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Exploring the Douro May 31 - Madrid questions
Hi, we're looking for anyone else on our trip, Exploring the Douro May 31, 2022, starting in Madrid. Also, we are arriving one day early at 8 am, giving us the rest of that day, plus the entire next day until group dinner. Trying to decide what advance planning I need to do for the extra time in Madrid. Should we do a day trip to Toledo on the second day or fill our time in Madrid (or something else)? We enjoy food, wine, science, and learning about local culture and history. Not so much art and churches. This is our first time visiting Spain and Portugal. Specific suggestions encouraged!
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Dusty111 - based on our likes and dislikes I would recommend skipping Toledo. When I did the Spain and Portugal tour the Toledo highlights that Tauck focused on were churches, a synagogue, and some art.
In Madrid there are numerous food and wine opportunities, parks, fountains, etc. that don't fall into the art/churches category.
One such place that is fun to walk around and perhaps get a bite to eat is the Madrid Market. There are numerous sidewalk cafes.
Toledo is certainly an option though there is plenty to do in Madrid. Lots of art museums - most within an easy walk of the Westin Palace hotel. We toured the National Archeology Museum last fall. It was free then because some sections were closed (renovations?) but I think they are done. Good prep for the Douro cruise where you'll see some cave art.
Agree with Sam the Mercado San Miguel is worth a visit even if it's just to look at the amazing choice. Easy walk from the hotel as well as Plaza Mayor and churros at Chocolateria San Gines.
We did the cruise the opposite direction and I wrote a day by day report last Oct/Nov. Might be some useful info for you in it.
Dusty111,
Last November, you sent me a private message asking me numerous questions which I promptly answered. Perhaps you didn't notice I had replied. Check your private messages for my lengthy response.
Claudia, thank you, and I did read your helpful in depth trip report! Probably need to read it again.
kfnknfzk, I'm so sorry, I never saw your reply! I will see if I can find it now. Thank you.
Dusty111,
No worries. I can recreate a shorter version if you like. Just let me know.
Since it appears a number have done this trip, what can you say about the optional shore excursions on Days 2, 5, 6, and 7. I just received a request for our choices for our May 10 ‘23 trip.
Sealord,
It all depends on your interests. Having been to the Douro valley before, we opted not to go on every excursion. It was also our first trip after the world starting opening up and we chose to make the cruise portion relaxing and reflective.
I can say that the wineries were lovely and the vineyards marvelous in their fall colors. Of course, you won't experience the colors in May. The captain had an open door policy and he and my husband had a lovely time chatting almost daily. Actually, I think he learned more about the river from the captain than anyone else.
The one excursion I would definitely recommend not missing is the "land, sea, air" one in Porto.
Enjoy!
My main question at present is the “active hike through the terraced vineyards” on day 5. My cobalt knees don’t like hills, but my interest in ‘tiled train stations’ is minimal.
Sealord - The hike might be too strenuous for your knees. Don't be put off by a train station though. It is striking with its azulejos tiles. Pinhao is a quaint little town that is lovely to walk through. It can be steep, however, but not strenuous if you walk in a zig-zag pattern. There are a number of nice cafes where you can stop for a pastry.
We were given numerous vouchers and had to find the cafes offering cakes/pies/pastries and coffee drinks. You had to match the voucher number with the cafe's number. It sounds silly but was actually quite fun. I don't know if this is still offered.
You literally walk off the boat and into the town. You can also stay at water level and walk along the shoreline and look at some of the very nice "yachts." It was a very memorable day for us. Everyone we met greeted us with a smile and a wave.
Sealord, we did the walk and very glad we did. My husband is in his 70s and I have a bionic knee. No issues with the walk. It's all downhill and most of that quite gentle until the last maybe 10% when the walking sticks they loaned us were handy.
We were bused to a tiny hilltop town. Had a bathroom stop at a funky quite tiny bar then started strolling down. At first on a road then eventually a fairly smooth, wide path. Several photo stops. The views were lovely. Worth the effort. We got back to the ship before lunch with time to walk into the small town if you wanted.
