1. On COVID, it's an EU country so the rules on flying in or out are strict, but it's highly vaccinated population and traveling within the EU does not have testing requirements - and practically no one is masking or minding distances in-country. If you are being careful, be prepared to be extra vigilant. Self-tests and official testing sites are readily available and affordable, and if you even *suspect* you have COVID, get an official test ASAP, because you have to get one to leave, and you will not be able to leave less than 10 days after your first official positive test.
2. It's a hot/outdoorsy country, best to visit in Spring or Fall to get the most out of your trip!
3. You can get by with just English, but having at least one other romance language (Spanish being best) in your group is a tremendous help at times. Note also that Brazilian Portuguese (which I'd been practicing) is noticeably different than Portugal/Mainland Portuguese - but it's still closer than anything else.
4. On Sundays a lot of businesses close (a bit Saturday and Monday too), be sure to make reservations and/or shop ahead on those days! We were actually turned away because the places that *were* open were in high-demand and "fully booked" (and not just in Pinão)
5. We rented a car, but pretty much every place we visited is accessible by plane, train or bus so you don't need one. If you can do it (COVID allowing) I personally would recommend against driving for all but the most remote areas.
...the highways are almost universally excellent, but most towns are busy, narrow and/or very steep. Parking also is an extra consideration that can limit where you can stay and add a lot of stress to your trip.
6. You will need navigation, even just walking. Many streets are unmarked and/or entrances are odd - most of the time that'll mean buying international data for a phone, or picking up a local one with a refillable SIM (you can do this at the airport or just about any town).
7. It's a very hilly country, so any time you plan walking or directions you look up may be straight up a mountain. Or be above or below the street you're on, particularly in Lisbon or Porto, so be prepared for a little backtracking.
8. You do not need to carry cash. In a handful of places (and especially when paying 5 Euro or less) it was convenient to have cash, but only once, in Lisbon, did we find something that was absolutely cash-only. Still, I'd recommend carrying some, just in case.
We started in Lisbon, drove to the southern coast (Algarve), up through the inland center to the border with Spain in Marvão, then to the heart of the Duoro Valley wine region, then back out to the Atlantic coast in the North, and back down to finish in Lisbon. All told we did a circle that roughly covered 3/4 of the country.
We also rented a car - in part to be freer to travel at our own pace, but in major part to avoid crowds and public transit because we were concerned about COVID. Our trip was planned during a low point in case loads, but when we actually got on the plane cases were rapidly on the upswing, so we tried to be very, very careful.
Lisbon (just for landing), Carvoeiro, Olhão, Tavira, Evora, Marvão, Pinhão, Porto, Nazaré, Lisbon refresh
Lisbon (Part 1)
Summary: I'm sure it's nice, but it's a big busy city with little to sell it on a short visit (we'll revisit this later!)
When you go out the exit from the main Arrivals terminal, immediately to your right is mainstream car rentals. Directly in front of you/slight left is a main Vodafone kiosk where you can set up that local phone. Out the door in front of Vodafone you'll see a small, covered island in the middle of the road - that island is where courtesy shuttles for hotels and off-site car rentals stop. To your left is taxis, and to your right is a metro entrance, then a large bus station (or a bit further uphill a bike rental if you're staying nearby in Lisbon).
Driving in Lisbon is no joke, but it's maybe 10 minutes to get out of town on a big, boring freeway that should be a cake walk.
Or, sit back and relax on a train, or take the metro. Public transportation is *very* easy to and from the Lisbon airport.
Carvoeiro
Summary: This is the city I picked as "can't miss," and for my tastes I absolutely called right.
It's a small town almost entirely contained around a central cove, with restaurants right on the beach, and continuing up any elevation, all the way up to on top of the bluffs with wonderful views. There's a bluff walk (that's incredible at night). The restaurants are numerous and very good, and while the beach itself is small, it's beautiful, not very crowded, and there are readily available boat tours to the sea caves and other beaches when you feel the need to branch out. Carvoeiro is also in the heart of Algarve, so you can easily visit some of the most beautiful beaches in the world on short bus or taxi day trips. It's also the Mediterranean coast, so the coastline is very calm, and we saw several groups of kayakers exploring the area.
