Would love itinerary advice for Lisbon/Porto
 

Hi!

My husband and I are traveling to Portugal at the end of February for a work trip/vacation.

We are arriving in Lisbon on a Friday and my husband has business meetings the following Tuesday and Wednesday in Lisbon. Our plan is to explore Lisbon that Saturday and Sunday, then do a day trip to Sintra\ Cascais on Monday. We'll most likely have time to do at least some more exploring at least half of the day on that Tuesday and Wednesday in Lisbon as well. From Lisbon we were going to rent a car or take the train from Lisbon on Thursday to Porto and do three nights in the city before heading back to Lisbon on Sunday, flying out of Lisbon on Monday.

My question is can Sintra/Cascais be done in one day or should we try to split it up, or just do one or the other? Also should we take any day trips from Porto (like to the Duoro Valley) or spend one night in a different city either on the way to Porto or way back to Lisbon? This will be the first time in Portugal for the both of us.

Thank you in advance for any advice you might have!

Yes, one day should be fine. I highly recommend Coimbra on the way to/from Porto.

For more see: http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ing-lisbon.cfm

You may need/want to keep your plans flexible to adjust for weather. I would not want to commit in advance to overnights without seeing a short term weather forecast. Anything in between Lisbon and Porto is doable as a day trip from the cities themselves.

Be sure to have excellent non-skid shoes for both cities in case in gets on the ground. These are some seriously steep and slippery walks if the ground is wet.

If you enjoy museums, Lisbon has several unique and fascinating ones. If you enjoy historic archicture, both the Belem monastery and the Convento do Carmo are lovely places to visit, plus the layouts of several archaic neighborhoods.

Porto's streets are an endless fascination. Any good guidebook will give you several choices of walking tours and the city is smallish. If it is too chilly to be outside all the time but the day is clear, a trip across the river to drink port and take in the marvelous view of the city (I really enjoyed the bar at the Yeatman in Vila Nova de Gaia) is enjoyable.

Thank you both for the advice! I had not factored in the weather so will have to think about that. Do you have any hotels in Porto you love? We are open in style/budget...just hoping for something not too sterile in terms of decor. Something with personality and good location!

Hi, you will love Portugal! I am not an expert having only visited once but can confirm that Sintra will take most of the day and is well worth it!
We drove from Lisbon to Porto and did stop in Coimbra which was pleasant enough.
Porto was an unexpected favourite, we LOVED it! We had planned to the Douro Valley from Porto but simply ran out of time (we had four nights I think) as there was lots to see in Porto.
If you are not set on hotel accommodation can I suggest a wonderful apartment overlooking the river and city...
https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Vacat..._Portugal.html
We stayed here and Pedro could not have been a better host, the apartment is well located, sensational views and beautifully appointed.
Have a wonderful trip :)