France or Portugal during Thanksgiving Week

Sri, is there a reason you don’t want to spend the whole time in PT? Here’s what I would do:
Train from Porto to Coimbra-B station (1h 30m).
Train from Coimbra-B to Lisboa Oriente (1h 45m). I would sleep in the Alfama neighborhood and take a day trip to Sintra one day (45-minutes) and a day trip to Evora another day (1h 45m).

Hi MaryPat, I am sorry if I wasn't clear in my previous post. We will be spending the whole time either in Portugal or in France, but not both. I am not sure which one makes sense to visit in November.

Thanks
Sri

Your daylight hours are short then and the weather could be ok or it could be wet in either country.

You only have a week which is an ideal time to cover Lisbon and Porto with either a couple of day trips (Douro from Porto or Sintra or Evora from Lisbon). Alternatively, hire a car between the 2 cities and meander through the delightful historic towns of Tomar, Obidos, Alcobaca, Batalha etc. Ride a tram in Lisbon and try the pasteis de nata - custard tarts.

The food and wine are good and better value than France.

Both great choices, but you need more than a week to see Portugal. You can do the Loire Valley in 3-4 days.

Thank you so much for all of your wonderful advice.
Sri

We were in Portugal same time period in 2019. Had a great time. Lots of rain when we headed north from Lisbon, which is typical from looking at the averages. Our canceled 2020 November trip, I had us going to the Alentejo region, which is dryer. Tons of old castles, Roman ruins, neat scenery, etc. Places like Evora, Elvas, Marvao...these places would work nicely with RT flights out of Lisbon.

The November 2019 trip I had 2 of my daughters, 20 and 27, who act like teenagers. They loved Portugal. I hope you and your family are able to travel and have a great time.

Thank you bdokeefe.
Sri