If all you want is put your feet up, live off of espresso, cocktails and jaw-dropping seafood for a week - on the beach - this is your one-stop shop.
Carvoeiro is significantly smaller than the other Algarve beach towns, and therefore much quieter, which I especially enjoyed - but, based on our experience here, you can't go wrong with the beach towns along the southern coast. This article has a similar breakdown of the towns we never saw.
Our favorite day trip while we were here was Praia de Marinha. It was absolutely spectacular, with the views along the bluffs, and the perfect golden-sand beach where we "lost" almost an entire day in sun-soaked bliss.
*One big thing, Benagil Cave is one of the most famous/most photographed places in Portugal, and when we were planning our trip, it was somewhat confusing, but the only way to reach it is by boat. Can you walk and/or drive to Benagil Cave? No.
There's a dot of the map you can get walking/driving directions to, but it's to a very unimpressive hole in the ground, with no way to get to the actual cave - so don't skip the boat tour!
Where we stayed: O Castelo Guest House (smallish hotel right next to the beach, with balcony and a view!)
Where we parked: Street parking is readily available here, we parked right outside our hotel
Drive time from Lisbon: About 3 hours
Can you get there by bus/train: Yes! It's about 4 hours, and includes a 20 minute walk into town proper
Carvoeiro is significantly smaller than the other Algarve beach towns, and therefore much quieter, which I especially enjoyed - but, based on our experience here, you can't go wrong with the beach towns along the southern coast. This article has a similar breakdown of the towns we never saw.
Our favorite day trip while we were here was Praia de Marinha. It was absolutely spectacular, with the views along the bluffs, and the perfect golden-sand beach where we "lost" almost an entire day in sun-soaked bliss.
*One big thing, Benagil Cave is one of the most famous/most photographed places in Portugal, and when we were planning our trip, it was somewhat confusing, but the only way to reach it is by boat. Can you walk and/or drive to Benagil Cave? No.
There's a dot of the map you can get walking/driving directions to, but it's to a very unimpressive hole in the ground, with no way to get to the actual cave - so don't skip the boat tour!
Where we stayed: O Castelo Guest House (smallish hotel right next to the beach, with balcony and a view!)
Where we parked: Street parking is readily available here, we parked right outside our hotel
Drive time from Lisbon: About 3 hours
Can you get there by bus/train: Yes! It's about 4 hours, and includes a 20 minute walk into town proper
Olhão
Summary: Good for a lunch visit, a stroll on the waterfront, but generally skippable as a tourist.
...you never want to call a town "skippable," and our lunch there was one of the best we had on our trip (at Cervejaria Olhão Marisco, right on the SW corner) - Fresh bread and cheese, local jams, and THE. BEST. Calamari ("cuttlefish strips," not pictured ...because we ate them too fast) I've ever had.
But, once we'd gone through the restaurant row, walked up and down the waterfront once and had a quick detour on the playground... Well, that was pretty much it.
So yup, I strongly recommend a long lunch here to see for yourself, but I wouldn't plan in advance to stay in Olhão long.
BUT, the area is famous for the Ria Formosa coastal nature preserve, which we heard wonderful things about, especially for campers/hikers who like to be out quietly in nature (we've definitely been in that space ourselves - just not on this trip). If that's your jam, there are some really well known "hostels" and camping spaces right on it, just outside of town.
*Heads up, when we were there, the parking all along the waterfront was paid, and the metered spaces only took cash. That was an unwelcome challenge.
BUT, the area is famous for the Ria Formosa coastal nature preserve, which we heard wonderful things about, especially for campers/hikers who like to be out quietly in nature (we've definitely been in that space ourselves - just not on this trip). If that's your jam, there are some really well known "hostels" and camping spaces right on it, just outside of town.
*Heads up, when we were there, the parking all along the waterfront was paid, and the metered spaces only took cash. That was an unwelcome challenge.
Tavira
Summary: Wildly underrated - best meal of our trip, terrific classic European city vibe (and *what* a BEACH!)
Tavira we were unsure about because of a limited pool of mixed reviews. But man, it was absolutely amazing. The riverfront and the old town alleys full of cafes, restaurants and bars were just so classic European city. We absolutely loved our time in the town. It perfectly struck that balance of being quaint and quiet, while also being lively and fun.
