Caves on the Algarve in Portugal

Best Itinerary to Tour Favorite Regions in Portugal

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.  

Cliffs and beaches in the Algarve - a region for travel in Portugal
Stunning cliffs and beaches in the western Algarve

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
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.

Lisbon tram leaving the Alfama district
Historical yellow tram in front of the Lisbon cathedral, Alfama, Lisbon, Portugal

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:

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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:

Three Amazing Days in Lisbon

Lisbon is a wonderful city that deserves a stay of at least two or three nights. You want to be able to enjoy Lisbon at night when the crowds dissipate and the sounds of Fado waft from cafes in the Alfama and Bairro Alto.

In my suggested two-week itinerary for a driving trip around Portugal (see the Portugal page), I recommend driving to Lisbon from Porto in the morning, dropping the car at the airport, and then taking a taxi or shuttle into Lisbon for the last three nights of your Portugal trip.

That gives you a day and a half to explore Lisbon and another full day to enjoy Sintra, either on your own or on a day tour.

Getting Around Lisbon

I recommend settling into one of the three adjacent and historic Lisbon neighborhoods. Imagine you’re facing downtown Lisbon with your back to the Tagus River (Rio Tejo).

The Bairro Alto is on the hill to your left; the Baixa-Chiado district (or just Baixa), with its orderly grid of streets is in the center; and the twisty lanes of the ancient Moorish district of the Alfama crawl up the hill to your right, crowned by the Castelo São Jorge.

By basing yourself in one of these three districts, you can walk almost everywhere. When you get tired of walking, hail a taxi (not expensive in Lisbon) or hop on one of the historic trams. They clatter and shudder up the steep hills and, although packed with fellow tourists, are a lot of fun to ride at least once.

Take the metro or a bus out to the Gulbenkian and to the Belém district, and catch the train to Sintra from the Rossio train station at Praça Rossio.

Day 1: Arrive in Lisbon

After dropping off your car at the airport, take a taxi to your hotel, arriving in the early afternoon. I suggest booking a hotel in the central Baixa-Chiado district. I’ve stayed in all three districts, but I most enjoyed staying in the Baixa about a block from the massive Praça do Comércio with its breezy outdoor cafés and stunning views of the Tagus River.

Alfama

Walk to the Alfama district, tour the Fado Museum, then climb the narrow streets to the Castelo São Jorge. You’ll be rewarded with great views over Lisbon.

The streets and houses in the ancient Alfama have retained some of their old world charm, but the area feels cleaned up, and the atmosphere has changed over the ten years since we first visited Lisbon.

In 2010 when we stayed for a week at an apartment in the Alfama, a rooster was tethered to a leash a few meters from our front door, salted cod hung in the windows of tiny grocery stores, and I never saw a souvenir shop. On our last visit post-COVID, the Alfama swarmed with tourists, the salted cod was a memory, and souvenir shops abounded.

Rooster in the street in the old Alfama in Lisbon
Rooster in the street in the old Alfama

It wasn’t an improvement.

But go for a wander through the area anyway. If you visit towards the end of the day when the crowds have thinned, you’ll get a bit of the Moorish/Medieval vibe.

Lisboa Story Center

After spending time in the Alfama, walk into the Praça do Comércio, and check out the Lisboa Story Center. It’s open until 8 pm (last entry at 7 pm), making it a great early evening stop.

Buy tickets and an audio guide ahead of time to skip the lines. The Lisboa Story Center can get crowded.

Yes, it’s touristy, but I thoroughly enjoyed the interactive displays chronicling the history of Lisbon. You don an audio headset and take a 60-minute journey back in time. The displays are engaging and interesting.

For part of the journey, you enter a sensory theater to experience the 1755 earthquake that devastated Lisbon. I was intrigued by the displays about the Carnation Revolution of 1974 and the making of modern-day Portugal.

Evening of Day 1

Enjoy dinner in one of the outdoor cafés in the Praça do Comércio, then stroll up the wide avenues of the Baixa to the Praça do Rossio, the central square with its wonderful wavy brickwork. Stop for a drink and watch Lisbon go by.

Looking toward Lisbon from the massive Praça do Comércio
Looking toward Lisbon from the massive Praça do Comércio

Day 2: All Day in Lisbon

If you’re staying in the Baixa, skip the expensive hotel breakfast and grab a coffee and a croissant at an outdoor café.

Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation

Head out early to enjoy a morning of fabulous art at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. This place blows me away! Take the metro (blue and red line) to S. Sebastião.

Get your tickets online in advance to avoid waiting in line.

I write about the Gulbenkian in Artsy Sightseeing on the Portugal page. You’ll see a spectacular collection of sculptures, paintings, jewelry, furniture, and other objets d’art from Egyptian times to the present. Another attraction is the 7.5-hectare park surrounding the buildings that make up the foundation.

Virtual Tour

Explore the collections on the Foundation’s website.

Belém 

From downtown Lisbon, head to Belém on either the E15 tram or the 728 bus. They’ll drop you in front of the Mosteiro dos Jeronimos.

