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Lisbon + Porto end of May

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Woodbridge

Lisbon + Porto end of May

Hi guys

Planning a trip to Lisbon + Porto end of May for 5 days (3 days in Lisbon + 2 Days in Porto),

Any list of must sees in both cities?
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Such lists are widely available on the internet and especially on YouTube. Portugal is very tourist friendly. I visited it for 2 weeks last year and was feeling sad for weeks afterward because I was no longer in Portugal.
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Wandering the Alfama neighbourhood in Lisbon is a must. Quite the cardio workout too. I also loved visiting Belem to the west. The Tower of Belem is there, as is the amazing Jeronimos Monastery, and the birthplace of the natas de Belem pastries (so good!)
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TripAdvisor is your friend
Lisbon = https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Tourism-g189 ... tions.html
Porto = https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Tourism-g189 ... tions.html

Check out the respective Travel Forums for each as well... they have a list of sample Itineraries (boxed on the right hand side)
As well as offering the chance to post your own Questions and get help from frequent visitors & locals alike
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Woodbridge
Jucius Maximus wrote: Such lists are widely available on the internet and especially on YouTube. Portugal is very tourist friendly. I visited it for 2 weeks last year and was feeling sad for weeks afterward because I was no longer in Portugal.
Awesome thanks. Very informative. Can't be more thankful of you for providing such a viable piece of info...
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Woodbridge
PointsHubby wrote: TripAdvisor is your friend
Lisbon = https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Tourism-g189 ... tions.html
Porto = https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Tourism-g189 ... tions.html

Check out the respective Travel Forums for each as well... they have a list of sample Itineraries (boxed on the right hand side)
As well as offering the chance to post your own Questions and get help from frequent visitors & locals alike
Great thanks for the share!
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Oct 26, 2003
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Caledon
Red Tour Segway tour in Lisbon was fastastic. it was just my wife and I tour guide took us around for almost an extra hour... great way to see the sights and sounds and get the history explained felt connected to city.. redtourgps is the name was there in 2015, if you never rode a Segway before you’ll get the hang of it in less than 10 mins and be a master by the end! :)
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We've been to Portugal twice, once to Lisbon only and once we started/ended in Lisbon and drove around the country for 11 days, visiting larger cities (including Porto) and tiny villages.

The original Pasteis de Belem are very good, and it's a box to check if you're in the Belem area (the Jeronimos Monastery and the Belem Tower are nearby), but because it's such a famous pastry, you can find delicious versions all over Portugal (and even here in Canada), where they are called "Pasteis de Nata". I was more impressed with other not-so-common traditional pastries we tried in other places (e.g. "travesseiros" in Sintra, "ovos moles" in Aveiro, "queijada de requeijao" in Mafra, etc.) . It seems every town has a few!

As for Lisbon and Porto, there's so much more to them than the buildings and monuments. I find that Portugal has a unique vibe, and a big part of its charm is in the lifestyle and fun one can enjoy there. The larger cities have every modern metropolitan comfort and cultural/dining options, while still feeling very quaint and warm like small towns. I could spend months there and not be bored.

I've posted about our trips on my blg. Search for it if interested. Have a great trip!
Last edited by VivaHappyBlog on Feb 2nd, 2018 2:00 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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must: Pastel de nata

de rest is just fun to discover.

Walking along to Douro river out of Porto was amazing.
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Sep 12, 2007
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The nightlife in the Bairro Alto district is hip, great restaurants and bars. It's located a few, blocks up a steep hill from the Timeout market near the train/subway station. Be sure to check out and photograph the Bica Lovers cable car going up to the Bairro Alto.
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google "free walking tour" and you'll see that almost every european city incl porto and lisbon has these programs.
I love taking them. They're about 1-2hrs each, but as euro cities are generally compact, the english-speaking guides will pretty much take you to all the important sites. They will give you the background info of every site and building, otherwise, its sort of pointless looking at an old church and knowing nothing about its significance.
Its labelled as "free" but you should tip them what you can afford.
I've never been disappointed by one of those tours - I took the lisbon and porto tours last year around the same time in May/june.
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Talamasca wrote: Wandering the Alfama neighbourhood in Lisbon is a must. Quite the cardio workout too. I also loved visiting Belem to the west. The Tower of Belem is there, as is the amazing Jeronimos Monastery, and the birthplace of the natas de Belem pastries (so good!)
To be honest, I have to say that visiting Pasteis de Belem is over-rated. It's a checkbox and you should only go there if you want to be able to say you've been there, and make Instagram posts, etc.
The Pasteis de Nata pastry is available everywhere in the Lisbon area, and the original one at Pasteis de Belem is not significantly better than the widely available competition. The Belem version is also smaller and more expensive.
Furthermore, Pasteis the Belem is so famous that you'll be waiting a long time to get in, and then pay inflated prices.
Locals have told me that Manteigaria in central Lisbon (near to Praça Luís de Camões) is actually better than Pasteis de Belem. I have sampled both and I agree. Just wait for them to ring the bell in front of Manteigaria and you know the fresh Pasteis de Nata are coming out of the oven!

