If we can find an awesome deal on flights ( a big "if", I know) we are very interested in spending Dec 23-Jan 2 in Portugal. This would be our first visit. We love cold weather as we live in Phoenix and miss winter. What can we expect in Lisbon at that time of year? Not just weather wise, but how are the holidays celebrated? And how would you spend that amount of time between the 2 cities?
Hi, We spent 6 weeks (Spring season) staying with friends in Portugal/ Estoril. Our friends told us that there are many Christmas concerts in Lisbon that they train to. I don't know about other activities but I'd bet that there are many. We loved Lisbon and Porto and hope to return. Hopefully Kathryn in Cascais will post.
Don't expect it to feel like 'real' winter. It really never gets very cold. It never freezes and most winter days are in the mid 50's with a lot in the 60's. The nights rarely get into the low 40's. Rain is the biggest issue in the winter but it rarely rains all day. But, rather a few minutes off and on.
That said winter is really nice because there are many fewer tourists and there are a lot of activities. Most towns have some type of Feliz festival with decorations, fairs, concerts, etc. Óbidos has a big Christmas festival with (what I've heard) good shopping.
With that amount of time, you might want to spend your time in Porto and Lisbon with a possible stop in Óbidos. It will be colder in Porto but I'm not sure how cold it gets. If you haven't purchased your flights, you might research flying into Porto and out of Lisbon to save back tracking.
I would suggest you google 'Christmas festivals' plus the name of the city. It should give you details of previous years and, possibly, what's planned for this year.
We haven't booked flights yet and are in the exploration phase of planning. Thanks for the suggestions, I do think Lisbon and Porto would be a good choice. The weather sounds fine, seems like finding true cold winter means going north, maybe Iceland :) We were in London last Christmas and it was sunny and in the 50s most every day....and the year before in Prague it was so warm we didn't need coats at all! For holiday events I will definitely Google for ideas.