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Best Itinerary to Tour Favorite Regions in Portugal

January 12, 2022October 12, 2024Arts & Culture, Portugal Artsy Traveler Leave a Comment

Last updated on October 12th, 2024 at 06:48 pm

We’ve traveled to Portugal several times and find it a compact country that packs a lot of sightseeing punch. You’ll be able to see most of lovely Portugal on a two-week trip.

I suggest picking up your car in Lisbon and then driving south to the Algarve. Spend a few days indulging in a bit of sun and fun and then start working your way north through the Alentejo region to Coimbra and from there west to the Atlantic coast near Nazaré and north to Porto and Braga before zipping back down to Lisbon and home.

The map below shows approximate locations of the main regions in Portugal that I recommend exploring.

map of Portugal for travel in Portugal — Regions in Portugal; Map by Google Maps

Sample Itinerary

Here’s a sample itinerary for a two-week trip to Portugal starting and ending in Lisbon:

Day 1: Arrive in Lisbon

If you arrive in the late morning, pick up your car at the airport. Depending on your energy level, either drive directly to the Algarve (about 3 hours) or drive south for about an hour to a beach town such as Melides or Sines to relax after your flight.

Days 2 to 4: Western Algarve

Spend three nights in a home base such as Luz or Lagos (I recommend Luz) and take a day trip to Sagres and a boat excursion from Lagos to see the spectacular rock formations. Become one with the beach.

Day 5: Eastern Algarve

Drive east to Tavira for a night. I suggest bypassing the middle section of the Algarve with all its resorts.

Days 6 & 7: Alentejo

Head north to Évora for two nights. Explore local towns such as Estremoz, wander among megaliths, and fall in love with cork.

Day 8: Coimbra

Drive west to delightful Obidos north of Lisbon, then drive north along the coast to spend a night in either Nazaré on the Atlantic Coast or inland in Coimbra. If you choose Coimbra, catch a fado performance in the evening.

Days 9 to 11: Porto

Drive north to Porto, then home-base in Porto and spend a day driving north to explore Guimarães or east to the Douro Valley.

Days 12 to 14: Lisbon & Sintra

Drive back to Lisbon and drop off your car at the airport. Take a taxi into the city and spend the rest of the day and the next day exploring Lisbon. On your last full day in Portugal, take a day trip to Sintra.

Another Option

Reverse the itinerary so you go first to central and northern Portugal and then south through the Alentejo to the Algarve for some beachy R & R before heading north to Lisbon and home.

The Algarve

This part of Portugal is vacation central and perfect for a spot of R & R—a gentle way to either ease into your vacation or relax before heading back to home and reality. You won’t do much artsy sightseeing, but the scenery is spectacular and the weather warm and inviting.

Explore the eastern Algarve around lovely Tavira and the western Algarve between Lagos and Sagres. Hurry past the middle bit with its phalanxes of high-rise resorts.

Even in the less touristy parts of the Algarve, you’ll be hard-pressed to hear anyone speaking anything other than English, German, or Dutch. British pubs have sprung up in the towns and pastel vacation homes blanket the countryside.

Read more about the Algarve in Exploring the Algarve and Alentejo.

Alentejo

Called the Tuscany of Portugal, the Alentejo takes up a good third of the country, stretching from the Atlantic in the west to the Spanish border in the east and from the Algarve in the south to almost halfway up the country past Lisbon.

We discovered the Alentejo when Gregg (husband and artist) had an exhibition in the white-washed and achingly charming town of Estremoz. The region is hot and arid with fabulous megalithic sites with menhirs, dolmens and ancient stone circles, rolling hills, vineyards, and my favorite thing of all—endless hectares of cork trees.

A plantation of cork oak trees in the Alentejo region of Portugal

The main town in the region is Évora, well worth at least two nights of your time.

For more information about how to spend your time in the Alentejo, read Exploring the Algarve and Alentejo and check out descriptions of the megalithic sites in Explore Seven of the Best Prehistory Sites in Europe.

