Hi, <BR> <BR>I'm a 50 year old brazilian frequent traveler and I'm planning to travel to Portugal next September with my wife. As I've never been there although I've gone to Europe many times I'd like some advice from anyone about the best cities to visit, what to do and hotel and restaurants tips. I've a nice budget and love wines. <BR>Thanks, <BR>ALF

Hi Alf, <BR> <BR>It's for folks like you that we write our travelogues. We have two on Portugal on our non-commercial web site, TheTravelzine.com, http://www.thetravelzine.com. <BR> <BR>Have a great trip! <BR>Don and Linda

Alf, <BR>We loved Portugal! We also love wine! You must go to Porto and visit all of the wineries (Port) and get to know Porto, a beautiful city. We spent a little time in Lisbon, but the day we arrived in Lisbon was the first day of the Worlds Fair, so we left, got on the ferry and went to Sagres,,,,one of the most beautiful, quiet places left on this earth! Sagres is at the far end of the western tip of Europe, if you crossed the water you would be directly in Morroco! The Naval academy there was the school that Christopher Columbus attended, it too is a must see! Excellent food, excellent Sangria's, I would move there in a heartbeat! Faro is supposedly another good resort place, we don't like to go to resorts with a lot of other tourists, we usually pick out of the way, small places and try to get into the culture of the locals, this is truely experiencing another country in this manner. Have a good trip!

ALF, That would take an hour to answer. <BR>Get a map and look at this itinerary. <BR>Lisbon--Cascais--Sintra--Obidos-Batahla <BR>Porto--Viano do Castello--Braga--Marvao <BR>Estromoz---Evora--Lagos---Sagres--then <BR>back to the Pousada at Palmela for your <BR>last nite. That would take about 15 days <BR>and you would stay at 6 or 7 locations, <BR>mostly in Pousadas. That is Portugal-- <BR>you will love it. I have done this basic route twice---with variations. <BR>Let me know if you need detail help. <BR>

Don't miss Porto and the wineries, and the quintas upstream on the Douro. Evora is a must. Cabo da Roca for spectacular scenery if you don't mind the wind trying to blow you off a cliff. In Lisbon try a new fado club that's not in the book but should be: Grand' Tasca, Rua Manuel Bernardes, 10ABC; phone 21 395 52 90. It's in Alto Bairro, not Alfama. Great food, best fado I found on recent trip. Expensive, but on a par with the listed places and food, ambiance and singing better. So far not packed with tourists.