Portugal - Itinerary help, please

We basically did this itinerary in reverse with a longer stay in Lisbon. Glad you included Alcobaça, beautiful. Have a great trip!

Looks good to me, Theresa. All fine stops. Good that you are spending a couple of nights in Sintra, rather than just a day trip! Once you are ready, you can ask the Forum for tips on things to do and see, where to stay and eat, or even PM some of us.

Hello @Theresa,

I'm Portuguese and I can tell you that you have a great itinerary lined up :) However, I'd include a visit to the beautiful town of Tomar (relatively close to Fátima) instead of Nazaré - if you love architecture, you'll love the beautiful Castle and Convent of Christ and the small historic centre ;)

Enjoy Portugal ;)

Thanks all of you -- after your comments and a little more planning, I changed things a bit: -- dropped cruise to Duoro (I realized after visiting Napa Valley for years, Duoro would not stand out for me); --added Tomar to Fatima/Batalha/Obidos day; --1 night each in Obidos and Evora (yes I know, 1-nighters not super-desirable, but it really works out better in terms of driving and since I travel very light I'm pretty nimble at checking out/in). I have booked walking tours in Porto and Coimbra -- always a good thing when traveling solo. Found Airbnb's in great locations in expensive Porto and Lisbon. I would welcome comments on good small museums (or other sights) in any of my cities, good walking tours I could take in my cities, unusual sights and restaurants anywhere.

Hello @Theresa,

Concerning museums, there are two in Porto that you could visit: Soares dos Reis National Museum (closer to the historic centre) and Serralves Contemporary Art Museum (further away from the historic centre but also great... apart from the museum itself, there is a park for you to relax for a while).
In Lisbon you can consider the Old Art National Museum (Museu de Arte Antiga), MAAT (Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology) and Berardo Collection Museum for example...

Enjoy ;)

we have a 12 day trip to Portugal end of January to early Feb where we are going from Lisbon to Porto, following somewhat similar schedule to the above. I was interested in the discussion about Nazare vs. Tomar. I have one day on our schedule for Obidos and Nazare and stay in Nazare that night. Then the next day I have Alcobaca, Batalha, Fatima and drive to Coimbra end of that day. I would love to fit in Tomar and/or Leiria. Would be interested in what folks think about which of these are the best to fit into those 2 days (given that time of year)?

Mafra or Queluz?

Thank you, Paulo. I was planning to drive Evora to Sintra, stopping in Queluz, and turning in my rental car outside of Sintra. I just discovered Mafra -- If either Queluz or Mafra, which is more worth visiting (architecture, grounds)? Or should I do both - is that worth a detour (cutting into my 2-day Sintra time)?

In Tomar, don't miss the Museu dos Fosforos (Museum of Matchboxes). It's a fascinating collection - wait till you see the Nazi one!

The historic university library in Coimbra is a very interesting site to visit.

You mentioned museums. The TA website lists more than 100 museums in Lisbon. I have visited many of them and in my opinion, the average quality is quite high. Most of these museums are small - you can see all in an hour or two, which to me is the perfect size. Only a few of these museums will be mentioned in your guidebooks, and the local tourist offices are not very good at promoting these attractions. Having said that, you can be sure that there is a museum in Lisbon for just about any interest you may have,.

Hi Theresa, may head that way soon, how did it work out for you, your itinerary?
John

Hello @Theresa,

Concerning the two palaces, and if you're going from Évora to Sintra, I believe you could skip Mafra and stick to Queluz. They're both amazing, however Mafra palace is 30 minutes north of Sintra so you'd spend some time travelling, while Queluz National Palace is on your way to Sintra (you just need to make a small detour).

Enjoy!