Portugal

Portugal is one of the few countries in western Europe I haven’t been to, and we’ve heard so many good things about the country we have to check it out. There are so many UNESCO World Heritage Sites alone scattered around the country it was challenging to build an itinerary to fit some in without feeling like we’re dashing around checking off sights from a list. I hope I’ve planned enough breathing space!

Days 1-4: Porto

The Plan: We’ll arrive in Porto around 9:30 AM, giving us a full additional day but one where we’re tired and jetlagged! We’ll spend most of our time in Porto itself, plus take a day trip to the Douro Valley.

Day 1
- Sé Cathedral
- Igreja de São Francisco
- Palácio da Bolsa
- Cais da Ribeira
Day 2
- Doury Valley day trip by train
Day 3
- Museu Nacional Soares dos Reis
- Walk past Igreja do Carmo, the Livraria Lello bookstore, and the Sao Bento railway station
- Six Bridges Cruise
Day 4
- Walk across the Luis I Bridge to Jardim do Morro
- Port wine caves

Days 5-7: Coimbra

The Plan: We like to spend time in smaller towns and Coimbra sounds like a good option.

Day 1
- Travel to Coimbra
- University of Coimbra
Day 2
- Sé Velha (old cathedral)
- Mosteiro de Santa Cruz
Day 3
- Museu Nacional de Machado de Castro
- botanical garden
- Convento de Santa Clara (old and new)

Days 8-10: Tomar

The Plan: Tomar sounds like another nice smaller town. The Convento de Cristo is a must-see in Portugal (and a UNESCO World Heritage Site) and the nearby national park sounds like a good place to get outdoors in nature.

Day 1
- Travel to Tomar
- Explore the town
Day 2
- Convento de Cristo
Day 3
- Mata Nacional dos Sete Montes

Days 11-14: Sintra

The Plan: It sounds like most people visit Sintra on a day trip from Lisbon. It sounds too interesting to us to limit our time there to a single day, so we’re going to spend four nights there and explore at a more leisurely pace. Plus hopefully see some of the sights when they’re less busy. While we’re nearby we’ll try to visit Cascais. If we don’t make it that might be a good day trip from Lisbon later.

Day 1
- Travel to Sintra
- Explore the town
Day 2
- Palácio Nacional da Pena
- Castelo dos Mouros
Day 3: Cascais day trip
- Museu Condes de Castro Guimarães
- Paredão from Estoril to Cascais
Day 4
- Quinta da Regaleira
- Villa Sassetti
- Palácio Biester

Days 15-18: Lagos

The Plan: We don’t expect it to be sitting-on-the-beach weather but hopefully walking-on-the-beach weather. Our plan is to spend most of our time outdoors doing lots of walking, with perhaps a boat trip if one sounds interesting. Lagos sounded like a good combination of picturesque town and nearby outdoor activities.

Day 1
- Travel to Lagos
- Explore the town
Day 2
- Short walk and beach
Day 3
- Beach walk
Day 4
- Boat trip?

Days 19-23: Lisbon

The Plan: Lisbon was a little tricky to plan since we’ll be there twice. This first five days is our “main” visit, where we’ll focus on Lisbon itself, with a day trip as a break, likely to Mosteiro da Batalha, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. (Palácio Nacional de Mafra and
Évora are two other UNESCO sites that sound reachable.) We should have time to simply wander. If not, we’ll make time!

Day 1
- Travel to Lisbon
- Explore the neighborhood
Day 2: Mouraria, Alfama & Graça
- Castelo de São Jorge
- Museu de Artes Decorativas Portugesas
- Largo das Portas do Sol
Day 3: Day trip
- Mosteiro da Batalha
Day 4: Belém
- Jardim Botânico Tropical
- Mosteiro dos Jerónimos
- Museu Nacional do Azulejo
Day 5: Baixa-Chiado & Rossio
- Rua Augusta
- Arco da Rua Augusta
- Museu Design Moda

Days 24-30: Madeira

The Plan: I first thought about spending more time in The Algarve but after meeting a taxi driver in Australia whose family is from Portugal, more specifically Madeira, we decided to go there for more “outdoorsy” time. He was very enthusiastic about how beautiful it is.

Day 1
- Fly to Madeira
- Funchal historic quarter around the sé
Day 2
- Funchal market and Old Town
Day 3
- Monte and botanical gardens
Day 4: Day tour
- Pico do Arieeiro OR
- Guided hike on levada trail
Day 5: Day trip
- Curral das Freiras
Day 6: Day tour
- Sao Vicente and Porto Moniz
Day 7
- Palheiro Gardens

Days 31-34: Lisbon

The Plan: Originally we were only going to spend a night or two here before flying home, but we extended our trip for a couple of days for cheaper airfare. We’ll fill in any sights we missed the first time around, maybe take another day trip or two, and probably shop, since we tend to procrastinate on buying souvenirs.

Day 1
- Fly to Lisbon
- Sightsee in town
Day 2: Day trip
- Palácio Nacional de Mafra?
- Évora?
Day 3: Another day trip?
Day 4:
- Sightsee in town
- Shop