A Week In Portugal
We are adding 3 days in Porto pre-trip and 3 days in Lisbon post trip. I want to go to Douro valley for the day on a small group tour. Wondering if anyone else has done this, who they used and would they recommend the company? Also for Lisbon we will go to Jeronimos Monastery as I believe not included on the trip and a Fado dinner show. Any recommendations for the Fado show and other towns near Lisbon we should visit? Thanks!
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I'm sure your hotel's concierge can assist with Douro Valley tours. You can e-mail them in advance. Porto is a great city with so much to do. If not already included on Tauck's tour, the gondola ride offers fantastic views of the river; the interior of the train station is quite pretty; the bookstore (name fails me right now); shopping for cork products; strolling along the Ribeira waterfront area.
Locals in Lisbon visit the Fado bars in the districts of Alfama and Bairro Alto. If you would prefer an actual dinner performance, the hotel concierge could probably assist with that. For day trips, Sintra is very popular for its many palaces—The National Palace of Sintra and The National Palace of Pena are just two. There are also many beautiful private residences tucked into the hills there.
I always stop in Cascais—a quaint coastal town not far from Lisbon. If you like seafood, especially grilled octopus, have lunch at Mar do Inferno.
Enjoy your tour! If you like the Douro Valley, consider taking the Douro River cruise. Tauck offers one of just the river and another with Lisbon and Madrid extensions, the latter being one of our favorites.
The bookstore to which kfnknfzk was referring is Livraria Lello. If you want to go, get your ticket on line in advance. I did that and saved a wait of well over an hour to get into the store; I just walked right in. At the time (a few years ago) the ticket cost 5 euros and, if you made a purchase, the 5 euros would be deducted from the cost of the item. I happened to be there on a weekend morning, and found it too crowded to really appreciate its beauty.
Thanks, MCD. I had the Spanish word 'librería' stuck in my head and was too lazy to convert to Portuguese. It is such a gorgeous shop and €5, or whatever, is a pittance for such a beautiful place.
If you will have extra days in Porto, consider going to Aveiro. It's a charming town with canals, fun architecture, etc and a couple of interesting museums, including one of art nouveau. I thiink it's quite close - maybe a half hour away. Another option is Braga, although I think it's a bit further away by train.
I notice that Tauck's itinerary spends only part of a morning in Sintra. It isn't enough. In addition to the two palaces listed in the above comments there is much more to see. We walked from town - maybe 20 min - to the Regaleira (sp?) Palace, which was really interesting. We also took a cab one way and the bus another way to the beautiful Monserrate Palace, . There are still more places and the town is charming. It's worthy of an overnighter. We spent two nights there and still didn't see everything.
Barbara, you might want to check with Tauck about Jeronimos Monastery. It is so close to Belem and the maritime museum that it seems odd that the monastery wouldn't be included.
Another recommendation in Lisbon is to go to the Fronteira Palace. Because it isn't in the center of Lisbon I think it's a bit of a secret. Our tour company took us there. It's really wonderful - beautiful gardens, black swans, tiles, etc.
We went with another tour company but did Sintra on our own. We took a taxi as it wasn't that far from the airport.
Has any one of you actually taken this trip?
I went September 3 2023 and was so disappointed about the logistics that I started traveling with another company from that point on.
I actually spent one extra day in Porto. Should I hold back how much I don't like this trip. You are actually on your own in Porto and Lisbon with SO MUCH FREE TIME.
Henry - ... I started traveling with another company from that point on.
Why don't you switch over to that other company's forum to provide your extremely valuable (NOT) commentary.
Here we go again!
the moores - Thanks for the Fronteira Palace suggestion. I looked it up and it is, indeed, beautiful. I love azulejo tiles so will definitely visit next time.
When I took this tour a few years ago, we did not go into the Jeronimos Monastery, but had a lovely fado performance by a duo after a dinner at Convento do Espinhiero in Evora.
Yes, she's right!
Tauck does not go to Jeronimos Monastery, they went to the Maritime Museum next door instead.
There is indeed a lovely fado performance by a local group at Covento De Espinhiero in evora, approximately 20-25 minutes in length.By the way, how far is that hotel from the city center?
I used supplemental tours from Lisbonexplorer.com. I was extremely pleased. I have recommended this source to many friends - with great feedback.
Hi NancyCohen. Thanks for local tour company recommendation! They look great. I will be in Lisbon in May and have been looking for this type of local guide.
Yes, thank you for the recommendation. I have a few questions but will send you a private message.