We are Westbound from Madrid. What time do we get into the Intercontinental in Lisbon? We want to make reservations at our favorite Tapas place.
We did the westbound tour as well. It was very late in the afternoon (almost 1800) when we arrived at the hotel, but that was due to heavy traffic and a light rain as we approached Lisbon's city limits. It was a long driving day from Porto with a wonderful stop in Coimbra.
Sealord - Name and details of you “favorite Tapas place”. Thanks!
“Ha Tapas No Mercado”. is the name of the restaurant. I did a writeup on Trip Advisor about it … along with a thousand other people. it is very small, and reservations are essential.
Thank you
Sealord, thank you for the restaurant suggestion. I'm going to book it also for Day 10 Westbound. What time are you going to book dinner? I know they eat late and someone on the reviews said they were the first people there at 7 pm. We are going 3 weeks after you. And also, how does a non-Spanish speaker make a reservation?
Dusty, Sealord's restaurant is in Lisbon. The Portuguese speak Portuguese not Spanish. Similar but different.
If you can't make a reservation to a restaurant online then your next best bet is to ask the hotel concierge to do so.
Enjoy your tour. We did.
Their hours are 12:00 until 3:;00 PM and 18:00-2200, Tuesday thru Saturday. They are closed Sunday and Monday. They are very small and very popular. I would try for reservations well in advance. I would attempt to call or email the hotel, and ask them to make reservations. They might do that.
Dusty111 - I saw your private message. You are most welcome. I hope you and Sealord will post a review of your experiences.
I have not eaten at Sealord's recommended restaurant. Another place for authentic Portuguese cuisine is da Prata 52 which is ~ 1.5 miles from the InterContinental. If you like grilled octopus, have it there. The cod croquettes are also delicious. I still enjoy meandering through the Alfama neighborhood and alleys for the many "mom and pop" eateries. Some streets are very steep, however.
‘Ha Tapas …” is very small. Instead of ordering off of the menu we just told him to bring us his favorites, and we would tell him when to stop. We just shared everything and it was really good! We had a couple bottles of wine and came up a little short so they just brought us another glass. Very nice people.
Tauck provided an option to cut the hike short for those who did not want to go the entire distance. There was a bus available for an early return to the town. One gentleman had knee replacement just 6 weeks earlier. There was a portion that was uphill but mostly we were headed down. Going down on rocky trails was rough. We really had to watch each step. I was glad I went the whole distance.
Agree that down can be harder than expected. As I said before, I really didn't have problems until the last bit when I did use the walking sticks. We were all picked up by a bus too for the last bit to town. It was cool and overcast when we started but then the views opened up and the fall vineyard colors were just wonderful.
Sealord, “Ha Tapas No Mercado” sounds amazing. How far in advance do you think I would need to make reservations? I am traveling to Lisbon in April for a Photography Workshop. I don't have the detailed itinerary yet, but I will mention this restaurant to the Photographer that is organizing the Workshop. We are going to be experiencing 12 hour days, so perhaps on the last day of the workshop, I could go there for dinner by myself or with another member of the group.
Kfnknfzk: Thank you for your input about the Alfama Neighborhood. I am hoping that we will be able to wander around this area. It looks like an amazing neighborhood to take pictures. Again, I don't yet have a daily itinerary so it is possible that this neighborhood will be on the agenda.
travel maven,
I am not a photographer (my mobile phone works fine for my purposes), but the Alfama area is probably the best place in Lisbon for avid photographers, particularly the higher up the hills you go. Hopefully your itinerary includes areas outside of the city as well.
It sounds like a wonderful trip. Enjoy.
Travel Maven: It has been several years since we went to “Ha tapas…” and our traveling companinions made the reservation. I think it was only a day or two in advance, but things change. The TripAdvisor picture makes it look like they may have remodeled.