Portugal in January for 12 days. Where do I start?

I would either stick to Portugal and go to Porto, or get a bit of Spain and go to Sevilla. It just depends on your interest and transport you prefer. All of those will have plenty to enjoy in January.

When planning, how long you spend in one place should depend on what you want to see while there rather than a fixed number of days. Make a list of what you’d like to see in Lisbon and the other places and how long you think you’d spend at each place. That should give you an idea. You’ll spend more time at some places than you planned and less at others. Trying to figure out how long to stay in a place you’ve never been to can seem overwhelming. Then, you need to figure out about how much travel time you’ll need to travel between cities to determine what works best for you. Some locations will be easier to reach than others.

Has anyone been to Porto in January?

jaimeelsabio. I feel like I need to book my accommodations so I was looking for ideas on where to go and how long it would take to do the sights at relaxed pace. Going South, I was reading that theres not as much to do as they are beach towns and too cold.

The only area that might be problematic regarding enough to do would be the Algarve. The rest of the country is open year round with everything available in the winter.

January can be quite lovely, but also rainy. I’ve been to Porto in February and while cold, it was nice with so few tourists.
For twelve days, I would divide my time between Lisbon and Porto with day trips from each. You also might want to stop in Coimbra for a night on your way between the two.

Thank you all for all of your insight!