Évora, Óbidos or Sintra

I have been to all three, and all three are well worth a visit. I would choose Sintra for ease of access and overall magnificence. Doing it as a day trip only will leave you wanting to return, not such a bad thing. Sinatra is worth a day and a half minimum. That said, your time in Lisbon is short and that city merits at least three full days.

Linda, I have been to all 5 of the cities and towns you mention, all excellent. Of the 3 you are choosing among, I personally would rate them Sintra first, Evora second, and Obidos third. I found Obidos to be more touristy than the others.

Sintra actually deserves considerably more than a day trip, so try to make it a long ( = very full) day. There are several worthy sites, spread out quite a bit, each meriting at least 2 or even 3 hours. My top picks would be Pena Palace (the tour of the extensive grounds outside the palace was wonderful too), the palace is reachable by frequent public buses from town, and Quinta da Regeleira, which is a healthy but manageable walk from the center of town. Also in the center of the small town, there are various interesting shops and bakeries. Also in town is the National Palace, which I viewed from the interesting outside, but did not go in. Some people said the inside was excellent. My top restaurant pick in Sintra is called Incomum, excellent but moderate in price, especially for lunch. By the way, I understand that the most crowded day of the week in Sintra is Monday, because the museums in Lisbon are closed on Monday, so lots of people plan day trips then.

Nazare is probably the least interesting of the 5 stops you mention, but it is very different from the others, so likely a good visit to include on your itinerary.

Great country to visit, so enjoy!

Thank you both for your response! I was leaning toward Sintra, it sounds perfect for our schedule.

We just returned from a trip covering all your spots. I enjoyed all but agree that Obidos is charming but rather touristy. I really liked Evora especially for Roman ruins and walkable city center. Sintra is undeniably cool. We toured only the gardens and terraces at Pena Palace, and only looked at the Moorish Castle from a distance. Walking down the hill from Pena is a long slog down; that exhausted us for Quinta de Regaleira, which I would have like to explore more. As for Nazare, I very much preferred Aveiro further up the coast, with its cool moliceiro boats thru the center....if you can fit that on your itinerary.
-Alice

Thank you for your insight!

I give a vote for Evora instead of Sintra. While Sintra has lovely palaces, etc., in July it will be so packed with tourists to make it miserable IMO. Evora is much less touristy and delightful. It’s also easy on the train.
However, with only three nights in Lisbon, I would likely opt for venturing no further than Belem. There is more than enough to keep you busy for three days without going far outside the city.

Belem is definitely on my ‘must see’ list. I’m so excited!!

Evora deserves a full day.
Sintra is a full day if you do the National Palace and the other palace (forgotten the name).
Obidos is a 2-3 hour visit.

All are good, you can visit Obidos on your way to Navarre.
If you like Roman history, Evora is the place. Sintra is nice, hard to pick between the two.

I'm in Lisbon now, at the end of a 3-week trip. If you only have 3 nights in Lisbon, you have 2 full days. I wouldn't plan any day trips from here, especially if it's the start of your trip and you might be jetlagged. If it were off-season, Sintra would be my choice, but as others have said, in July it will probably be very hot and very crowded. Evora is a long trip, Obidos in May was full of tourists (and seemed to be mostly tourist shops)

There's plenty to see and enjoy in Lisbon.

Thank you everyone for your insight! We have added one extra night in Lisbon and an additional friend to explore the area with :) Sintra and Belem are tops on our list and we look forward to being temporary locals and enjoying everything Lisbon has to offer. Tchau!