What not to miss in Portugal?
 

Hi,

I have about two weeks in Portugal in either August or Sept. I plan to start from south and travel north towards Lisbon. Where are some of the "not to miss" areas of Portugal?

Recommendation are appreciated:)

I enjoyed Porto and Viana do Castelo tremendously. Efife also has incredible beaches. These are northern, coastal cities of tremendous beauty and incredible sighseeing.

Just returned from NW PT and Galicia.
Oporto, Guimaraes, Viana do Costelo are great. We stayed in the Pousadas.
We loved the Parador in Baiona, Spain in Galicia - I would stay there a week.
M

Thanks for the information! It seems both posts are recommending north of Portugal. I will look into that.

Mikemo, How was the weather?

zbjoon,
Like LaJolla in August - cloudy/marine air early burning off by 9:00 or 10:00AM and perfect until sunset at nearly 10:00 PM. Of course, we were seldom awake before 9:00AM and ate dinner after 10:00PM most nights.
We had no A/C in the rental car and didn't need it except the afternoon we tried to X the bridge into Oporto which was closed for an hour due to a crash.
We'll do the South in Spring or Fall.
M

We drove from Lison to the North and then back to the South and liked the North far better. The Algarve was filled with tourists and dotted with one ugly condo after another. We went in October and had no reservations just stopping at different pousadas and the most beautiful was called the castle (I think.) The grounds were incredible. It was previously the hunting lodge of the King and given to the Catholic Church and turned into a pousada. While we were there we saw the President of Portugal who was having dinner in the restaurant there.

I loved Portugal - the people, the food, and the countryside. Only thing is be very careful if you are driving. We have driven in Italy and France and they are without a doubt the worst - fast and careless.

We loved Evora and Beja. If you go to Evora, stay at Quinta da Nora, a wonderful rural guesthouse with a swimming pool. It's a beautiful farmhouse, very special. You can find it by doing a search on the name. On the coast, I suggest Salema and Sagres, both less touristy than the rest of the Algarve. In Salema, we had an "apartment" at A Mare. Really a bed and breakfast, lovely.

I said the pousada was the Castle but I think it is actually the Palace......

I rented a VW Golf 1.2L gas at Oporto A/P which was OK with the 5 sp man trans - would not do it with an auto trans.
The PT are no worse drivers than other Europeans, but the "big Dudes in MB, BMW, and Audi" are pretty aggressive. Like the Autobahnen in Germany, watch your side and rear mirrors always.
M

Unless you're looking for condos, golf, fish and chip shops, and hordes of tourists - go to northern Portugal. Viana do Castelo, on the coast, about a 4 hour drive from the Lisbon airport, is charming. We stayed at the pousada there, St Lucia, for a week and loved it. Many of the little towns in the north are delightful.

I agree with mikemo about the drivers. Yes they drive fast, but we have spent a total of 15 days driving in Portugal in the last six years and have never had a problem.

While mikemo said he ate dinners at 10PM, you will find that people in Portugal usually eat between 7:30 and 9:30, so you don't have to go hungry until 10PM unless you want to. :)

You will love Portugal.

judymo - What is a pousada?

Cameron, all - Thanks for tips. I am hearing more and more that north is much more pleasant than south.

Does this sound about right:

Lisbon, Sintra, Cascais, Porto, Viana de Castelo, Beja, Evora

And skip Algarve maybe?

Just return from a trip from Lisbon to north of Portugal. Lisbon (we stayed four days)and Porto (we stayed two days) are GREAT big cities. Coimbra is, uhn, so-so (lack of charm, in my opinion).
Óbidos is a small and wonderful village. Sintra is a highlight near Lisbon, specially the incredible Ajuda National Palace.
If possible (we rented a car), visit the fantastic Monastery of Batalha and the big Templar Castle, in Tomar. Fátima is an important site for the Catholics. Braga and Guimarães also worth a visit.

Hi

If you are coming to Portugal in August I sugest that you don't go to the Algarve. It's full at that month. If you come in September that's another thing. It's a better month in every way. Start there. Tavira is the best place to stay and eat. I suggest you the Vila Gale hotels. There are 2 in the Tavira area, both are great and have a boat to a private beach only for hotel guests.

After that you can go to Alentejo, Evora is not to be missed. I'd skip Beja (nothing special ) and if you have time go to Vila Vicosa and Estremoz, they are nearby. In Evora, the Pousada dos Loios is a great place to stay.

Then come to the centre, Lisbon, Cascais and Sintra, are also a must visit.

On the way to the North I suggest you to spend a night in Obidos, it's lovely and also has a charming pousada. The Pousadas are like Paradores in Spain. Take a look at their website: www.pousadas.pt. They have a link in English.

Then Porto, the Douro region and Viana do Castelo.

I am Portuguese, live between Lisbon and Cascais and if you need more information or suggestions on where to stay and eat feel free to ask me.

Teresa

Oooops, a corection: Pena National Palace, in Sintra (Ajuda is in Lisbon!) Sorry!

If you're driving, make sure you have a good map. Even then, make sure you are patient. Road signs in Portugal are either non-existant or confusing. In driving around Lisbon, Estoril and the Algarve, we found that signs might get you part of the way to say the highway, then mysteriously stop.

I second the suggestions for Vila Vicosa and Estremoz. If possible, add Marvao. It was a highlight of our trip and we enjoyed it much more than Evora.

The other highlight was Tomar. We combined it with a stop at Fatima. Alcobaca and Batalha.

Bom Jesus in Braga, Guimaraes and the many castles along the Spanish border were wonderful.

We stayed in Pousadas in Obidos, Almeida, Crato and Belmonte. We loved them except for Obidos. We found that to not be worth the money but were lured by the idea of staying in a castle. The historical atmostphere in Crato and Belmonte was much more magical than that of Obidos.

Make sure you have a good map!

judymol:
I believe the palace you are talking about is Hotel Palace do Bucaco and yes it is very beautiful and definitely worth a trip to. It was the hunting lodge of King Carlos and the forest around it has all kinds of vegetation from around the world that were gifts to him. We've stayed at the Palace
5 or 6 times and every time was enjoyable.

The only negative I've seen about N and NW PT is the Pousada in Obidos: we didn't stay there, but many posts concurr.
As much as we loved P. Sta Marinha, Sta Luzia and Sao Bento, the Parador just N in Baiona, SP was absolutely world class and the vill was great - almost no Norteamericanos tambien.
M

We drove for two and a half weeks around Portugal and Spain and no problems. Just suggest one of you drives and the other navigates and both of you have great senses of humor and loads of patience. I strongly suggest the drive from Lisbon through Estoril/Cascais to Cabo de Roca. The coastline is wonderful.