Several of Lisbon’s iconic tourist attractions, as well as great views of the Tejo Estuary, are located in the stylish Belém district in west Lisbon. This area has enough attractions to fill a day, but with only an afternoon, here’s what I suggest you see, in this order.

Mosteiro dos Jeronimos

Tour this ornate UNESCO World Heritage Site that’s one of the foremost examples of the Manueline architecture and one of Portugal’s most decorative churches.

See lots of spindly columns and fine stonework that remind me of icing sugar decorations on a wedding cake. The huge, two-level cloister is worth seeing. This place gets mobbed with tourists so buy your tickets in advance.

Berardo Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art

Located close to the Jeronimos Monastery, this new museum was touted as the most visited museum in Portugal, according to The Art Newspaper.

The Berardo Museum presents the most significant artistic movements from the 20th century to the present day. Artists include Picasso, Duchamp, Mondrian, Miró, Ernst, and Bacon.

Two Iconic Monuments

When you’re in Belém, you can’t miss the two monuments that everyone comes to see: the iconic Belém Tower (Torre Belém) and the Monument to the Discoveries (Padrão dos Descobrimentos).

The Belém Tower is one of Lisbon’s most photographed sites. The Tower was built in the 16th century to protect the coast from attackers.

Stroll along the river to the Monument to the Discoveries (Padrão dos Descobrimentos), a striking, modern structure rebuilt in 1960 to celebrate 33 prominent figures in Portugal’s Age of Discoveries, including Henry the Navigator. A great photo op!

Belem Tower in Lisbon
Belém Tower
Monument to the Discoveries in Lisbon
Monument to the Discoveries

And, if you have time, sample the famous pastéis de nata at the Pastéis de Belém, reputed to be the best place in Lisbon to enjoy the creamy custard tarts in puff pastry. If not, don’t worry; these tarts are on the menu of every café in Portugal (and I ate my fair share of them).

Fado Performance

In the evening, head to the Bairro Alto for dinner and fado. Showy tourist shows are available, but I prefer prowling the back streets of the area in search of small restaurants and less touristy shows.

Our favorite place in Lisbon is Restaurante Canto do Camões on Travessa da Espera in the Bairro Alto. It’s low-key, with a friendly owner, good food, reasonable prices, and lots of fado. When we were there, singers dropped in, performed a few songs designed to rip our hearts out, collected a few euros from the proprietor, and then left, presumably to go sing in another place.

Restaurante Canto do Camões doesn’t appear to have a website, but you’ll find reviews on TripAdvisor. It’s not the flashiest place in Lisbon, but it feels authentic and we like it.

You can also purchase tickets for one of the slick fado performances designed for tourists.

Here are more links to tours and attractions in Lisbon.

Day 3: Sintra

Fill your last day in Portugal with the heady delights of Sintra. Even Byron mentioned it in his epic poem, Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage: Lo! Cintra’s glorious Eden intervenes, in variegated maze of mount and glen. Old Byron did have a way with words.

Catch the direct train from Rossio station to Sintra. The round-trip costs €4,30. Another option is to take a day tour from Lisbon.

The town of Sintra, with its pastel-colored mansions, is delightful, but the two big draws are the Pena Palace, with its Romanesque-Revival architecture, and the Moorish Castle.

Pena Palace

Get tickets ahead of time for the Pena Palace, and be prepared for a crush as you tour it.

Bus 434 from the Sintra train station does a circular loop through the historic center, up to the Pena Palace and the Moorish Castle, then back to Sintra. Or you can visit the castle after seeing the palace and walk down along a 2- kilometer trail.

The place is a fairy tale on acid—so bizarre with its turrets and bright colors that you can’t help smiling with disbelief and a touch of awe. What kind of mind envisioned it?

Clock tower at Pena Palace
Pena Palace in Sintra
Carol at Pena Palace

Moorish Castle

After going through the palace, walk down to the Castelo dos Mouros—the Moorish Castle. It’s usually less crowded than the palace. The views from the castle’s 10th-century ramparts take your breath away.

Gregg at the ramparts at the Moorish Castle in Sintra

Other Sites in Sintra

You’ll find plenty more to see in Sintra, including the National Palace of Sintra and the wonderfully ornate Monserrate Palace. Consider staying in Sintra on your last night. Lawrence’s Hotel, now a UNESCO World Heritage site, opened in 1764, making it the oldest functioning hotel on the Iberian Peninsula. All the rooms have names rather than numbers.

If you do stay longer in Sintra, catch the bus out to Cabo de Roca, the westernmost point of Europe. Enjoy incredible views from the rocky cliffs along with the feeling of standing on the edge of a continent, because you are.

Where to Stay in Lisbon

For accommodation suggestions in Lisbon and Sintra, see Where to Stay in Portugal: My Best Picks.

Tickets and Tours in Lisbon

Here are some options for tickets and tours purchased through GetYourGuide:

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And how about a walking tour? GuruWalks provides some good options for exploring Lisbon on foot with a local guide:

Conclusion

Have you visited Lisbon? Please share your recommendations in the comments below.

Here are more posts about things to see in Portugal and Europe: