I'm planning a 2 month trip with Lisbon as a base, May-June 2019. Can travel 6 days a week. One caveat: I need to be back in Lisbon every Sunday morning. Suggestions, please?

Well in that long you can hit every major sight and many minor ones in Portugal, a small country. Will you have a car or train? Trains are great but for six days a week I'd pick an area to motor around - Algarve, Duoro Valley, between Lisbon and Porto, etc. But if wanting to go to one or two locals trains and buses go everywhere- for info on them check www.cp.pt - Portugeuse Railways; www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.seat61.com.

Maybe get a Michelin Green Guide to Portugal and look at driving routes and map of country or similar guide.

I can secure a car when needed, yes. But I also wouldn't mind taking a train to some other European destinations beyond Portugal on occasion. I've never used the rail system, nor flown from one European destination to another but I have time to plan. All insights and shared experiences are appreciated. Thanks.

Well thereis a plethora of cheap discount air carriers in Europe so you could fly virtually anywhere. But taking a train would mean to anywhere except Spain. To get to rrance from Portugal by train is only possible via taking an overnight train between Lisbon and Hendaye on the French border, arriving there next morning for connections thru France- there is no day train on that route. But catch a cheap flight to somewhere then maybe take trains around - like to Switzerland's Alpine areas - or anywhere.

Even getting to Spain by train is a pain - about 10 hours by day train with 2 changes of train to Madrid.

Cheap Flights with low cost, charter and other airlines: find cheap air tickets and www.skyscanner.com for insights on cheap flights from and to anywhere.

I would stick with the flight options to travel outside of Portugal. You can be in another major city in just 1/2 day, with another five days to explore. Even with taking a train from another major city to a smaller nearby town, you have endless opportunities.

There is a perfectly good direct night train between Lisbon and Madrid.

https://www.seat61.com/international...sbon_to_Madrid

For info on train travel in Europe see the rest of the seat61 site. For flights use skyscanner.com. And check the route maps for Easyjet and Ryanair.

Wonder why there is no good connection by train between Madrid and Lisbon during the day?

Read a little history PQ. Spain and Portugal have not been friendly neighbors in the past, and I don't how much belonging to the EU has changed that. It is certainly still the case that weather maps on Spanish TV show Portugal as entirely blank space.

But I think no daytime train is probably more a factor of being too far and not enough larger intermediate stops - and Portugal's dismal rail infracstructure at least compared to Spain's.

Definitely spend several days in Sevilla. If you click on my username you'll see a link to my trip report on Spain.

Yes with that many days a week to tour around Seville could certainly fill the whole week - with day trips to Cordoba, Cadiz, Jerez-de-la-Frontera (Sherry House tours and famous Andalusian Horse practice sessions in local arena (or proper shows), etc. Best to fly there but there is a direct bus of several hours duration I believe to Seville. Could split up with few days in Granada and wonderful Alhambra.

PalenQ, the question should be "why there is not a wall (like chinese wall, or the other one Trump wants to build between Mexico and USA) between Spain and Portugal.

There are no good connections (by trains or other) between Spain and Portugal because they spent centuries trying to conquer us.And they still do and unfortunately are winning, through the banking system.

Thanks for that insight. Guess there is not that much cross-border travel?

De Espanha, nem bom vento, nem bom casamento.

Translate?

We were told to speak English and forget using Spanish there. We met a Cuban family while in Portugal and they had some negative reactions to their using Spanish so switched to English.

Wow - never realized the animosity Portugeuse have to Spaniards! Little brother v Big brother syndrome - for good reasons according to Fatima above.

Very good reasons.

About translation: https://translate.google.com/?hl=pt-PT

Happytrvlr, we all speack Spanish in Portugal. Besides some words like pollo, piņa, merluza, ternera...all the others are commom. And we used to see "el verano azul". We just don't like people that think we are the little brother of a great nation named Spain. We are brothers, but don't like to be the litle one - and we are not . But well what can we do? Some stupid people still think that way. Lack of knowledge of History, perhaphs.

Very good reasons. And, may you not notice, litlle brorther is Spain. Still a brother, but... not very close. Oh and by the way, the real king was killed (of course withour intention) by the last King... in Portugal.

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