...and then, we spent a morning going out to Tavira beach, and really experienced that relaxing coastal beach day we'd been waiting for! There's a sandbar just outside of Tavira with just endless options for different beaches, we opted for the short drive, then short train, to Praia do Barril, and it was magnificent, with a few outdoor restaurants (and bathrooms) right nearby. We drove to get to the train too, but we left at the same time as a bike, and the bike almost beat us there, so it's definitely not far, and shorter along the river trail than by road. (The train I keep talking about is a small open air cart with seats, and costs 2 euro per passenger - toddlers and under are free, and you can pay by card)
Tavira is very walkable, tough to drive/park (we're talking very limited space, cobblestones and winding pedestrian streets that soooooort of work for cars), and while you'll still find tourists, it's much quieter/more local than almost every other place we went. This is also where we both had several of our very favorite meals of the entire trip.
*What we thought were the best parts of the city are right along the river, which is beautiful and has a lot of bridges over it. BUT, it's worth noting that it's not always full of water, so you may want to check your seasons ahead before planning for selfies here.
**It's also very funny how badly the beach photographs. It's an absolutely incredible beach, but you have to feel it, the pictures just don't do it justice.
Where we stayed: A Muralha (a basic hotel right near the river, best continental breakfast of our trip. Somewhat basic, but easy, pleasant, with high ceilings and small balconies overlooking the cobblestone streets)
Where we parked: We get very lucky with a spot a block up from the hotel, but we had to move very early in the morning, and definitely don't count on getting that lucky!
Drive time from Lisbon: About 3 hours
Can you get there by bus/train: Yes! It's about 4 hours, and 20 minutes
Evora
Summary: You can't just pop in, plan to spend a day here. The entire town is inside a castle and it turns out they're still hard to get in to, even by car.
...yeah, really the short version pretty much covers it. We heard absolutely wonderful things, but were absolutely stumped by the castle wall (well played, Moorish Architecture. Well played!) and outside the wall parking options were crowded and limited, so we wound up driving on past after our brief detour.
Drive time from Lisbon: About an hour and a half (3 from Tavira, the way we came)
Can you get there by bus/train: Yes! It's about 3 hours, and it's mostly bus (castles keep trains out too!)
Can you get there by bus/train: Yes! It's about 3 hours, and it's mostly bus (castles keep trains out too!)
Marvão
Summary: If you can, GO THERE. This is your Sunday haven, and I would put it on par with the likes of Machu Piccu.
Machu Piccu might be overselling a *little* bit, but man, this place is cool. It's a magnificent castle, on a tall peak in the central Eastern part of Portugal (one side of the castle looks out over Spain, the other Portugal) and it has just spectacular views. The castle itself is one of the cooler ones I've been to, very easy to walk in/around, and it's lit at night so if you're an evening walker like me (as long as you're careful of course) you can get half a dozen truly spectacular experiences at once.
Add to that that the town itself has several restaurants and a thriving cafe (which IS open on Sunday!) and several hotels right next to the castle - it's an extraordinary stop. Very restful, very classic, a little tough to get to, but worth making it. I'm struggling to fully describe it, let alone why, but it's the kind of place where simply being there just feels... good.
Driving up to Marvão, even before the castle, was the most extraordinary thing. All over Portugal we enjoyed seeing the landscape change, taking particular note of the trees, but Marvão was the first place that really struck me. It was something about the air, the smell. It smelled healthy, alive, with super strong scents of eucalyptus, pine and oak. It's hard to describe, but of every place we went, this was probably the most different, and it just felt... I mean, *good.* It had just the right combination of sun, shade, heat, wind and moisture in the air, all at once. Probably the peak (heh) of the trip for me, and it's only lower on my recommendation list because it's much harder to get to than everywhere else on the list.
Machu Piccu might be overselling a *little* bit, but man, this place is cool. It's a magnificent castle, on a tall peak in the central Eastern part of Portugal (one side of the castle looks out over Spain, the other Portugal) and it has just spectacular views. The castle itself is one of the cooler ones I've been to, very easy to walk in/around, and it's lit at night so if you're an evening walker like me (as long as you're careful of course) you can get half a dozen truly spectacular experiences at once.
