Considering a visit to Lisbon, instead of Prague..

I have been to both places and liked Lisbon the most. I would go back to Lisbon before I would go back Prague.

I think for what you want to do, you should consider Porto and Lisbon. They are both great cities, but the Douro Valley (wine tasting) and Conimbriga (Roman ruins) are day trips from Porto. Castles are a day trip from Lisbon.

How much time do you have?

Greg, Definitely Lisbon over Prague. And consider 4 days Lisbon and 3 days Porto. Just under 4 hours by bus between them, or under 3 hours by train. Far less expensive than any of the Scandinavian countries, IMO. Relaxed, charming, great food and ambience and scenery and history. You could also do a day trip to Evora from Lisbon......Roman aqueduct, bone chapel, Roman ruins, Gothic cathedral, good prices, easy to walk around.....just 1bout 1 1/2 hours by bus or train.
And Porto will have wine tasting tours, plus boat tours on the Duoro River., a fun riverside area on both sides of the river.
Just don't speak Spanish to the Portuguese or you will insult them. They take pride in their own language and it is not a dialect of Spanish.
Take a look at a travel guide or the Portugal forum here, which will mention the sights and activities. There are lots and I don't want to list them all here.
Boa viagem!

What time of year is this trip, and for how long? I haven’t been to Lisbon since 1983 and Prague since 1992, so I will not purport to offer any recommendations, but I have heard that Lisbon is struggling a bit with the Instagram crowd, so you might not find it better then Prague with respect to that sort of thing. If this is your first trip to Europe, then honestly, I would recommend one or two of the big destinations, which get millions of tourists, but for good reason — Paris, London, Rome, Venice. Nothing Roman in Portugal is anywhere close to Roman in Rome. No castle is better than the Tower of London (well ok, some have better scenery, but not as much history).

Thanks for the replies. Funny you mentioned that Judy - I actually have 1/2 Spanish ancestry, as well as half German ancestry. So, I would be careful not to use any Spanish words or phrases. (I wonder how they deal with visitors from nearby Spain)?
Rome does look amazing- I think I'm afraid of a lot of cobblestone streets etc. I am a 50+ y/o male and a slow walker. Although, I'd be thrilled to see the Coliseum and St Peter's Basilica, Trevi Fountain etc.
Would also like to taste-test some Frascati wine, near Rome.

Venice, I'd be afraid of falling in a canal, lol. Paris seems much too big and overwhelming. Give me your advice plz. *My trip will be either mid-September or early October.

This time of year (SEP-OCT) is great in wine country. And while I love Prague at that time of year I'd be looking at Porto. Porto over Lisbon because it is wine country, it's slower paced, most of the tourists will be gone, and you have beaches, wine, castles, a lighthouse, and history; all with great food. And mind you, I live in German wine country and still visit Porto in October. (The weather is better.)

Prague is (IMHO) best in spring or around Christmas. Lisbon is too touristy.

And if you want another good route for that time of year, consider traveling from Koblenz to Trier along the Mosel. Easy to do by train, wine, castles, beautiful scenery, LOTS of Roman ruins, no lighthouse. This is where I spend my weekends in the fall (okay, all year round).

As for lighthouses near Lisbon 3 which spring to mind are-
Belem- yes it will be crowded with tourists out there as the Belem area is one of the big tourist draws of Lisbon, and with very good reason for those with any interest at all in the history of Lisbon, and indeed Portugal as a great trading and exploring country. There is some very silly commentary on Trip Advisor on it somehow being a pseudo light. The modern lighthouse is indeed now decommissioned, but it was a real lighthouse. And centuries before that the Belem Tower was the original lighthouse.
Most people probably don't go to the tower for that specific reason, but that doesn't alter the facts.
Santa Marta (and it's museum) at Cascais- Cascais is the terminus of a frequent suburban train route from Lisbon. You can actually climb the light. In many ways it is the National Lighthouse Museum of Portugal.
Cabo da Roca (the most westerly point of mainland Europe)- on the frequent suburban bus routes #1253 and 1624 from Cascais to Sintra.

So you could take the train to Cascais, then the bus to Sintra, then the train back from Sintra (technically there are two rail routes to Sintra, but I'm sure you'll end up on the route all the tourists use).

Also at Cascais there is the Farol do Cabo Raso- take the buses #5 and 43 to get there.

Another functional and relatively modern light is the Farol da Azeda in Setubal. Setubal is easily reached by suburban trains from Lisbon. The light certainly isn't a reason to go to Setubal, but more something to see if you are there for other reasons.
Also at Setubal there is the much older Farol do Outao (there is an infrequent bus out there, but taxi is probably best).

I'm not ready to cross Portugal off my list yet, but I need more info about Prague. What were some of your favorite experiences there? Does Czech Republic use the Euro or do they have their own currency?

I definitely want to visit a castle, art museum, boat ride, and at least one day-trip outside of the city. Any good day - trips you'd recommend?

although Prague seems very trendy esp with young people - students etc.

Lisbon is chock full of young people, more so than Prague, especially around the Bairro Alto district where it seems that there's a small bar every two doors along.

Personally I prefer Prague but that's because it suits my interests more than Lisbon does but that's not to say that Lisbon isn't a great city, it is however it is very youth oriented and the smell of cannabis is very pervasive wherever you go.

I prefer the food and beer in Prague but Lisbon has its wine and seafood. Prague is also easier on the legs as opposed to Lisbon's hills.

