping to go again, so we know what to expect here). I'm thinking 3 nights in the Algarve, based in Lagos, although we may drop it to 2 if we need it somewhere else; our primary reason for visiting the Algarve are the natural rock formations (a nice walk on the beach is welcome too, but not looking to sunbathe or swim). We are currently thinking 5 nights on Madeira although this may adjust by a night or so in either direction.

The above may consume all of our time in Portugal but we may have room for one more place, at most two. Other places of interest, from reviewing guidebooks, websites, videos, and the trip reports of other Fodorites, especially russ_in_LA (thank you!), are Coimbra, Obidos / Nazare, and Evora. I know each of these places have magnificent buildings and we would enjoy them all. For those of you who've visited, which of these three or four would feel most different from the definite places we would already visit? Which would give us a taste of Portugal that we would get in the two major cities and / or the Algarve and Madeira?

Among all the destinations still on our list for consideration, we feel the best about Portugal right now given COVID-19 infection rates and trajectory, vaccination rates, etc. We would probably wait at least 3-4 more weeks to be sure of the trend before committing.

Thanks as always.

I would vote for Coimbra. Besides the old town and the stunning university library there are good Roman ruins at Conimbriga, reachable by bus. Also, it is on the way from Porto to Lisbon. I was a little disappointed by Evora, the Roman temple is nothing special, and you need a car and driver to explore the countryside. Obidos is super cute, but only needs a couple of hours and could be a day trip. I has been decades since I visited the Atlantic coast so can't help with Nazare.

BTW, if you go to Obidos, Caldas da Rainha, nearby, has an excellent ceramics museum.

@thursdaysd, thank you so much for your feedback. Appreciate the information about Conimbriga and Caldas da Rainha too.

Of these choices Coimbra, Obidos / Nazare, and Evora Coimbra offers the most with less travel.

https://flic.kr/p/7NqLrD
https://flic.kr/p/2gxuSaK

Another vote for Coimbra. You will love the city and surrounds!

IF you'd be interested in some guided touring, Maureen Ferguson is an American expat living in Lisbon who runs Grape Olive Pig providing a range of options from walking/eating/drinking tours in Lisbon to multi-day treks around the lovely Alentejo region. She was a very successful restaurateur in the Philadelphia area and has extensive training in oenology. I booked her on my first trip to Lisbon and she helped me fall in love with Portugal (not that much matchmaking was required!) Not sure how she is operating in pandemic times but would be worth checking with her as you plan.

@Michael and @HelenaFatima, thank you for your confirmations of Coimbra.

@Seamus, appreciate your tour guide suggestion as well.