Good morning. We're heading to Portugal and Spain for about 2 weeks in late October before a week in southwest France. I'm a neophyte to this part of Europe so will appreciate any suggestions / recommendations on locations to visit and what to see while there, length of stay, how best to get from place to place, and any other info others can provide.
We're more inclined toward using public transit rather than renting a car but open to that if it's the best way around. In Italy we found the trains worked well but understand that may not be the case in other countries.
Finally, any recommendations for which airline and arrival airport to use? We'll be flying from Dulles / IAD in Washington, D.C.
Posted by
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
6115 posts
Posted by
7073 posts
First focus on narrowing down your options. Is there one region of Spain that attracted you in the first place? Do you prefer cities or rural villages, etc.
Pairing these two countries is not as easy as it seems it would be, so along your own mist see list first is important.
For flights, get the basic facts first by doing an internet search (I use an incognito page to avoid my searches being tracked). Of course easiest is probably the direct flight to Madrid, but if you don’t want to do a loop, you’ll need to finalize your plans first, as flying multi city can save you considerable time.
Posted by
below Canada / above Mexico
374 posts
We two visited Portugal and Spain for the first time in Aug/Sep 2023. Our trip reports might be useful reference:
Posted by
10429 posts
Two weeks is barely enough just to do Portugal, much less both countries.
Pick a country then plan your trip.
If you pick Spain, then you won't see most of the country.
I have traveled all over Spain and Portugal. If you do Spain, do not miss Toledo and Seville.
Posted by
Calgary
2220 posts
With the amount of time you have, you'll have to focus on probably 3 cities at most, with maybe a day trip or two.
We had roughly the same amount of time (maybe 1-2 nights more at most). We flew into Lisbon. We stayed 5 nights in Lisbon and took day trips to Sintra and Cascais. We did not see everything there was to see in Lisbon, but we saw a lot.
We purchased Lisboa cards and thought they were good value. (Not all city cards are.) They included public transit, including trains to Sintra and to Cascais, as well as admissions to a number of places, such as Belem tower, the Jeronimos Monastery, the Pantheon, and the Castelo St. Jorge. The nice thing about these cards, unlike some, is that they expire a set amount of hours after your first use. (Many others count a whole day even if your first use is later in the day.) https://www.lisboacard.org
There is much to see in Sintra--more than one can see in a day trip--but we were happy seeing the 3 "main" palaces: Pena Palace, the Moorish castle ruins, and the Palacio Nacional. https://travelnotesandbeyond.com/castles-palaces-sintra-portugal/ We also wandered a bit through the very narrow streets, had a lovely lunch, and looked at the sculptures along the Volta do Duche pathway.
In Cascais we had lunch, spent an hour on the beach, and looked around a fortress.
If you have time for only one of these day trips, my vote would be for Sintra.
In Lisbon, we took Tram 28 to see some of the sights, and visited the Estrela Basilica and the lovely park across the street. We visited the Pantheon, the Castelo, the Se de Lisboa (Roman ruins in the cloisters), the Discoverers' Monument, Belem Tower, the Jeronimos Monastery (a favourite of ours), Alfama, the harbourfront, and various other areas. A memorable restaurant was Chapito a Mesa, in the castle district. It's a circus school and restaurant, and the food and views were lovely.
We flew Iberia Airlines from Lisbon to Madrid, because the train would have taken too long. We spent 5 nights in Madrid, visiting the Palacio Real, the Mercado de San Miguel, the Prado, the Reina Sofia, Temple Debod (wouldn't go out of my way for this, but it was very close to our hotel), and Retiro Park. We took a day trip to Toledo (which I highly recommend).
We took a high-speed train from Madrid to Barcelona, where we also spent 5 nights. Travelling first class gave us a meal on the way. In Barcelona, we visited La Pedrera, La Sagrada Familia (don't miss), Park Guell, Barri Gotic (including the church with the geese in the cloisters), the Picasso museum, the harbourfront, Montjuic, Las Arenas, Placa de Catalunya, and, of course, Las Ramblas (yuck). We visited a few of these via a hop-on, hop-off bus. A day trip to Montserrat gave us one of our favourite sights, ever. Our favourite restaurant in Barcelona was Terese Carles. We ate there twice.
We flew out of Barcelona to Nice. Trains are possible, but there is a change of train, and we decided flying would be easier.
From Nice, we took day trips to Ville Franche sur Mer/Monaco (the bus to those stopped right outside our accommodation--Villa Leonie) and Cannes (can't remember if we took the bus or a train there). In Nice, we liked the classic views of the Cote d'Azure and Promenade des Anglais from atop Castle hill. We loved the Chagall Museum and the little Matisse Museum (the latter is at some Roman Ruins). In Monaco, we liked visiting the palace, using the audio guide narrated by Prince Rainier.
We flew home from Nice.
Hope that helps. Enjoy your trip!
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
8844 posts
The answer partly depends on if you’re starting in Lisbon or Porto, but you need to do some research. What I like to see may not be what you like to see.
I agree that public transportation would probably be best unless you returned the car to where you picked it up and flew to France. An alternative would be to fly into Madrid, rent a car there, visit Portugal, then return the vehicle back to Madrid. A rental car is best if you’re visiting places not well served by public transportation.
Two weeks will pass quicker than you might think.