Lisbon

Lisbon isn’t as funky as it used to be, but it’s still a great city to visit and enjoy. When we stayed there for two weeks way back in 2010, I rarely saw a souvenir store, and the narrow streets in the historic Alfama district slumbered in the heat.

On our latest visits, so much had changed. Lisbon has been well and truly discovered.

The Alfama district bristles with souvenir shops, tourists shuffle in a conga line through the narrow streets to the Castle Sao Jorge, and flocks of sightseeing tuk tuks dart in and out of the speeding traffic. And forget about getting a seat on one of the iconic trams in the middle of the day!

Consider visiting out of season when the crowds will be fewer and you may recapture at least some of the spirit of old Lisbon.

Day Trip to Sintra

Include a day trip out to picturesque and super-touristy Sintra to visit the quirky Pena Palace, the medieval Castle of the Moors (my favorite!), and the town itself with various palaces and gardens. If you have an extra day, consider staying overnight in Sintra.

I provide suggestions for enjoying Lisbon and lovely Sintra in Three Days in Lisbon.

Central & Northern Portugal

You could easily spend your entire two-week vacation in the central and northern regions of Portugal. My itinerary doesn’t do it justice!

Highlights include stately old Coimbra, pretty Nazaré and the nearby beach Praia Do Norte which gets some of the largest waves in the world, fun and funky Porto, and if you have time, fascinating cities like Guimarães and Braga, along with the stunning Douro Valley for a spot of port-tasting.

Read my suggestions for touring this top half of Portugal in Exploring North and Central Portugal.

Tours in Portugal

Here are some tours available through GetYourGuide:

What Regions of Portugal are Your Favorites?

Do you have a favorite region of Portugal that I’ve left out? Please share your recommends in the Comments below. Here are links to all my posts about lovely Portugal:

Best of North & Central Portugal for the Artsy Traveler

January 28, 2020October 15, 2024Destinations, Portugal Artsy Traveler 1 Comment

Last updated on October 15th, 2024 at 04:20 am

There’s lots to see as you travel north from Lisbon along the Atlantic coast in central Portugal to Porto and the Spanish border.

Spend most of your time in Porto but spare a few days getting there via Óbidos, Nazaré, and Coimbra.

This post presents my best tips for touring central and northern Portugal.

Exploring the Atlantic Coast

Drive north from Lisbon or west from Évora in the Alentejo to the Atlantic coast. Drop by the cute little town of Óbidos and watch the massive waves pound the coast around Nazaré. Head north to Figueira da Foz and inland to Coimbra, then explore Porto and points beyond.

Óbidos

Stop first in enchanting little Óbidos, about an hour north of Lisbon. This fine example of a Portuguese walled town was presented by King Afonso II to the Queen of Portugal on their wedding day in 1210. Now, that’s a wedding present that beats a blender any day.

Town of Obidos in Portugal — Lovely town of Óbidos in Portugal

The town is achingly sweet, with its cobbled streets, white-washed houses trimmed in bright yellow and blue, and a Moorish castle that is now a pousada. A Portuguese pousada is like a Spanish parador—a building of historical significance renovated for use as a hotel. You’ll find pousadas throughout Portugal.

Nazaré

This beautiful town scrambles up the hill above a long, sandy beach jam-packed with candy-striped bathing tents. Fishing traditions are strong here, and you’ll see female fishmongers wearing the traditional seven petticoats (although I didn’t ask to count them).

Striped tents on the beach at Nazare — Striped tents on the beach at Nazaré

We got a kick out of watching ancient widows dressed in black, looking like they’d just stepped out of the 19^th century, talking on cell phones.

A major attraction on the coast close to Nazaré is its world-class surfing. The Nazaré Canyon is a submarine geomorphological phenomenon that contributes to the formation of perfect giant waves. Champion surfers ride waves up to 30 meters high at Praia do Norte.

Standing on the beach to watch the waves crash is a sobering reminder of the power of nature.

I suggest staying the night in Nazaré so you can enjoy a fish dinner in one of the restaurants facing the beach.