Add to that that the town itself has several restaurants and a thriving cafe (which IS open on Sunday!) and several hotels right next to the castle - it's an extraordinary stop. Very restful, very classic, a little tough to get to, but worth making it. I'm struggling to fully describe it, let alone why, but it's the kind of place where simply being there just feels... good.
Driving up to Marvão, even before the castle, was the most extraordinary thing. All over Portugal we enjoyed seeing the landscape change, taking particular note of the trees, but Marvão was the first place that really struck me. It was something about the air, the smell. It smelled healthy, alive, with super strong scents of eucalyptus, pine and oak. It's hard to describe, but of every place we went, this was probably the most different, and it just felt... I mean, *good.* It had just the right combination of sun, shade, heat, wind and moisture in the air, all at once. Probably the peak (heh) of the trip for me, and it's only lower on my recommendation list because it's much harder to get to than everywhere else on the list.
Where we stayed: Dom Dinis, Marvão (small hotel right at the top of the town, easy access to everything, very nice, patio you can take breakfast to that overlooks the whole valley)
Where we parked: Easiest place in the world to park (...once you drive the car through all the literal doorways to get in to it)
Drive time from Lisbon: Just under 3 hours (5 from Tavira, the route we took)
Can you get there by bus/train: ...there's the catch, not really. You could rent a car just for a few days for this part
Where we parked: Easiest place in the world to park (...once you drive the car through all the literal doorways to get in to it)
Drive time from Lisbon: Just under 3 hours (5 from Tavira, the route we took)
Can you get there by bus/train: ...there's the catch, not really. You could rent a car just for a few days for this part
Pinhão
Summary: The Napa of Portugal (in the bad way), from our experience the town can just f right off.
To be fair, we arrived on a Sunday after a very long drive, and were only there on Sunday/Monday (the two most difficult days of the week for visitors), and the water, the hills, the river *look* very pretty. But, our visit was shockingly unpleasant, especially after a string of wonderful days before and after.
The biggest problem is that, despite it's fame, Pinhão is a teeny tiny town, by far the smallest we went to, that regularly has giant river cruises dumped on it, full to the brim of the most demanding and pretentious kind of tourists.
... judgemental? Yes. But I hope some wine tourists see that and feel a little ashamed, because I am tired of seeing beautiful wine regions - traditionally famed for being relaxing, welcoming and pure - turned into prickly snob-fests that suck every ounce of joy out of the scenery. Y'all just stop ruining things.
We spent two days in this town. We were hot, hungry, and exhausted the entire time, and had every single restaurant and tasting room (EMPTY, mind you) turn us away because they were "fully booked."
I was ready to write off the owners and staff of the tasting rooms/restaurants, but then we found one restaurant that *didn't* require reservations on Monday. The entire waitstaff looked like they were going to die, they were so overwhelmed. And the patrons were outright nasty despite how obviously the staff was struggling.
All told, despite the pictures and the reputation, I just can't personally recommend anyone go there. It's just shockingly unforgiving - the exact wrong combination of hot, sunny, dry, crowded and just not big enough to manage it.
*My wife, rightly, called out that there were a small few (like, three in total) indoor restaurants we could have gone to, but we were exclusively eating outdoors to be cautious of COVID. One outdoor place also did serve food, but not at the something like 5-hour stretch we were there in the middle of, between early lunch and late dinner.
IF you have a car and a day to spend, skip the town itself and check out the independent tasting rooms in the hills. That's where you can find what tastings and tasting rooms are *supposed* to be like, and support some of the folks who have (so far) been spared what's happened to the town. This is the one that salvaged something of our experience:
That's Quinta dos Espinheiros, a teeny tiny tasting room in the hills on the way from Pinhão to Porto (note that that link is to their Airbnb guest house, you can stay up there). It was a short drive up a dirt road to get there, and looked closed at first, but then a kind lady sauntered out of the vines and happily told us that she could open the tasting room for us and one other car. It was relaxed, everyone was smiling, the wine was delicious, and you're darn right I bought wine to bring home to thank her for salvaging our visit in the Duoro Valley.
*All my negative sentiments aside, the hills and mountains (and smaller towns) around Pinhão are absolutely spectacular. If you are driving, I do recommend exploring a bit, because you don't get the same kind of soaring heights anywhere else we went. Especially on the drive from Marvão to Pinhão - that's a route there's almost not other reason to take than to explore the mountains, and it's truly majestic (if also hot and extremely winding, but the roads are very well maintained).
