We will be in Portugal in July and would like to stay in a small-medium town with local flavor. Ideally it would have enough restaurants and shops to be intriguing but not be overrun with tourists. Walking / hiking trails would be a terrific addition...an artists haven perhaps? Any recommendations?
Posted by
Boston
4132 posts
I have two suggestions: Sintra, which is near Lisbon (and does a pretty stiff tourist trade, but has some wonderful walks), and Coimbra, an old University town with lots of character, some Roman ruins, and walking possible in the Busaco forest as a day trip.
You might want to investigate both of them.
Posted by
OP
Seattle, WA, USA
4 posts
Terrific, thanks! I will look into these suggestions...
Posted by
San Diego/Seattle
175 posts
Not sure if this meets your criteria, but Rick Steves touts Salema. We visited Salema in 2005 and loved it. It is a small fishing village with a nice beach and several very good restaurants. Hardly any shops to speak of. Plenty of hiking trails available. We also loved Sintra, but it is hit pretty hard by tourists.
Posted by
Atlanta
3258 posts
I vote for Salema, Portugal as well--we've never had better fish than we had a Boia Bar and Restaurant.
Posted by
Atlanta
3258 posts
The Pension Mare was a really nice hotel in Salema--we had a small apartment on the top floor that had a great view of the ocean.
Pension Mare