Portuguese sidewalks
“Wow, Claudia, you should be a travel agent!”
Hmmm, this is one I don’t get every day. Possibly I could be a travel agent. Never thought about it, really. If I give it a bit of serious thought, I think I would probably be good at anything I put my heart on… with limitations, of course: I could never be a lawyer (much to my sister’s chagrin) because hearing about intricate details people's lives makes me sleepy; and I could never be a doctor because the sight of blood/needles makes me faintish.
This all to say that a good friend is visiting Portugal soon and asked me for advice. I have exchanged a few emails and by the looks of it she has been very impressed. So I decided to post here the main points that put it all together, for future reference. Before I start, I must just say that my friend is already a very savvy travel planner and that my advice kind of catered to her needs and questions, but still I think it’s worth the post… in English of course: make the public good available for non-natives :-)
_________
WHERE DO I GO TO THE BEACH?
The Algarve has tons of nice little village resorts by the sea. My parents have an apartment in Portimão, which is in the western half. I personally prefer Lagos, which is probably the last western location of sizable dimension. The advantage of being on the western side is that you can do a day trip to the south western most point of Europe, it's called Sagres and it's where the caravels are supposed to have departed for the discoveries... don't expect a lot of history (the Portuguese never took good care of their cultural heritage) it's more the countryside, the light house and the beautiful cliffs. That being said, people say that the water is much warmer on the Eastern half of the Algarve, in which case I would recommend places like Vilamoura, or Monte Gordo. If you stay on the Eastern side you can again do a day (or perhaps half a day trip) to Ayamonte which is the Spanish village across the river in Vila Real de Santo António... it's a nice small picturesque town with street shopping, no beach.
Beach on the weekend vs on week days... yes it does make a difference, especially if the weather is nice. If you manage to get in and out of the Algarve on week days that would be ideal. But if your planning ends up involving a weekend, don't worry too much about it. The beaches in the Algarve are usually long extensions of sand so you can walk a bit more and get some space. Also it will be June, not August, when it's certainly more crowded! In June you'll get the tourists from Northern Europe (Germans, English, Dutch), but since classes are still going on you'll find few Portuguese people from the North and those are the ones who crowd up the place. The people in the Algarve mostly work on weekends and week days (the tourist industry is immense) so those won't be many.
There are plenty of places to go to the beach in the west, the reason I think the Algarve is superior has to do with calmer and warmer waters. Suggestions between Lisbon and Porto are: Peniche (the location of which the Berlenga island is off of... if I were you I wouldn't go to the Berlenga itself, it's a natural reservation very arid, no vegetation, lots of sea gulls, hiking trails and an old fortress (it's nice, but given your limited time I wouldn't do it... plus it seems close to the coast, but the ferry takes about an hour to get there and it shakes a lot); Nazaré (very nice typical fishing village by the sea, with great food... look for the women selling goods on the street, tradition has it that they wear 7 skirts and tourists take pictures counting them :) ) São Martinho do Porto (against the name, it's not close to Porto, but it's probably the place with calmest waters as its natural bay really protects the coast from the strong Atlantic currents); and finally Figueira da Foz, where the river Mondego (the same that goes through Coimbra) reaches the sea.
I am sure there are beaches along some rivers, but I frankly don't know any... lakes are not big in Portugal, remember it's the Iberian peninsula... pretty dry :)
CHOOSING HOTELS AND PLACES TO SEE IN PORTO AND LISBON
To tell you the truth I don't know much about hotels/resorts in the Algarve or Lisbon... I know some names, but not much more than that. The hotel that I stayed at in Porto with my friend was this one. I reserved at hotels.com, the price was nice and the hotel was very decent... no luxuries, but it had everything we needed. The location was good and we saw everything we wanted on foot: Rua de Santa Catarina with all its traditional shops including the Café Majestic with a nice 1920s feel; mercado do bolhão a very traditional farmers market; and avenida dos aliados a nice walking boulevard; and also walking across the bridge and visiting the Porto wine cellars... the view of Porto is so much nicer on the other side of the bridge! If you want to stay an extra day in Porto and take the cruise up the river that should be really nice, because you see the city, but start entering into the wine producing area and the landscape is just outstanding
In Lisbon I would prefer to be located in Baixa (the old downtown area), if you can get an hotel in Avenida da Liberdade or in Chiado even better. Location is very central and close to the train stations that can take you either to Sintra (the video has much more than Sintra, and you definitely HAVE to have the pastries they talk about!!! If you miss it I will be personally offended!) or Cascais for a day, I strongly recommend you go there! Other than the narrow streets with nice shops and esplanades outside, make sure you go to Boca do Inferno (literally the Devil's mouth) which is only possibly a 5-10 min drive from the center of Cascais, in the direction of the beaches at Guincho (like going to Sintra by the sea route... not the most direct way to get there, but pretty!)... if you are thinking Guincho may be an alternative beach resort please take your mind away from it... the water is cold and unsteady and the wind is out of this world... they have the windsurf championship there every year :)
If you are in Lisbon for three days you can see the castle (beautiful views of the city and the river), Baixa, Chiado, Bairro Alto (for night life... you may find some fado house there), and a walk from Alcântara (where the golden-gate-like bridge leaves to the other side... if you walk by the river you'll go under the bridge... the noise is superb!!) to Belém by the river (in Belém you'll see the monuments they show in the video - Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, Torre de Belém - AND the pastries!), and Parque das Nações - the oriental part of town that hosted the 1998 world expo. It used to be a run-down industrial area, but they prettied it up so there are nice gardens, walk ways by the river, an oceanarium (the best I have seen), shopping mall, etc.
