Which town to extend in - Madrid OR Lisbon?
We are considering booking the Douro w/Madrid & Lisbon. We have never been to Spain or Portugal. We plan to fly into Barcelona for a few days on our own there, then take the train to Madrid to meet up w/Tauck for the tour. We will only be able to extend/use our GoT on ONE end of this trip - either Madrid OR Lisbon. For those who have been to both towns, which town would you extend in & why? Thank You.
0
Comments
I prefer Lisbon - compact, hilly (I'm a native San Franciscan), walkable. BUT Madrid has the Prado. Depends on the vibe and sights you are looking for.
This was addressed before; the answer depends on your interests. If museums interest you, Madrid is ideal. Toledo is an easy day trip and offers a look into how three religions lived in harmony.
Lisbon is a great city to explore on foot. The limestone tiles that line several boulevards are beautiful. Same for the azulejos tiles.
The food in both cities is delicious and relatively inexpensive. Tapas in Madrid and octopus in Lisbon are all I need. Spaniards eat dinner quite late and if considering restaurants, the locals do dress accordingly since multigenerational dining is considered almost a sacred affair for them. Rather refreshing in my opinion.
I would recommend using the search bar for more in-depth suggestions—mine and a few others who have been to the peninsula numerous times.
Lisbon has my vote.
We've done both and each has it's charms. As kfnknfzk said, Toledo is an easy train from Madrid but I didn't find it all that interesting. If you've never seen it, it might be worth while just so you know what it is. But I didn't find it worth a second trip.
Overall, I'd choose Lisbon if I could only do one.
We have been to both many times. I would choose Lisbon between the two. I would also consider a side trip to Porto. The tour visits there, but I really like the city.
Thanks everyone. We are booked for this trip April 2027. I also asked this question on the 2 Tauck facebook group pages, and while everyone loves both towns - Lisbon was definitely the winner.
Depends on what you are interested in....Madrid has several spectacular art museums and beautiful fountains.
Lisbon!! So interesting & walkable, plus the food is fantastic (be sure to go to Pateo 51 (near Intercontinental)); also a great nearby pizza place (can’t remember name); also don’t miss the Sintra excursion!
Thanks dwannand! We have decided to fly into Barcelona for 3 days, then take the train to Madrid ONE day PreTour. We are extending 2 nights in Lisbon. We've hired ToursByLocals for Barcelona & Lisbon. We do plan to do the Sintra excursion.
Lisbon! We actually added a day at each end, but enjoyed Lisbon more on our own because you could walk to most places. We took a Devour Food tour our first day which also included a brief history tour as well. Our guide was able to give us tips on places to see, musical and dancing shows, and the best locals restaurants. Enjoy your trip!
Mimitravels - we have booked a Devour food tour in Barcelona, thru the Gothic area. Maybe we will book one in Lisbon too the day we get off the river cruise. Thanks for the suggestion.
Before you do check out the offers from Culinary Backstreets. We really enjoyed the one entitled Song of the Sea but they have others if you are not a seafood fan.
Folsomdoc - I saw your post about this a couple days ago and I have Culinary Backroads pinned to remember this. We may book with them just for something different. Thanks so much.
In eleven days we are going for two weeks on Windstar’s new Star Seeker. We have been to all of the Caribbean Islands so we will only do what seems fun at the time. It’s a max relax trip. We do something similar every year just to recover from Christmas. We have done Windstar a lot, so we get lots of upgrades and free stuff. The Star Seeker is Windstar’s first ‘new’ ship, so it is sold out for the near future.
Regarding food I understand some travelers feel more comfortable having someone guide them along, but given the abundance of tapas bars/eateries in Barcelona it is so easy to do your own self-guided tour.
Although located in my least favorite area—La Rambla—the Boqueria Market is a great place to wander and get bites to eat.
We def plan to go to La Boqueria and Santa Caterina after our Gaudi Tour - - thank you
“Regarding food I understand some travelers feel more comfortable having someone guide them along, but given the abundance of tapas bars/eateries in Barcelona it is so easy to do your own self-guided tour.”