Where we stayed: The Vintage House Hotel, Pinhão (our only real hotel splurge, it cost at least double everywhere else we went, but is smack in the middle of Pinhão, is incredibly beautiful, looks right out over the water, has a *blessed* pool in that hot dry town, and had a positively decadent continental breakfast, complete with champagne and SIX different kinds of fresh squeezed juice)
Where we parked: The hotel lot, I would bet against finding any parking in town (again, it's tiny)
Drive time from Lisbon: About 4 hours, and it does go through some surrounding mountains
Can you get there by bus/train: Yes, it's 6 hours and goes to Porto first (just stop there)
Porto
Summary: A grand city, feels like Vancouver in that it embraces coastal wilderness and stunning views, but is also full of history and European dining - worthy of a whole visit by itself.
Porto is by far and away the worst place (that we went) in Portugal to drive in. And parking is worse. But that that aspect of it is *so bad* makes the fact that it was almost immediately one of our favorite places even more impressive. Porto has soaring hills, magnificent ocean views, quiet neighborhoods and jam-packed tourist squares. It's significantly smaller than it looks, so you can really easily get in and out and walk it fairly easily. Just know that it's VERY steep with a lot of ups and downs.
*When I say it's small, in both population and area, it's about one fifth the size of San Francisco, which you can walk across. Porto is about 16 square miles with a residential population just over 200,000; about the same as Little Rock.
There's the waterfront with infinite tourist-filled cafes, the mouth of the river, overlooked by quieter neighborhoods and a college campus, and the more local areas up in the hills around the river. The photo above is from a big grassy park (Jardim do Morro) at the top of the city, where people from all over gather to watch the sunset and look over the city at night. That was a really wonderful experience, and made us very jealous (again) of the European city park culture. We were there for barely twenty minutes, but we saw a glorious sunset, witnessed a proposal (she said yes), saw dads and kids running and having the most wonderful time, and caught multiple musicians singing to the crowd - and the whole time there was plenty of room for every group to have their own space.
If you're in Portugal for any kind of short trip, or have the time to spare, I would definitely explore Porto. Not only is it a spectacular city, but it's very easy to get to without a car, either directly or by way of Lisbon. From there, it's easy to get to Pinão (if you must), and more broadly explore northern Portugal.
Porto is by far and away the worst place (that we went) in Portugal to drive in. And parking is worse. But that that aspect of it is *so bad* makes the fact that it was almost immediately one of our favorite places even more impressive. Porto has soaring hills, magnificent ocean views, quiet neighborhoods and jam-packed tourist squares. It's significantly smaller than it looks, so you can really easily get in and out and walk it fairly easily. Just know that it's VERY steep with a lot of ups and downs.
*When I say it's small, in both population and area, it's about one fifth the size of San Francisco, which you can walk across. Porto is about 16 square miles with a residential population just over 200,000; about the same as Little Rock.
There's the waterfront with infinite tourist-filled cafes, the mouth of the river, overlooked by quieter neighborhoods and a college campus, and the more local areas up in the hills around the river. The photo above is from a big grassy park (Jardim do Morro) at the top of the city, where people from all over gather to watch the sunset and look over the city at night. That was a really wonderful experience, and made us very jealous (again) of the European city park culture. We were there for barely twenty minutes, but we saw a glorious sunset, witnessed a proposal (she said yes), saw dads and kids running and having the most wonderful time, and caught multiple musicians singing to the crowd - and the whole time there was plenty of room for every group to have their own space.
If you're in Portugal for any kind of short trip, or have the time to spare, I would definitely explore Porto. Not only is it a spectacular city, but it's very easy to get to without a car, either directly or by way of Lisbon. From there, it's easy to get to Pinão (if you must), and more broadly explore northern Portugal.
Where we stayed: Ribeira do Porto (Trendy, very modern hotel smack in the middle of the main tourist area. I really liked it! Rooms are small, but nice, and you can't beat the location. You can't drive there, and parking is a *20 minute walk* inland along the river, and even then you have to be lucky)
Where we parked: If you follow the river inland past the bridges, there's a lot of free parking - but it's in high demand, and can be a solid 15-30 minute walk back in to town from there...