OTHER PLACES TO STOP ON THE WAY SOUTH OR NORTH OF LISBON
Coimbra is very nice, but you see the university in the hill, take a walk by the river and stop at the shops and you're done. If you're interested in historical value you can go to Conimbriga, which is not too far from Coimbra (I would guess 10-20km max), it's the ruins of the old roman town. Évora is again very nice, but even smaller than Coimbra. There's also historical value: the Temple to the Greek (Roman?) goddess, the bones chapel. I would say that either Coimbra or Évora are nice places to stop over but not stay a day. Another such place is Óbidos on the way from Lisbon to Porto, possibly one hour and a half from Lisbon... it's basically a medieval town with a castle and all the houses inside, they have nice artisanal shops, restaurants, etc. Another such place in Alentejo (the region where Évora is) is Monsaraz, which has the advantage of having great wine.
If you are looking for another afternoon (one day... who knows) stop, Aveiro might be a good idea. I have never been, but have heard very nice things about it. The mouth of Vouga river gives a nice feeling to the place with the mix of the river and sea waters... they call it the Venice of Portugal. Perhaps there are nice beaches nearby I just don't know them by name. Aveiro should be about one hour south of Porto and less than an hour from Coimbra.
AHHH... THE WINE!
By the way if you're into wine, don't let yourself blinded by porto wine alone. The country has much MUCH more to offer and everything is extremely cheap when compared to US standards. I don't recall exactly what was the brand of porto that I brought you from Portugal, but what I do recall is that I bought it at the local supermarket for around 5-10 euros... no kidding! I think that if you go to the porto wine cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia (across the river from Porto) you will find much better quality... in any case, it's just worth going for the tour of the place, they explain the production process and so on. Buy even a bottle there, the one you want to offer to impress someone, but buy all the rest in one of the supermarkets (they call it hypermarkets in Portugal)... not the local corner grocery store, but since you'll have a car you can go either to Continente, Jumbo, or even Corte Ingles (in Lisbon only). You can find a huge selection not only of Porto but of wines from all over the country... I don't understand much of wines, but for instance wine from the Douro region (not porto wine, just table wine) is very different from wine from Alentejo, the southern region between Lisbon and the Algarve.
AND THE KICKER FOR “YOU SHOULD BE A TRAVEL AGENT” WAS
Hmmm, this is one I don’t get every day. Possibly I could be a travel agent. Never thought about it, really. If I give it a bit of serious thought, I think I would probably be good at anything I put my heart on… with limitations, of course: I could never be a lawyer (much to my sister’s chagrin) because hearing about intricate details people's lives makes me sleepy; and I could never be a doctor because the sight of blood/needles makes me faintish.
This all to say that a good friend is visiting Portugal soon and asked me for advice. I have exchanged a few emails and by the looks of it she has been very impressed. So I decided to post here the main points that put it all together, for future reference. Before I start, I must just say that my friend is already a very savvy travel planner and that my advice kind of catered to her needs and questions, but still I think it’s worth the post… in English of course: make the public good available for non-natives :-)
_________
WHERE DO I GO TO THE BEACH?
The Algarve has tons of nice little village resorts by the sea. My parents have an apartment in Portimão, which is in the western half. I personally prefer Lagos, which is probably the last western location of sizable dimension. The advantage of being on the western side is that you can do a day trip to the south western most point of Europe, it's called Sagres and it's where the caravels are supposed to have departed for the discoveries... don't expect a lot of history (the Portuguese never took good care of their cultural heritage) it's more the countryside, the light house and the beautiful cliffs. That being said, people say that the water is much warmer on the Eastern half of the Algarve, in which case I would recommend places like Vilamoura, or Monte Gordo. If you stay on the Eastern side you can again do a day (or perhaps half a day trip) to Ayamonte which is the Spanish village across the river in Vila Real de Santo António... it's a nice small picturesque town with street shopping, no beach.