You’ve opined on this topic several times. Have you ever been on a tapas tour? I doubt it. Visiting La Boqueria or Santa Caterina ( a less crowded more enjoyable choice) can be fun but it’s not the same as a tapas tour-not even close. You can wander with hundreds of people extending your arm for a sample here and there. If you are lucky you can get a seat at one of the small bars. But they are almost always occupied. We’ve found these food halls are a good place to buy some jamon, cheese, olives and the like along with a bottle of wine. Back to your room and you’ve got a great afternoon. As far as tapas bars-yes there are many, some much better than others and everyone knows about those. But easy it is not. You walk in, it’s 3 deep at the bar and English is almost non existent. If you can point your way to a few tapas, then you’ll dine well, maybe be able to order wine. You’ll be standing. If it’s off season it’s a doable option. Now a tapas tour: you meet your guide and small group, usually 6-8 people in total. You’ve paid one fee. The guide points out various sites as you meander. You visit some top tapas bars where you bypass the crowds to a preset table. You are served an assortment of tapas that this particular bar is known for, along with wine or vermut. Then onto the next one, same deal. You usually wind up at a place for sweets and sherry or sweet wine. Unless you’ve had first hand experience making comparisons is falacious.
I have traveled extensively throughout Spain, have lived there and can speak the language enough to get by. My husband is fluent; I am not.
As such, we have no problem maneuvering through the tapas bars. We enjoy the atmosphere.
As I mentioned, some travelers prefer to be guided. There is nothing wrong with that. As I have said many times, there is no right or wrong, just what works for the individual. I see no reason for such angst. Enjoy your tapas.
Folsomdoc, In Madrid Tauck took us on a tapas tour by Devour Tours which we enjoyed including trying Vermouth which I didn't think I'd like but did. Always good to at least try new things. We enjoyed all the food provided on the tour. The first bar we were upstairs in a private area which was quiet. At the second it was more crowded but they had us in a section together. A day or two later my husband and I went back to the 2nd bar just down from the hotel and had an excellent lunch including garlic shrimp. In Barcelona we didn't do a special food tour nor had I done enough research on restaurants. Did walk into what seemed to be a good place and again ordered garlic shrimp. Yuck, not nearly as good as the place in Madrid.
We've never booked a food tour on our own but I can certainly see the value especially if you go with a highly rated company. One of Devour Tours founders in James Blick who's youtube videos Spain Revealed are worth watching. They are mostly on food in Spain and Portugal. Most of the time I do research restaurants near our tour hotel. Most have websites with their menus, prices and you can see ratings. Google translate usuallly does a good job in the website doesn't have a toggle to switch the language to English. I've had good luck with that approach including a tiny place near our Stockholm hotel where we had one of the best meals of our time in Scandinavia.
Yes we did that abreviated tour with Devour and enjoyed it so much we booked a pinxtos tour with them in San Sebastion. It was excellent! We’ve also enjoyed Culinary Backstreets. We began our tour in Lisbon by picking up still warm pastries and enjoyed them sitting on sacks of coffee beans (enjoying fresh coffee) at the last remaining coffee roaster in Lisbon.
Terrilynn:
•We did your EXACT travel plan in October & it all worked out great!
••La Boqueria is really interesting; also enjoyed walking La Rambla; tons of nearby restaurants
••We stayed at hotel Me in Barcelona; it was excellent & great location
••Casa Battlo was great; make sure you get your tickets from the official site (NOT MyTopTours (scam)); Sagrada Familia was just incredible; really left us speechless; get a ticket to go up in one of the towers also
•In Madrid, we enjoyed the Botanical Garden (near the hotel); also don’t miss churros at San Gines Chocolateria!
Hope you meet Manuel Rezende (Tauck Tour Director); TONS of fun & EVERYONE wanted to be on his excursions; brilliant young man with an incredible sense of humor!
You will have a BLAST on this trip: Barcelona plus my all-time favorite Tauck tour!