We are thinking about visiting both Spain and Portugal over a 2 week period. Any suggestions on which country to start with? Right now, it looks like we will be coming from Paris. We would appreciate any pointers on an Itinerary.
One can’t visit all of either country in two weeks, let alone both. You could see a lot of Portugal in that amount of time. One could spend months in Spain and not see everything. Part of the answer will be determined by your transportation method. If you are intent on seeing a little of each country you could probably visit northern Portugal and parts of Span, like parts of Galicia or Extremadura, but there isn’t enough time to bounce around.
Try to explore the Prado Museum, Retiro Park, and Gran Vía.
I agree with other posters that you could easily dedicate your 2 weeks just to one country, and also that an answer does depend on how you plan to travel. Having said that, if I wanted to get a taste with minimal time spent on travel ( or in airport) this is the trip I would maybe do:
Fly Paris to Madrid 3-4 nights
High speed train to Seville 3 nights
Bus to Algarve in Portugal ( maybe end up in Lagos, but i think the bus goes to Faro first)
Could pick up a car to explore the Algarve 3-4 nights
End in Lisbon, drop car spend the rest of my nights.
As mentioned in earlier posts, you could easily spend two weeks in either country and still not see it all. It would be helpful if you described your interests and goals for your trip. I prefer a slow pace, spending at least four or five days in each location. I travel to Lisbon frequently, and I can easily spend two weeks there and not run out of interesting things to do.