Explore the interesting Lisbon

Lisbon is a city you absolutely cannot miss when visiting Portugal. The city, with around 550,000 inhabitants, has many sights to offer and gives you the opportunity to enjoy Portuguese culture at its best. The most important neighborhoods to find are Alfama, Bairro Alto, and Belem, each with a different feeling of that part of town and its own unique sights to discover. Don't skip walking to different parts of town to find yourself alongside locals instead of queuing with tourists. 

Tourist occurrence: High

How to get here: Lisbon can be reached by plane from many places in the world. By public transport, you can visit many parts of Greece. By ferry, you can also visit many islands.

How much time needed: 5-6 days to see all the sights and take it a bit slower. You can take a shorter time, but I will recommend at least 3 days.

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Visit as many castles and palaces as possible in Sintra

Sintra is the most famous day trip from Lisbon, and that is for a reason. The extremely high density of castles and palaces is unparalleled, and that makes it a treasure to visit. The cute town and the stunning nature around it make it an even more unforgettable trip. Make sure you book some tickets in advance and arrive early.

Tourist occurrence: Very high

How to get here: Sintra is easily reached by a 40 minute train ride from Lisbon Rossio station. 

How much time needed: You will not be able to visit everything in one day, but a day trip is perfect from Lisbon and you have to make your own decisions. You can also stay a night here and enjoy Sintra longer.

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See the cute coastal town of Cascais

Cascais is a coastal town with some really cool beaches and places to swim. The town itself is very cute and has some good places to eat, and there is a more relaxed vibe than in the big city of Lisbon. Do not skip going to Boca do Inferno, where you can see the classic rough coast of Portugal and the wild Atlantic Ocean.

Tourist occurrence: Medium

How to get here: Cascais is easily reached by a 40 minute train ride from Lisbon at different stations. 

How much time needed: If you want to see the town, have a swim and find Boca do Inferno I would say half a day is sufficient, but longer is possible. 

See the old town of Óbidos

Óbidos is a lovely medieval town that is a interesting place to visit on a day trip from Lisbon. This is a unique village to wander around, even though it is small. The things to do here are:

• Taste a ginja (local liquor)
• Taste chocolate as they make the best of the country here. There is also an annual chocolate festival, but the dates differ
• Walk on the walls of the castle, so you can have great views of the town
• Walk around in the town
• Have a nice lunch at a nice restaurant like Ja!mon Ja!mon

Tourist occurrence: High

How to get here: Óbidos is a 1 hour bus ride from Campo Grande in Lisbon. The bus goes from Terminal 2 (this is on the other side of the metro station than terminal 1. Reserve some time to figure it out when you are here.

How much time needed: I would say that 2-3 hours is absolutely enough. It is very small.

See the students in Coimbra 

Coimbra is a nice city in between Porto and Lisbon that is particularly famous for the oldest university in the country, which is one of the oldest in Europe. There are many students in town, which makes it vibrant. The town has old Moorish and Arabic influences, and it is a treasure walking through the old town of Coimbra. Things to absolutely visit are:

• Praça do Comercio (Picture above) and the surrounding alleys
• Praça 8 de Maio
• Santa Cruz monastery 
• University (picture below)
• Botanical garden

Tourist occurrence: Low

How to get here: Coimbra is around 2 hours North of Lisbon and a bit more than 1 hour South of Porto.

How much time needed: 1-2 days

Taste the ports of Porto

The second city of Portugal is the proud city of Porto, which is famous for its port wines, azulejos, hills, and the Douro River. The city is more chilled in comparison to Lisbon. There are two parts of town, and they are both worth visiting, as one is famous for the ports and the other for the other sights. 

Tourist occurrence: High

How to get here: Porto is easily reached from many parts of Europe. Lisbon is a 3.5-hour train ride away.

How much time needed: 2-3 days including a day trip to the Douro Valley.

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See the distributor of port wines at the Douro River

The Douro Valley has many wineries that make wines and port wines, and it is fantastic to visit. It is advisable to do at least two tastings and enjoy a nice boat ride in between the wine fields. The views are absolutely stunning, and this makes it worth going on a busy day trip from Porto. 

Tourist occurrence: Medium

How to get here: It is 3 hours by public transport from Porto. A touristic tour from Porto may be convenient, but also a bit less of an experience.

How much time needed: 1 Full day of stay a night. 

Ride a boat on the canals of Aveiro

One of the cutest cities in Portugal is Aveiro, a lovely town with some beautiful canals. Although there are not as many canals as in Amsterdam or Venice, the canals are very picturesque and worth visiting. You can take a boat ride to have the best views of the city. Besides, there is a very nice fish market, and you have to try the sweet eggs, ovos moles. This is a great to spend a couple of hours.

Tourist occurrence: Medium

How to get here: It is 40 minutes by train from Porto. 

How much time needed: 3-4 hours would be sufficient.

Have a port or green wine

Portugal is famous for its port wine, which is only produced in Portugal and made in the Douro Valley. The port wines are sweeter and higher in alcohol than normal wines. You can drink port when having cheese or dessert. Besides, they make a lot of normal wines, including green wines, which are unripe white wines, and they taste very good. It is very common to order a green wine when having dinner or on a terrace in the afternoon.

Enjoy the local liquor Ginja

Many countries have their own liquor to try, and in Portugal, this is ginja. You can drink it as a shot, possibly in combination with some chocolate. The taste of berries makes it a shot that is both tasteful and functional at the same time. The liquor is mostly sold in Òbidos, where it was first produced. 

Enjoy the fantastic Portuguese cuisine

Besides drinks, one of the highlights of Portugal is the fantastic food. It may not be as famous as the Spanish or Italian food, but the tastes are so good. The dishes are often meat or cod-based, and I will give you some great dishes (of course not everything, as there is so much):

• Chorizo assado - a chorizo served in fire and tastes great with some bread (see picture above)
• Alheira - a bole with soft ingredients inside, which can be vegetarian
• Bifana - a small sandwich with tasty pork meat
• Bacalhau a bras - a lovely dish with cod, potato, egg and onion
• Bolonho de Bacalhau - a cod fish cake

Have the famous pastry Pastel de nata

A special mention around food in Portugal is the famous pastel de nata, a very tasty custard tart, which you can buy everywhere in Portugal. The first pastel de nata was made by Pasteis de Belem in Lisbon, and they are still very popular and tasty. The pastries are good in combination with icing sugar and cinnamon. You cannot leave Portugal without tasting one of them, even if you are here for just one day. 

Things I have not done, but could be interesting

I have not been south of Lisbon, so I cannot talk about that area, although it should be fantastic. For the rest, I got some places that could be cool:

• Guimarães
• Arrabida
• Serra de Estrela
• Azores (island with great hiking opportunities and a lot of whales)
• Madeira (beautiful island)

Final thoughts

Portugal is a fantastic upcoming holiday destination. With its great food, fantastic atmosphere, interesting sights, and nice temperatures, Portugal is an absolute highlight in the Mediterranean. Porto and Lisbon are cities that are absolutely worth a visit, and the surroundings have many sights to discover. This is a lovely country.