So many castles & cathedrals! Help us decide.

The Convento de Cristo in Tomar (http://www.conventocristo.gov.pt/en/) is one of the most beautiful religious buildings I've ever seen. It is also adjacent to Tomar Castle, also definitely worth visiting while you're there.

The Church of São Francisco in Porto is Gothic on the outside and Baroque on the inside. And when I say Baroque, for me it was over the top, but my sister who lives in Porto absolutely loves it. For me, more impressive in Porto was the

The Palacio Nacional in Sintra (https://www.parquesdesintra.pt/en/parks-monuments/national-palace-of-sintra/) would make the list for me. I didn't get to Peña Palace, also in Sintra, but if time allows when you're there, it also should probably make the list.

I also didn't get to visit the inside of Jerónimos Monastery (https://www.museusemonumentos.pt/en/museus-e-monumentos/mosteiro-dos-jeronimos-e-capela-de-sao-jeronimo) in Lisbon. It's a UNESCO World Heritage Site, so probably worth including.

That's a good starting point to any list.

In Belém you want to visit the Monastery of Jerónimos. This 16th century monastery is the most preserved I’ve seen.

I also recommend the Convento of Christ in Tomar. It’s one of my favorites. If you have a rental car then Batalha monastery is about an hour from Tomar. Thirty minutes from Tomar is Almoural castle. You’d have to have a rental car to reach it. From the parking lot there’s a short boat ride to the small castle you can wander at will. Be advised that while one can walk along the wall, there are no railings to prevent someone from falling off the walls or stairs. That is common in many castles and forts in Spain and Portugal.

So, using Tomar as a base you could visit three places very easily.

I don’t disagree with any of the previous suggestions but would add Monserrat in Sintra and possibly Quinta de Reguleira. Both have spectacular grounds with the Quinta having a staircase that’s amazing and exit from the staircase through tunnels. The Quinta’s house is nothing special but the house at Monserrat is a bit like the Alhambra in Spain and very different than everything else I’ve seen in Portugal.

Mafra Palace in Mafra is quite nice. It was the summer palace for the royals and has an amazing library. There are also hunting grounds that I didn’t explore so can’t speak to them.

More northern, I would add Alcobaça. I prefer it to Batalha.

Why not pick places you can stay in? https://www.pousadasofportugal.com/

Quinta has great grounds, with old tennis courts and various follies. I agree that the house is not very interesting, and since you can only visit one floor, gets very crowded. Here’s a map of the grounds.

If you’re visiting Portugal with kids, I’ve noticed that some places really capture their imagination.

Quinta da Regaleira in Sintra is always a hit — there are tunnels, grottoes, and the famous spiral well that feels like an adventure.
Pena Palace, also in Sintra, looks straight out of a fairy tale with its colorful towers and big gardens to explore.
And Mafra Palace is impressive not only for its size but also because you can combine it with a visit to the nearby Tapada de Mafra, where families often spot deer and wild boar.

All three are easy day trips from Lisbon and tend to keep both kids and adults happy.

Enjoy Portugal... It is beautiful!!

My daughter and I decided that our favorites in Portugal were the following:

• Quinta da Regaleira in Sintra

• Palace of Monserrate in Sintra

• Templar Castle and the Convent of the Knights of Christ in Tomar.

• University of Coimbra- We booked a guided tour via the university website

Here’s what I wrote about Quinta de Regaleria in my trip report:

After breakfast the following morning, we walked to Quinta da Regaleira, an enchanting place with winding cobbled roads surrounded by greenery everywhere. There are beautiful stone castle towers, a magical well with a spiraling stairway down to dark winding tunnels that lead to a cascade and stepping stones over a small pond.
This is such an amazing place! We felt like we were in an enchanted forest (imagine being in the enchanted forest described in the Chronicles of Narnia books). We spent a couple of hours exploring this magical place.

Be forewarned, this place is immense! When I stared at the map we got with our tickets, I felt so overwhelmed that I went back and asked which way we should start. The young man at the ticket counter suggested walking up to the (unfinished) well (the exterior looks like a pile of large stones) stopping at the various sights along the way, then going down into the well and taking the tunnel that leads to the water cascade. There are signs to the well (Poço), but once you’re down in the tunnels, just follow the others- that’s what we did anyway. Once at the cascade, we took the winding trails down to the small chapel and ended our tour at the palace.
[Make sure to wear comfortable walking shoes]

Consider starting your trip in Sintra instead of going for a day trip. We spent 3 nights there and this allowed enough time to visit the main sights.

Enjoy your time in beautiful Portugal!

We just got back from Portugal and spent one full day in Sintra. We took recommendations from this forum and chose to book a full day tour with Peppe Santagata. He was very helpful in working with us to put together an itinerary for the day. We went to the grounds of Penna Palace, Monserrate and because we had a clear blue sky day we were able to visit the Sanctuary of Peninha. We had an awesome view of the coast from there! I highly recommend Peppe. He picked us up at our location on time and in a very nice van. He was very knowledgeable, flexible, personable and fun to be around. He took us to a great restaurant right on the ocean. It was called Nortoda. Best seafood on our trip. We dove back to Lisbon along the cost we stops in Cascais and then dropped off at our place. He never rushed us. It was a memorable day.
https://www.portugaljourneyswithpeppe.com/

Email: [email protected]

My husband and I were in Portugal when you posted this! A couple of thoughts: how old are your kids? You may want to mix in some other fun stuff with the castles and cathedrals. As far as what we did, we were in Sintra and visited Pena Palace, the Moorish Castle and Quinta da Regaleira in one day (in that order). We took the train from Lisbon and the 434 bus between sights, ate dinner in Sintra and then took the train back to Lisbon. It was a long day. We had (and you will need) timed tickets for all but the Moorish Castle, purchased in advance online. I would recommend any of these three for amazing views and history. The gardens/tunnels of the Quinta da Regaleira would be a lot of fun for kids, although the very cool looking Initiation Well had a huge line and we were tired so we skipped it. The Moorish Castle is a ruin but there's more there than I expected and it's amazing to think how long it's stood there. Pena Palace was crowded but worthwhile and the gardens are immense; I wish we had had more time to explore them. There is a cafeteria at the Pena Palace with sandwiches and outdoor tables. That was a day with a lot of walking and amazing sights! You could combine a trip to Sintra with a day in Cascais which I think is more of a resort town.

We liked the Jeronimos monastery in Belem. It is amazingly beautiful, but there's a lot of standing and waiting involved (and timed tickets). The Belem Tower on the river was in the process of being refurbished and covered in scaffolding.

We liked Porto a lot. It's a little less busy than Lisbon. I realize your crowd will not want to drink a lot of port :-) but just learning about the history of the city could be very cool and there are one hour "seven bridges" cruises on the Douro River that we really enjoyed.

We spent one night in Coimbra. It's a beautiful city but not sure how it compares to other options around Portugal that might be more scenic and interesting. We did go the Centro do Fado to hear Coimbra style fado singing and that was great. The library at the university is stunning but you get exactly 20 minutes inside and again, it's a timed ticket.

Enjoy your trip!

Forgot to mention that while in Porto we took the bus one day to Foz do Douro, about 20 minute bus ride from the Ribeira. Beautiful area to walk along the Atlantic coastline with beaches, parks and restaurants.