My husband and I are taking his sister on this trip - we are all 60 and active. Would love to see cities and walk walk walk, see art, hear music, and also enjoy beach if it’s possible at that timing. Thinking 5-6 nights, grateful for your shared experience. Thank you
Posted by
11500 posts
With such a short amount of time you need to decide if you want a city experience like Lisbon or Madrid or splitting it with a beach. European beaches can’t compare to those in the U.S. so I would suggest that you skip that idea.
Choose ,for Portugal , Lisbon or Porto, or for Spain, Madrid or Seville. Madrid has wonderful art museums. Or split your time between the two of them in whichever country you choose.
Posted by
Washington DC
27617 posts
If you chose Barcelona in Spain, you'd have beaches nearby. Barcelona's a smidgen warmer than Madrid in April, on average. I think April would be too early to actually go in the water.
Posted by
Cascais, Portugal
1768 posts
Lisbon has beaches nearby, if you want to get in a beach or two. Definitely, not the time to actually go in the water. Lisbon will be warmer than Porto.
Wherever you decide to go, don’t go the first week of the month, since Easter is at the end of March next year. Let the Easter surge die down.
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
7024 posts
I love Spain, but there are a number of places I’ve yet to visit in Portugal. Either choice is a good one. You probably wouldn’t have great beach weather in April for anything other than walking along it.
Posted by
Austin, TX
2107 posts
I recently returned from taking a cruise from Southampton to Lisbon with two ports in Spain and one in Porto before getting off in Lisbon.
If you have 5 or 6 nights total, I would suggest just staying put in one city and exploring which might include a one day excursion elsewhere.
I was in Lisbon four nights and it was not enough. It is a great walking city with much to see and do including lots of art.
But we ported in Oporto and I took an excursion to Braga. Also great walking city with wonderful art and churches and natural beauty.
In Spain, we ported in Bilbao and I went to the Guggenheim as well as city tour.
And in Vigo, I chose to go to Santiago on an excursion: art, history, culture, and beauty.
You are going to have to make a decision about where to stay and go from there. But wherever you go, it is all beautiful, interesting, cultural and you can count on lots of walking.
You really can not go wrong.