Czech Republic uses their own currency, the Czech Koruna (CZK). It is easy to get currency at an ATM (although I would stick with a bank affiliated ATM rather than a "Euronet" ATM). However, when I visited in 2019, I used my credit card for almost everything.

I haven’t been to Lisbon but I have been to Prague .

I’d choose Lisbon . Prague was very touristy , and the people seemed warm as ice once you wandered away from tourist central - very Eastern European if you know you know .

Prague is one of my very favorite European cities, although I did enjoy Lisbon and Porto. I did not find Prague teeming with young people or the "Instagram" travelers. We are history buffs, so we took a day trip to Terezin with Pavel Batel which was very worthwhile. Tours of the Jewish Quarter in Prague were another thing that we enjoyed. You can tour Prague Castle, and a walk across the Charles Bridge is beautiful. We were not fans of Cesky Krumlov, which was mobbed with tourists, it could be done as a day trip, but I do not recommend it. If you do decide on Prague, I highly recommend you look at Hotel Residence Agnes for your stay. Frank and his staff will do everything in their power to ensure a memorable visit.

I guess my biggest concerns about Prague are:
It seems like there might be a lot of cobblestone streets, which could be difficult for me as a slow walker. Correct me, if I'm wrong. * I'm also a little afraid of the foreign currency issue. Is Prague where I have to validate my bus ticket before boarding, or be charged a fee? Maybe I'm thinking of somewhere else.

Would I be better off to just fly to Zurich and spend a few days in Lucerne. Or should I look more into Antwerp, Belgium? Sorry, I always research these things, maybe a little too much sometimes.

You mentioned cobblestones and walking….

I’ve been to both places and Lisbon had much tougher walking. The sidewalks were kind of a slippery cobblestone and it was quite hilly (hillier than I remember Prague being). It didn’t rain while we were there, but that would have made it pretty slick, I think.

I believe you have to validate your transit tickets in both places, and with a little research and observation, you can easily figure out the system for doing so.

Using Czech currency is no more difficult than using Swiss francs in Lucerne, or euros in Portugal and Belgium. With the exception of small, local shops, we used very little cash in any of those places. Visa was readily accepted; some places will not accept AMEX. We found Switzerland to be the most expensive of all the places you have mentioned. Many bus systems will require you to validate a ticket; bus drivers are used to tourists and are normally very patient and accommodating. We did not find walking to be problematic in Prague. As mentioned, Lisbon is much hillier, and may be more difficult to navigate.

Lisbon is trendier than Prague.

Currency is pretty 19th century, I don’t normally ever use it anymore.

Wow, I didn't realize that Switzerland is still using the Swiss Francs. I thought they would be using the Euro.

Anyone here been to Krakow, Poland? Just curious, since I do collect some Polish pottery. I'm not eliminating Prague necessarily, just curious.

We have been to both Lisbon and Prague. Our visit to Lisbon was way back in September 1998, so I can't give any current suggestions, and it was our first trip to Europe. We enjoyed it and it did get us hooked on more European travel. We went to Prague in late January 2020 just as the pandemic was hitting, and we loved it! We are late 50's and did not feel like it was young/trendy at all. The walking in Prague was much easier than Lisbon with all the hills. I am not a fan of hot weather, so Prague in the winter was perfect for me whereas Lisbon was pretty hot. Prague can easily be combined with Dresden, which is what we did, and both places have so much to offer.

Dresden looks beautiful, but it seems considerably more expensive to fly into. I noticed the same about Munich and Frankfurt also. Since it was the end of September (dates I checked), I figured maybe because of Oktoberfest season, but I don't know.

Oktoberfest definitely drives up the prices.

We took the train between Dresden and Prague and it isn't all that long. So you could fly in wherever for Prague and then just train to Dresden and back.

Goodness...... yes, it is hard to pick from all that Europe has to offer.
Portugal has been one of my favorite places to visit although I have enjoyed visiting each of the places you have mentioned except Prague. I would easily pick Lisbon or Porto over Dresden, Krakau, Prague (I have several times). I would certainly pick it over Denmark although there is nothing wrong with it.
I love everything about Portugal.

I decided to steer away from Portugal since Iwas advised there are a lot of hills, and it might be challenging for me as a slow walker and having some mobility challenges. I'm also hoping to avoid a lot of cobblestone streets.
I Want to see a castle, art museum, go for a boat ride, taste some wine etc. Somebody, please tell me where you think I should go. What about Lucerne, Switzerland?

Greg, I think maybe you're back in Prague, or perhaps Vienna. They're both full of magnificent architecture and good wines. The heurigers (wine cafés) outside Vienna are especially delightful.

I would prefer either Prague or Vienna over the Portuguese cities ten times out of ten, but everyone has a different perspective on this stuff.

OK, with that list of needs, I would suggest something entirely different.
Consider Cologne Germany. There you can embark of a boat cruise, see and visit nearby castles, there are museums (you did not say what type of museums) there is certainly a great deal of decent wine in the region. There are cobbles in the older sections, but this is very typical of most of Europe, even now sidewalks continue to be cobbled.
And, I can't quite believe I am suggesting this, but you might also want to consider a visit to Budapest.
Vienna is one of my favorite places to visit, but it does not check all of your boxes (and even though I do enjoy Heuriger, I would never recommend the wines.....they only shine after you ingest a bucket, kind of like Finger Lake reds.....not quite swill but getting there. Prague, never been so no advise to offer there....
It will be interesting to learn what you decide to do.