Drive time from Lisbon: About 3 hours
Can you get there by bus/train: Yes! 3 hours and 20 minutes (and you don't have to park!)
Nazaré
Summary: VERY touristy and the main strip and town were crowded (the beach isn't!), heavily affected by coastal weather. Not bad, not great (but it is one of the best surfing destinations in the world - in winter)
Nazaré was sold to us as an exceptional beach, and a really cool surfer town. All of that is more or less true, it has a waterfront shopping/restaurant strip that runs the full length of the beach, and that beach has probably the most sand I've ever seen in one place (not as long as Tavira, but much deeper and thicker).
It's also split, with about half the town down at beach level, and the other half up high on the bluffs. We never ventured up to the top, but those cliffs are VERY high, so it must be pretty spectacular on the overlooks.
But, there are a few things to keep in mind. First of all the beach is fully exposed to the Atlantic ocean, so weather here is very fickle (even if it's hot out, it could be very windy and the wind off the ocean can be downright cold). Also, being a surfer destination, the waves can be *massive* even in the off season. There are flags up and down the beach that mark where it's safe to put your feet in (if anywhere is on any given day) and it changes dramatically day to day. On our first day, we walked in the surf all the way along the water. On the second, we did *not* get anywhere close and felt pretty unsafe even at a good distance.
Finally, and this was a surprise to me, the beach is very deep. As in, when you first set foot on the sand, you have a loooooooooong way to get to the water. That goes with the intense waves, but stood out of all the beaches we went to. On the plus side, that makes the whole beach HUGE, so we had a hundred times as much space as we could possibly have wanted to ourselves.
This was our second longest stay, and it was nice, but pretty low on the list of places I'd want to go back to. The food was fine, the but for half of our meals we had to physically weigh everything down so it wouldn't be blown away. That's what we get for only eating outdoors, but we had nowhere near as much trouble with weather as here.
Nazaré was sold to us as an exceptional beach, and a really cool surfer town. All of that is more or less true, it has a waterfront shopping/restaurant strip that runs the full length of the beach, and that beach has probably the most sand I've ever seen in one place (not as long as Tavira, but much deeper and thicker).
It's also split, with about half the town down at beach level, and the other half up high on the bluffs. We never ventured up to the top, but those cliffs are VERY high, so it must be pretty spectacular on the overlooks.
But, there are a few things to keep in mind. First of all the beach is fully exposed to the Atlantic ocean, so weather here is very fickle (even if it's hot out, it could be very windy and the wind off the ocean can be downright cold). Also, being a surfer destination, the waves can be *massive* even in the off season. There are flags up and down the beach that mark where it's safe to put your feet in (if anywhere is on any given day) and it changes dramatically day to day. On our first day, we walked in the surf all the way along the water. On the second, we did *not* get anywhere close and felt pretty unsafe even at a good distance.
Finally, and this was a surprise to me, the beach is very deep. As in, when you first set foot on the sand, you have a loooooooooong way to get to the water. That goes with the intense waves, but stood out of all the beaches we went to. On the plus side, that makes the whole beach HUGE, so we had a hundred times as much space as we could possibly have wanted to ourselves.
This was our second longest stay, and it was nice, but pretty low on the list of places I'd want to go back to. The food was fine, the but for half of our meals we had to physically weigh everything down so it wouldn't be blown away. That's what we get for only eating outdoors, but we had nowhere near as much trouble with weather as here.
Where we stayed: Batata - Estudios (Agoda App) (an actual apartment rental - it was a little misleading, I thought we were getting an ocean view and was disappointed we didn't at first, then after an hour with the coastal wind, I was glad we were on the inside. And after traveling for a week, amenities like a clothes washer and kitchen were a welcome perk over the usual hotel stay)
Where we parked: Street parking is readily available here, if chaotic
Drive time from Lisbon: An hour and 20 minutes
Can you get there by bus/train: Yes! 3 hours, straight shot - but aside from right on the water Nazaré is pretty car friendly, so be careful walking
Where we parked: Street parking is readily available here, if chaotic
Drive time from Lisbon: An hour and 20 minutes
Can you get there by bus/train: Yes! 3 hours, straight shot - but aside from right on the water Nazaré is pretty car friendly, so be careful walking
Lisbon, take 2!