Beach on the weekend vs on week days... yes it does make a difference, especially if the weather is nice. If you manage to get in and out of the Algarve on week days that would be ideal. But if your planning ends up involving a weekend, don't worry too much about it. The beaches in the Algarve are usually long extensions of sand so you can walk a bit more and get some space. Also it will be June, not August, when it's certainly more crowded! In June you'll get the tourists from Northern Europe (Germans, English, Dutch), but since classes are still going on you'll find few Portuguese people from the North and those are the ones who crowd up the place. The people in the Algarve mostly work on weekends and week days (the tourist industry is immense) so those won't be many.
There are plenty of places to go to the beach in the west, the reason I think the Algarve is superior has to do with calmer and warmer waters. Suggestions between Lisbon and Porto are: Peniche (the location of which the Berlenga island is off of... if I were you I wouldn't go to the Berlenga itself, it's a natural reservation very arid, no vegetation, lots of sea gulls, hiking trails and an old fortress (it's nice, but given your limited time I wouldn't do it... plus it seems close to the coast, but the ferry takes about an hour to get there and it shakes a lot); Nazaré (very nice typical fishing village by the sea, with great food... look for the women selling goods on the street, tradition has it that they wear 7 skirts and tourists take pictures counting them :) ) São Martinho do Porto (against the name, it's not close to Porto, but it's probably the place with calmest waters as its natural bay really protects the coast from the strong Atlantic currents); and finally Figueira da Foz, where the river Mondego (the same that goes through Coimbra) reaches the sea.
I am sure there are beaches along some rivers, but I frankly don't know any... lakes are not big in Portugal, remember it's the Iberian peninsula... pretty dry :)
CHOOSING HOTELS AND PLACES TO SEE IN PORTO AND LISBON
To tell you the truth I don't know much about hotels/resorts in the Algarve or Lisbon... I know some names, but not much more than that. The hotel that I stayed at in Porto with my friend was this one. I reserved at hotels.com, the price was nice and the hotel was very decent... no luxuries, but it had everything we needed. The location was good and we saw everything we wanted on foot: Rua de Santa Catarina with all its traditional shops including the Café Majestic with a nice 1920s feel; mercado do bolhão a very traditional farmers market; and avenida dos aliados a nice walking boulevard; and also walking across the bridge and visiting the Porto wine cellars... the view of Porto is so much nicer on the other side of the bridge! If you want to stay an extra day in Porto and take the cruise up the river that should be really nice, because you see the city, but start entering into the wine producing area and the landscape is just outstanding
In Lisbon I would prefer to be located in Baixa (the old downtown area), if you can get an hotel in Avenida da Liberdade or in Chiado even better. Location is very central and close to the train stations that can take you either to Sintra (the video has much more than Sintra, and you definitely HAVE to have the pastries they talk about!!! If you miss it I will be personally offended!) or Cascais for a day, I strongly recommend you go there! Other than the narrow streets with nice shops and esplanades outside, make sure you go to Boca do Inferno (literally the Devil's mouth) which is only possibly a 5-10 min drive from the center of Cascais, in the direction of the beaches at Guincho (like going to Sintra by the sea route... not the most direct way to get there, but pretty!)... if you are thinking Guincho may be an alternative beach resort please take your mind away from it... the water is cold and unsteady and the wind is out of this world... they have the windsurf championship there every year :)
If you are in Lisbon for three days you can see the castle (beautiful views of the city and the river), Baixa, Chiado, Bairro Alto (for night life... you may find some fado house there), and a walk from Alcântara (where the golden-gate-like bridge leaves to the other side... if you walk by the river you'll go under the bridge... the noise is superb!!) to Belém by the river (in Belém you'll see the monuments they show in the video - Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, Torre de Belém - AND the pastries!), and Parque das Nações - the oriental part of town that hosted the 1998 world expo. It used to be a run-down industrial area, but they prettied it up so there are nice gardens, walk ways by the river, an oceanarium (the best I have seen), shopping mall, etc.
OTHER PLACES TO STOP ON THE WAY SOUTH OR NORTH OF LISBON
Coimbra is very nice, but you see the university in the hill, take a walk by the river and stop at the shops and you're done. If you're interested in historical value you can go to Conimbriga, which is not too far from Coimbra (I would guess 10-20km max), it's the ruins of the old roman town. Évora is again very nice, but even smaller than Coimbra. There's also historical value: the Temple to the Greek (Roman?) goddess, the bones chapel. I would say that either Coimbra or Évora are nice places to stop over but not stay a day. Another such place is Óbidos on the way from Lisbon to Porto, possibly one hour and a half from Lisbon... it's basically a medieval town with a castle and all the houses inside, they have nice artisanal shops, restaurants, etc. Another such place in Alentejo (the region where Évora is) is Monsaraz, which has the advantage of having great wine.
If you are looking for another afternoon (one day... who knows) stop, Aveiro might be a good idea. I have never been, but have heard very nice things about it. The mouth of Vouga river gives a nice feeling to the place with the mix of the river and sea waters... they call it the Venice of Portugal. Perhaps there are nice beaches nearby I just don't know them by name. Aveiro should be about one hour south of Porto and less than an hour from Coimbra.
AHHH... THE WINE!
By the way if you're into wine, don't let yourself blinded by porto wine alone. The country has much MUCH more to offer and everything is extremely cheap when compared to US standards. I don't recall exactly what was the brand of porto that I brought you from Portugal, but what I do recall is that I bought it at the local supermarket for around 5-10 euros... no kidding! I think that if you go to the porto wine cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia (across the river from Porto) you will find much better quality... in any case, it's just worth going for the tour of the place, they explain the production process and so on. Buy even a bottle there, the one you want to offer to impress someone, but buy all the rest in one of the supermarkets (they call it hypermarkets in Portugal)... not the local corner grocery store, but since you'll have a car you can go either to Continente, Jumbo, or even Corte Ingles (in Lisbon only). You can find a huge selection not only of Porto but of wines from all over the country... I don't understand much of wines, but for instance wine from the Douro region (not porto wine, just table wine) is very different from wine from Alentejo, the southern region between Lisbon and the Algarve.
AND THE KICKER FOR “YOU SHOULD BE A TRAVEL AGENT” WAS
Beach alternatives around Lisbon are good (I would say excellent according to US standards), but not wonderful: Estoril, São João do Estoril, Carcavelos are options... good thing is that they are by the train line, which makes them accessible. Even if you don't go to the beach there I think the train ride from Lisbon (Cais do Sodré station) to Cascais (which leaves you in the heart of the village) is worth it. Even though it's a commuter train (the one I took to school, work, etc.) it's always by the river/sea (it accompanies the mouth of the Tagus) and I think it's very pretty.
Sesimbra is nice, but close to one hour drive from Lisbon, you will probably face a lot of traffic crossing the bridge south and I don't think you want do that given the limited amount of time you have. The beaches of Costa da Caparica the other side of the river (but closer, not as far down as Sesimbra) are also very good, but again you have the traffic problem.
Now... I don't want to confuse you more than you are, but a one day trip from Lisbon to the south would be Tróia. You would have to cross the bridge and get to Setúbal (close to an hour) and then catch the ferry (that carries cars) to Tróia. Check out this video. It was a promotion for a resort to be built 2-3 years back, and it's about 10 mins long. The first 3-4 mins give you a sense of the area's geography. Sesimbra is in the Setúbal side. In this region there are two rivers ending up in the ocean: the Tagus ends in Lisbon, the Sado, ends up in Setúbal the peninsula between the two rivers is what you have to cross to reach the ferry that brings you to Tróia, which is located in a (very thin) peninsula itself.
Let me know what you think :-)
___________
Their travel plans are not completed yet, but looks like they’ll start in Porto and travel south. They already booked hotels in Régua (in the Douro valley), Coimbra, Óbidos, and they are really looking forward to stay in Tróia.
Yes, perhaps I would be a good travel agent…
Sesimbra is nice, but close to one hour drive from Lisbon, you will probably face a lot of traffic crossing the bridge south and I don't think you want do that given the limited amount of time you have. The beaches of Costa da Caparica the other side of the river (but closer, not as far down as Sesimbra) are also very good, but again you have the traffic problem.
Now... I don't want to confuse you more than you are, but a one day trip from Lisbon to the south would be Tróia. You would have to cross the bridge and get to Setúbal (close to an hour) and then catch the ferry (that carries cars) to Tróia. Check out this video. It was a promotion for a resort to be built 2-3 years back, and it's about 10 mins long. The first 3-4 mins give you a sense of the area's geography. Sesimbra is in the Setúbal side. In this region there are two rivers ending up in the ocean: the Tagus ends in Lisbon, the Sado, ends up in Setúbal the peninsula between the two rivers is what you have to cross to reach the ferry that brings you to Tróia, which is located in a (very thin) peninsula itself.
Let me know what you think :-)
___________
Their travel plans are not completed yet, but looks like they’ll start in Porto and travel south. They already booked hotels in Régua (in the Douro valley), Coimbra, Óbidos, and they are really looking forward to stay in Tróia.
Yes, perhaps I would be a good travel agent…
.JPG)
.JPG)
