We will have 5 days in Lisbon next May. I’m looking for recommendations on how to split up that time between Lisbon, Porto and possibly the Douro Valley. Should we stay in Lisbon the entire time and travel by train to Porto or stay in both. We would like to visit a few wineries as well. Looking forward to recommendations on hotels, tours, restaurants. Thanks
Posted by
11569 posts
Stay in both Lisbon and Porto, giving more nights to Lisbon.
Posted by
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
4582 posts
That's a whirlwind to try and squeeze it all in. We just got back and spent 5 days in Lisbon and 3 in Porto. Lisbon included 2 day trips to Sintra and Cascais. We enjoyed Porto more and wish we had more time. If wineries and the Douro Valley are of interest then I'd recommend more time in Porto. Wine and Port aren't an interest of mine but I did enjoy the tour and tasting at the Calem Caves (Cellar) in Gaia which is across the river from Porto.
Posted by
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
4582 posts
We used Airbnb in Lisbon. https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/26443415?source_impression_id=p3_1729195351_P3AdRQRZobYseUCJ and stayed here in Porto. https://www.ocahotels.com/hoteles/oca-ribeira-porto-apartamentos. Happy with both.
Posted by
Brooklyn, NY
4256 posts
And we are just the opposite from Allen. 3 nights in Porto and 6 in Lisbon. We did enjoy Porto but liked Lisbon more, but we are big city folk.
We toured Sandeman’s for Port and attended a lovely Fado show also on the Gaia side. An easy walk over the bridge. The quick ferry was, if I remember, €6 and literally took 4 minutes.
For a fabulous tour look at Lisbon Walkers. We took the Lisbon, City of Spies tour. One of the best tours about WWII ever.
In Porto, Restaurant A Grade was fantastic. The only place that didn’t ruin their meat offerings. Seafood was good too.
Posted by
Luxembourg
8 posts
With only 5 days I would concentrate on one area. Either Lisbon with day trip to Sintra and Cascais. or Porto with day trip to Douro Valley and Braga and Guimaraes
Posted by
UK
6 posts
We did Porto and Lisbon in 5 days earlier this year, splitting it to 3 nts in Porto and 2 nts in Lisbon (we had been to Lisbon before so I would maybe swap them over if it is your first time to both). 2 / 3 nts in both cities would give you a good flavour and you could see the main sights (top tip is just to walk around and soak it all in as opposed to pay to enter major attractions - save time and money!). The best recommendation would be to use the fast train between the two cities - very reasonable and comfortable and only took around 3 hours. I think you would be pushing it to visit wineries too - that would easily take up at least half a day, although you could do a port tasting tour in Porto as a comprimise! Both cities are great though :-)