PORTO
- Even though this was our fourth international trip since George and I (re)met a year ago, Portugal was the first one that felt like a real vacation where we took enough time to relax, explore, and soak up some sun. Short breaks are fun, but if you're looking for a sign to take a full week (or more) off, this is it.
- We flew roundtrip from Lisbon but saved the capital for the last leg of the trip. Taking the train north to Porto was pretty straightforward; we booked seats online for the next train out of Oriente once we got to the station.
- Stay at the Rex Hotel, a charming historic mansion turned boutique hotel with comfortable and spacious rooms.
- The São Bento train station was worth visiting for the tiles and architecture alone. Somehow none of the trains that we actually rode passed through this station, but it's very centrally located so you might end up passing by if you're walking around the city center and to the Luís I Bridge to cross the Douro.
- Eat pastéis de nata, a custard egg tart baked inside a crispy puff pastry shell. There is no shortage of places where you can find them throughout the country: specialty shops, cafes, supermarket bakery sections, train stations, you name it.
- By day, visit the Porto Cathedral for its Romanesque architecture and baroque azulejos. By night, catch a multimedia light show at Igreja dos Clérigos. We saw another one of these light shows in Montreal earlier this year and were fascinated by how they captured the sculptures and altars in a new light.
- On our third day, we went to Aveiro for a day trip, a city in northern Portugal known for its canals that are a bit reminiscent of Venice.
- To the south of the Douro River are dozens of port houses for port wine tastings in Vila Nova de Gaia. We went to Kopke, which included a free chocolate pairing with the a la carte sampler. I liked the regular port the best, but the white port and tawny variety were fun to try too. If you're a wine aficionado (or just like vineyards), another popular day trip you could consider is Douro Valley.
ALGARVE
- After a few days in Porto, we took a 5:30am train to the Algarve, Portugal's southernmost region along the Atlantic Ocean. We arrived at the coastal city Portimão around noon and stayed by its most popular beach, Praia da Rocha.
- While public transportation was easy to use in the cities, we opted to rent a car for our two days in this region so we could drive along the coast during this leg of our trip. Having a car made it much easier to get to various beaches and cities, as many of the places we wanted to visit were not that close to each other.
- My favorite thing I did was the cliff walk starting at Praia da Marinha. The cliff walk extends all the way to Praia de Vale Centianes, but we stopped at Benagil. If you've seen my posts on the Seven Sisters in England or the Bray to Greystones cliff walk in Ireland, you probably already know that I'm a fan of long walks with a view.
- The fact that a cliff walk was my favorite thing and not actually hanging out at the beach probably suggests that I am not a big fan of beaches. I mean, I wouldn't say I dislike them per se, but after an hour of sitting in the sun, what else is there to do? Relax?
- We tried to go kayaking at Benagil beach one afternoon, but the waves were too strong by the time we got to the kayak rentals. The Benagil cave is only accessible from the water.
- If you find yourself on the east end of the coast, stop by Vai e Volta in Olhão for all-you-can-eat grilled fish and a variety of side dishes for only 14€.
LISBON
- By the time we got back to Lisbon I accepted that I'm a city girl through and through. We stayed in the Baixa district in the city's historic downtown and were a block away from the Praça do Comércio. There were a lot of restaurants that looked good nearby; we went to Maria Catita on our first night for Portuguese cuisine. For dessert, we headed up to Gelados Santini multiple times; the chocolate flavor is divine. If sorbets are more your thing, the lemon sorbet at Sorbettino was some of the best I've had.
- The city echoes San Francisco with its Ponte 25 de Abril suspension bridge—which was built by the same company as the SF-Oakland Bay Bridge and painted the same color as the Golden Gate bridge—and hills cresting into viewpoints of the water.
- Lisbon maintains a network of distinctive yellow trams as part of its public transit system. Some of the lines still in use will take you across the city to popular tourist destinations, but they can get pretty crowded.
- We didn't make it to Livraria Lello in Porto, which is said to be one of the most beautiful bookstores in the world, but Ler Devagar and Livraria Bertrand in Lisbon were both charming and free to visit. Ler Devagar is a more modern bookstore inside the historic industrial center LxFactory, while Livraria Bertrand is the oldest bookstore in the world still in operation (since 1732).
- To the west of the Ponte 25 de Abril bridge is the district of Belém, where the Belém Tower, the Jerónimos Monastery, and the Padrão dos Descobrimentos (Monument of the Discoveries) are located, as well as a number of museums. Fábrica de Pasteis de Belém, one of the most famous natas shops in the city, is in this neighborhood too.
- Up north near Oriente station, the Lisbon Oceanarium was impressive and offered a nice break from the more historical and cultural oriented sites on this trip. The underwater forests exhibit by Takashi Amano was especially fascinating.
- The views at Castelo de São Jorge around sunset were incredible. I picked up some cute watercolor postcards at a shop near the entrance to add to my collection.
- One of the most popular day trips from Lisbon is to Sintra, a town up on the hills with several historic palaces and estates. The eclectic architecture and colors of Pena Palace were stunning, but the hour and a half long queue to tour the inside of the palace was the only time I felt like something wasn't worth the wait on this trip. I found Quinta da Regaleira to be more interesting with its grottos, wells, and sprawling park.
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