Hi, I've seen a few other postings on this topic, but none that addressed my specific query. We're thinking of taking a bike tour in southern Portugal in early April, and arriving several days ahead of the start of the tour to do some additional sightseeing on our own. We would meet the tour in Lisbon on April 2 (for two days of sightseeing in Lisbon). This means our time on our own would include the long Easter weekend. We don't celebrate the holiday. Does anyone have suggestions on where to spend those days? The bike tour takes us to Evora and the Algarve so I don't want to go there. I'm considering Sintra, Obidos, and Coimbra. I'd welcome advice from folks who know Portugal. Also, will any restaurants be open on Good Friday and Easter, so should we plan on buying groceries or staying in a hotel with an open restaurant? Thank You!
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Cascais, Portugal
1673 posts
There is no problem with restaurants being open over that weekend. Easter Sunday is a big family holiday with lots of people eating in restaurants. Easter is not as crazy here as in Spain, but we do get more tourists than normal, so things will be more crowded. I’d say, just pick wherever you want to go and expect it a bit more crowded. The Sintra palaces will be massively crowded.
Coimbra is quite nice, but, I personally would avoid Sintra and Obidos. Obidos is really worth a couple of hours IMO. Tomar might be another possibility, but it’s harder to get there without a car. If you do have a car, staying in one of the towns along the Silver Coast might be good. You can google the term and find a number of nice places that might be less crowded - but no guarantees.
Wherever you decide to spend those days, reserve your accommodations well ahead of time.