How many nights in Porto/Lisbon?

I’m going to follow this Betsey cause we are planning a trip to Portugal next September and I’m trying to figure out how many days in each city too. We’re retired so I have more flexibility.

I'm going to say 5 nights in Lisbon and 4 nights in Porto. From Porto possible day trips are Braga, Guimarães, and the Duoro Valley. I'd be happy to add even more time to Porto, but then, I like Porto the best between the two cities and really enjoyed the towns north of Porto (Minho region).

If you have 9 nights and want to do day trips while in Lisbon, I think I'd spend 6 nights in Lisbon and 3 nights in Porto, at least.

We recently did a first-time trip to Portugal, hitting Lisbon, Sintra, and Porto. We did 5 nights in Lisbon (a day trip to Sintra included) and 3 nights in Porto and I felt we could have spent more time in both places.

A friend who went to Lisbon and Porto (separate trips from us) said she liked Porto more than Lisbon. For me and my husband, we like both cities and while we can't really pick one over the other, we feel there's more to do in and around Lisbon and more time spent in Lisbon is worthwhile than in Porto proper.

In fact, we've contemplated that our next trip to Portugal would be only to Lisbon with day trips out.

We recently spent three nights in Porto and felt it was sufficient to see everything we wanted to see in it. Since we had a rental car on the trip we didn’t need to take any day trips from it. We stopped elsewhere before and after our stay in the city.

I agree with Gail. You could divide 5 Lisbon, 4 Porto due to the size of the cities and day trips you'd take from the cities. And also agreeing with Gail, I preferred Porto over Lisbon (not exactly sure why as both are wonderful but Porto was just that bit more magical.) Enjoy your time in Portugal!

Thanks everyone for your responses. If you'd like to send along some of your favorite sites, I'd appreciate that also!!

We just got back from Portugal and spent 6 nights in Lisbon and 4 in Porto. From Lisbon, we took a day tour to Evora and one to Sintra. From Porto, we took a day trip to the Douro Valley.

If you'd like to send along some of your favorite sites, I'd appreciate that also!!

Braga - Bom Jesus do Monte. Started at the bottom and slowly walked up the stairs. A bit of effort, but the best way to get the full impact. As a side note, Braga won the honor of being the Best European Destination in 2021 and very much worth spending a day there.

Sintra - Quinta da Regaleira, Monserrate and National Palace of Sintra. Pena is nice to view from a distance.

Belem - Jerónimos Monastery, Belém Tower, and the Coach museum.

Porto - Ribeira neighborhood and crossing the Dom Luís I bridge at sunset for the views.

Porto/Gaia - Wandering around and seeing street art. Half Rabbit and Perspéntico favorites of mine.

Evora - might not have time, but the megaliths. I really liked this company for tours. https://www.eboramegalithica.com/actividades?lang=en

Lisbon - Castelo de S. Jorge right before sunset. Wonderful views and rather fun to walk around in the dark with some lights bouncing off the ancient walls. Brought out the child in me :) Peacocks in the trees were amusing too.

Apologies Gail, I thought I had responded earlier to say thanks for your suggestions. This will definitely help with our trip planning!