We are traveling to Lisbon in June and after three days in Lisbon, we are renting a car and traveling to Evora for one night and then on to Vila Nova de Milfontes for one night and then down to Lagos for a few days. We want to take our time each day driving between each place and I am hoping to get some advice on scenic routes , good places to stop etc.
Thanks
Posted by
Tunbridge Wells
6113 posts
Lisbon to Evora - as there is plenty to see in Evora, take the quickest route possible to maximise your time there - use the A2& A6. Have lunch in the good and amazingly cheap restaurant at the back of the cathedral in the courtyard of the Museo Arte da Se. Great setting and friendly service.
Evora to VNdM - you could either travel via the Sado Estuary (Setubal or Comporta or the beach at Gale) OR you could take the inland route and visit Beja, a typically Portuguese city, visit its castle and enjoy the countryside.
VNdM to Lagos - the N120 north/south road doesn't run directly along the coast, so if you want to see the coastline, you will have to pop in and out wherever you can. Zambujeira do Mar is worth such a visit and is a good place for lunch. Stunning setting. Odeceixe and Aljezur and also worth visiting, the latter for its castle that you can walk up to with its good vistas. Drive the coastal loop at Carrapateira. Sagres and the Cape are also worth seeing, but it's often cold and windy there, even in August.
From Lagos - Silves for its castle, Monchique and Foia for hills, Sagres if not seen on the way down. Other resorts. If you want beaches, try Carrapateira near Vila do Bispo if you want to walk miles on a beach with great rock formations, Furnas near Salema for a small cove, Zavial near Vila do Bispo for a good beach bar and in Lagos, Meia Praia for a long beach and Dona Ana for a cliff-backed beach.
Plenty of restaurant choice in Lagos - I like Mullens, but if you want a meal out of town, try O Cangalho at Lagos Zoo, a 15 minute drive north. It was a restaurant before it was a zoo and they serve great food, especially steaks.