Figueira da Foz

This town is wonderfully far off the tourist track, but we’ve visited a few times because we have friends there. I like it because I’ve never run into a visitor from anywhere other than Portugal and, occasionally, France.

The beach is massive, sandy, and windy. In the old town, you’ll find authentic restaurants and a lively bar scene.

We visited the Museu Municipal Santos Rocha, a modern art complex consisting of several airy galleries. Highlights include a wonderful archeological collection featuring Roman coins as well as displays of objects from former Portuguese colonies in Africa.

Check the website for Figueira da Foz to see what’s on at the Museu Municipal Santos Rocha and elsewhere in the city.

Coimbra

In medieval times, Coimbra was the capital of Portugal. The historic center, with its old cobbled streets, dates from Moorish times.

The big attraction is the University of Coimbra, Portugal’s oldest and most prestigious university—the Oxford of Portugal. Originally founded in 1290 in Lisbon, the university is one of the oldest in the world. It was permanently relocated to Coimbra in 1537.

Entrance to the library at the University of Coimbra

Stand in the middle of the vast Pátio das Escolas to appreciate the surrounding buildings, most dating from the 16^th to the 18^th centuries.

Buy tickets to explore the buildings, particularly the magnificent old library. You’ll likely be guided by students wearing the traditional black cloaks that look as though they’ve stepped out of a Harry Potter movie.

In the evening, attend a fado concert. The Cultural House àCapella – Fado Center features a nightly show starting at 9:30 pm. The center is housed in a 14th-century chapel and includes a bar and tapas service.

Porto

In recent years, Porto has become the place to visit in Portugal. People describe it as the cool and funky place that Lisbon used to be.

I get that. On our visit in 2019, Porto reminded me of Lisbon of ten years ago when it hadn’t yet been gussied up with souvenir shops and fresh coats of paint.

View of Porto from across the Douro River

However, Porto has been discovered, and its funkiness likely will be slowly gentrified. See it soon!

The city tumbles down a series of steep streets to the Douro River. We stayed a few steps from the river in the thick of the action, and it was marvelous!

Throngs of tourists crowd the walkway alongside the river while tour boats whisk sightseers upriver to the Douro Valley.

Exploring Porto

The attraction of Porto is the city itself–the narrow old houses, some covered in blue and white tiles, the relaxed atmosphere, and the many staircases!

Trudge up to the Church of Sao Francisco to view the fabulous tilework. Then attend a fado concert at the Casa da Guitarra that features a spectacular female singer and includes a glass of port. Highly recommended!

Crossing the River to Gaia

Take the launch from Porto across the river to Gaia to visit the port warehouses. Old-fashioned port boats that transport the casks of port downriver from the vineyards are moored in front of the warehouses.

Sample a few glasses of port, admire the view of Porto, then walk back across the river via the Dom Luis Bridge.

Cork boats moored on the Douro River in Porto

Port wine shows up frequently in Porto. In addition to the glass of port included with our ticket to the fado concert, we received a glass of port at the Picasso exhibition and had a decanter of port left for us at our rental apartment. They’re nuts about port in Porto.

Find a place along the river for dinner. The quality of the restaurants varies, with some being excellent and others not so much. But the service at every restaurant we went to in the area was friendly and efficient, and the views were unbeatable.

North of Porto

Consider adding a few days to your trip to head north to the interesting town of Guimarães, regarded as the birthplace of Portugal and home to several historic buildings and an ancient castle. Also check out Braga, the third largest city in Portugal. Visit the Bom Jesus do Monte, a church famous for its stunning baroque staircase that depicts the ascent to heaven.

Another option is to explore the beautiful Douro Valley to the east, with its vineyards and rolling hills.

Here are two tours to consider.

Keep going north and you’ll end up in Spain, where green and gorgeous Galicia awaits.

Where to Stay in Central and Northern Portugal

For accommodation suggestions in Nazaré, Figueira da Foz, Coimbra, and Porto, see Where to Stay in Portugal: My Best Picks.

Have you traveled in central and northern Portugal? Share your tips and suggestions with other Artsy Travelers!

Here are some more posts about Portugal: