Portugal
City stays, palaces
& wine country
Portugal’s beaches and southern holiday towns are only part of what I love about the country. There’s also that sense of looking out towards somewhere far away: a long Atlantic coast, a history of seafaring, trade and empire, and reminders of those connections in its buildings and culture. It makes for a fascinating place to travel if you enjoy understanding what shaped the places you visit. The guides here cover Lisbon, Porto, Sintra and the Douro Valley, with routes into their history, architecture, food and wine.
Porto
Porto’s appeal lies in how closely its architecture, river and wine trade are connected. Tiled churches and the old streets above the Douro give you plenty to explore, while the port lodges across the water in Vila Nova de Gaia explain another side of the city’s history. If you think of port as simply a heavy, sweet after-dinner drink, a tasting is worth considering: ruby, tawny and white ports can be quite different. I’d give Porto a few days, with time for its neighbourhoods and restaurants as well as the best-known sights.
Explore Porto travel guides →
Lisbon
Lisbon offers a broad introduction to Portugal’s history alongside a contemporary city with plenty going on. In Belém, the Jerónimos Monastery speaks to the wealth of Portugal’s maritime past; elsewhere, tiled façades, the streets of Alfama and viewpoints over the Tagus make exploring between sights a large part of the pleasure. Add museums, cafés and a food scene with room for both traditional cooking and newer restaurants, and there is a lot to build a stay around. For me, Lisbon is at its best when you leave some of the day for the neighbourhood you find yourself in.
Start with two days in Lisbon
A route through the city’s neighbourhoods and major sights, with time for food along the way.
Read the Lisbon itinerary →Sintra
Sintra is for palaces and gardens, but choosing between them is part of planning a good visit. The Moorish Castle’s exposed battlements offer a very different experience from the National Palace’s royal interiors or Monserrate’s elaborate architecture and botanical gardens. Monserrate is the one I’m especially fond of, for the way the house and grounds work together. You can visit from Lisbon for the day; staying locally makes sense if you want to explore several estates without hurrying through the gardens.
Decide how much time to give Sintra
Compare a day trip with a longer stay, then choose an itinerary to match.
How many days in Sintra? →
The Douro Valley
Steep vineyard slopes, bends in the river and wine estates scattered across the hills make the Douro Valley somewhere to spend time in the landscape as well as in the tasting room. There are both port and Douro table wines to explore, and staying at a quinta puts the vineyards, meals and wine at the centre of your visit. I think that is a large part of the appeal here. A day trip from Porto suits a first look; a few nights give you more time for the estates and for enjoying the place you’ve chosen to stay.
Plan your first Douro Valley visit
Start with where to base yourself and how you want to travel, then work out the winery visits.
Read the Douro Valley guide →
Choose a quinta to stay in
Wine-estate stays vary considerably. This guide includes my experiences at Quinta da Côrte and Quinta da Pacheca, alongside other options to consider.
Douro Valley winery hotels & quintas →