Summary: Given more time and nothing to rush to, Lisbon quickly grew on us as an easy city to get around, and a place full of beautiful surprises.
We returned the car and took a few days to decompress in Lisbon on our way out. We stayed at Novotel Lisbon in a quieter part of town, and were the only people at their pool (every day!), but spent most of our days walking around and exploring the astounding number and variety of outdoor parks that were in easy reach. The biggest highlights of these were the Jardim da Amnistia Internacional, with it's Verde Lima hilltop café, and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (which isn't even a park, but should be!)
We also made it down to the waterfront (which was nice to walk along, but absolutely jammed with people), and walked back. Each day we ventured on a slightly different route, and got to know our immediate "neighborhood" really well. The little market, the parks, how to get to and from things more easily (it's a very vertical city, so knowing where the stairs are cut some walking routes in half).
The sheer variety of outdoor experiences within (relatively) easy walking distance made our extended stay actually one of the highlights of the trip. We could have spent ten times as long and just kept discovering new things, just in the city itself, not to mention the easy day trips nearby.
We returned the car and took a few days to decompress in Lisbon on our way out. We stayed at Novotel Lisbon in a quieter part of town, and were the only people at their pool (every day!), but spent most of our days walking around and exploring the astounding number and variety of outdoor parks that were in easy reach. The biggest highlights of these were the Jardim da Amnistia Internacional, with it's Verde Lima hilltop café, and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (which isn't even a park, but should be!)
We also made it down to the waterfront (which was nice to walk along, but absolutely jammed with people), and walked back. Each day we ventured on a slightly different route, and got to know our immediate "neighborhood" really well. The little market, the parks, how to get to and from things more easily (it's a very vertical city, so knowing where the stairs are cut some walking routes in half).
The sheer variety of outdoor experiences within (relatively) easy walking distance made our extended stay actually one of the highlights of the trip. We could have spent ten times as long and just kept discovering new things, just in the city itself, not to mention the easy day trips nearby.
Where we stayed: Novotel Lisbon (a TALL hotel in a quiet, central and really nice area. Maybe four blocks from two different metro stops)
Where we parked: Without a car, we weren't really looking, but there were definitely some street options
Drive time from Lisbon: *the transit system here is bus, subway and rail car, all using the same rechargeable RFID cards - very easy, very efficient
Can you get there by bus/train: ...I mean, yeah, you can just tool around there on trains all day!
Where we parked: Without a car, we weren't really looking, but there were definitely some street options
Drive time from Lisbon: *the transit system here is bus, subway and rail car, all using the same rechargeable RFID cards - very easy, very efficient
Can you get there by bus/train: ...I mean, yeah, you can just tool around there on trains all day!
Portuguese Words & Phrases
Portuguese (phonetic) = English
Olá (oh-la) = Hello
Tchau (chow) = Bye
Obrigado/Obrigada (oh-breh-ga-do/da) = Thank you (end in o if you identify as male, a if you identify as female)
A conta (ah con tah) = The bill/check
Por favor (pour fay vor) = Please
Com licenca (comm li-sense-ah) = Excuse me (can be shortened to just "licenca")
Você fala ingles? (vo-say fah-lah in-gless) = Do you speak English?
Sim (seem, but fast) = Yes
Não (na-ow) = No
Vino (you know that one) = Wine (white is branco, red is tinto)
Cerveja (ser-veh-zha) = Beer
Quirks & Trivia
I spent spare moments on our trip looking for the local/national liquors, and of the things I did try, the "bitter almond" - Amendoa Amarga - liquor with ice and lemon was *awesome,* by far my favorite. Very much like Amaretto, but a smoother.
There are two very big domestic brewers in Portugal, Super Bock and Sagres - but good luck finding any actual local beers/microbrews. I know they're there, but they're very rare (I saw two tasting rooms in Lisbon, but never once saw anything on a menu). Super Bock has a variety of flavors, it reminded me a lot of Modelo, while Sagres was very much like Corona.
You will (probably) have to chase folks down for your bill. It's very European to sit and chat indefinitely, so very few servers will bring you the bill without being asked, and they don't check in anywhere near as much as American servers do (which really is nice - unless you're in any kind of hurry)
