Eastbound in May 2026 - input on advance day along with day 1 & 2
Doing the Exploring the Douro, plus Lisbon & Madrid trip in May, starting in Lisbon. Going to outline what we are thinking of doing and would love your insights.
Day before the tour:
We are supposed to arrive at the airport at 10:45.
Thinking of doing a 4 PM foodie tour, either:
Undiscovered Lisbon Food and Wine
or
Heart of Lisbon Food Tour: Baixa, Chiado & Bairro Alto
Either last 3.5 hours, so should be back at the hotel by 8 PM if all goes well.
Day 1 of tour:
Looking to connect with João's Journeys Tuk Tuk tour and ask to create a roughly 6 hour tour that gets us back to the hotel by 4 PM
Tour group meets at 6 PM
Dinner at Queluz Palace
Day 2 of tour:
Planning on selecting the Sintra and Cascais Tour
Thinking of Dinner at Patio 51 that is a short walk from the hotel
I look forward to your thoughts!!
Sherri
Comments
Hi, Sherrill. If you prefer guided excursions during your free time, I am sure they will be enjoyable for you.
Doing your own food tour is very easy, especially in the Alfama district, the oldest and most colorful part of Lisbon.
Strolling along Avenida da Liberdade with its tree-lined streets and gorgeous limestone walkways is always enjoyable. You can walk it all the way down to the Tagus River.
Both Sintra and Cascais are excellent excursions. I doubt I would return to Sintra, but I always visit Cascais. If you like octopus, have it there or perhaps your referenced restaurant will have it.
We loved the Douro tour, so much so I will do it again. Enjoy.
Definitely have dinner at Patio 51. It's hard to find - you need to go down stairs into a small alleyway. No building has a number 51 but the stairs are between numbers above and below 51. We enjoyed the Seafood Cataplana. It's a mixture of shrimp, mussels, monkfish, sweet potatoes, onions and others in a very nice broth served in a copper pot. It's for two to share but could easily work for three people (or even more).
If you take a Tuk Tuk tour make sure you go the the Alfama district. There's also an impressive tile museum in Lisbon.
thank you both, I appreciate the feedback (Kathy M - I likely first heard of the Patio 51 from a previous comment your wrote)
Just to clarify, it is Páteo 51. The menu looks fabulous!
Thanks Not sure how it came out wrong the first time. My second time, I will admit I copied the spelling from above.
No worries. If you got lost in Lisbon and asked for the Patio restaurant, they might not know what you really meant.
Please post a critique of your journey after your return!
I hope to provide a detail accounting of the trip. I planned to for our 2023 week in Scotland trip (which was fabulous), got home, father rushed to the er and died a week later. In dealing with the aftermath, I never wrote my review, but I do have my notebook (though 1600 miles away ATM).
My condolences on the loss of your father.