That said, I strongly recommend Jeronimos Monastery in Belem, very close to Pasteis de Belem. It's AMAZING.
I actually recommend going to Tower of Belem early in the day since there's a limited number of visitors per day. Then go to Jeronimos.
Note that the main part of Jeronimos (the Cloister) is actually free admission to enter! The rest of the monastery is still impressive and requires a paid ticket.
There is also a museum that is in the same building as the Monastery. Don't spend time in the museum unless you are an archeology / history buff.
Note that you can save money buying combined tickets for various permutations of the Tower / Monastery / Museum. But most people don't know about the combined ticket, or realise that the Monastery and Museum are in the same building. So they end up paying for full price separate tickets.
When you reach Jeronimos Monastery, the West side entrace is for the Museum. The East side entrance is for the main Monestary and Cloister. At the East Entrance, straight ahead is the paid monastery with lots of exhibits and displays. To the right is the most impressive free Cloister.
foreigncontent wrote: Walking along to Douro river out of Porto was amazing.
Douro River waterfront is indeed amazing. But be aware this is a prime tourist area. It's full of scams, high prices, and pickpockets!
The latest scam (at least 4 month ago) was for pickpocket #1 to ask you to sign a petition, and then ask for ID. This is so you'll be forced to take out your wallet. Then pickpocket #2 will observe where you keep your wallet and try to steal it. Just ignore all of the 'petition' scammers.
lkovacs wrote: The nightlife in the Bairro Alto district is hip, great restaurants and bars. It's located a few, blocks up a steep hill from the Timeout market near the train/subway station. Be sure to check out and photograph the Bica Lovers cable car going up to the Bairro Alto.
Definitely visit Bairro Alto at night. It's amazing and fun!
I can definitely recomend Duque Brewpub and The Old Pharmacy Wine Inn. I had a great time at both locations!
SomeOtherDude wrote: google "free walking tour" and you'll see that almost every european city incl porto and lisbon has these programs.
I love taking them. They're about 1-2hrs each, but as euro cities are generally compact, the english-speaking guides will pretty much take you to all the important sites. They will give you the background info of every site and building, otherwise, its sort of pointless looking at an old church and knowing nothing about its significance.
Its labelled as "free" but you should tip them what you can afford.
I've never been disappointed by one of those tours - I took the lisbon and porto tours last year around the same time in May/june.
+1024
I went to free walking tours in both Lisbon and Porto. They really set the stage for me to have a great time. I got a lot of great info. I strongly recommend these tours.
Lisbon -> Chill Out Tour
Porto -> Porto Walkers Tour
Be aware, the 'free' tour guides actually have to PAY their companies about 3 Euro per tour parcitipant. So they are actually paying money to show you the city. These tour guides live on tips. But as a byproduct, only the better guides will survive in this profession.
Budget minimum 10 Euro tip per person.
Last edited by Jucius Maximus on Feb 5th, 2018 9:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Thoughts on staying in the Bairro Alto district?
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Motoss wrote: Thoughts on staying in the Bairro Alto district?
Pros:
- This is the bar and entertainment district, so if that is what you want every night, you are in luck!
- This is the highest altitude place in the area and it will be easy to walk downhill to other destinations. Just be prepared to walk uphill at the end of the day. ("Alto" means "high".) Lisbon is extremely hilly and you undoubtedly have to walk uphill at some point each day.

Cons:
- If you like to go to bed early, this is not the place due to the noisy bar scene.
- Trendy area so it may be expensive.
- A bit far from the metro / trains, if you are carrying luggage.

Even Bairro Alto closes down around 1:30 AM, so the locals will go to other party spots (disco, etc.,) closer to the waterfront. Just follow the crowds...
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Jucius Maximus wrote: Pros:
- This is the bar and entertainment district, so if that is what you want every night, you are in luck!
- This is the highest altitude place in the area and it will be easy to walk downhill to other destinations. Just be prepared to walk uphill at the end of the day. ("Alto" means "high".) Lisbon is extremely hilly and you undoubtedly have to walk uphill at some point each day.

Cons:
- If you like to go to bed early, this is not the place due to the noisy bar scene.
- Trendy area so it may be expensive.
- A bit far from the metro / trains, if you are carrying luggage.

Even Bairro Alto closes down around 1:30 AM, so the locals will go to other party spots (disco, etc.,) closer to the waterfront. Just follow the crowds...
Thanks - so someplace on the outskirts might be better. Any suggestions?
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Motoss wrote: Thanks - so someplace on the outskirts might be better. Any suggestions?
It really depends on what you're doing. How long are you staying, and is it for touristic purposes?

I was in Baixa and it had the best of everything. Only downsides were high cost, tourist traps galore, and low altitude, so I had to walk uphill to get anywhere.
Last edited by Jucius Maximus on Feb 5th, 2018 11:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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4 nts - tourist stuff. I prefer to stay where the locals live and away from the tourists - live a like a local for a few days. I will look into that area you mentioned.

Thanks
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Feb 5, 2018
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Guelph
When is the best time to visit Portugal as I was thinking about doing the Douro river cruise next year?

Thanks
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Jun 25, 2017
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Nick1992 wrote: When is the best time to visit Portugal as I was thinking about doing the Douro river cruise next year?

Thanks
I'd say Mid-April to Mid-June or Sept-Oct would be nice, as the weather is mild and comfortable to walk around and explore. Summer is the high season and everything is more crowded/expensive, plus it can be VERY hot.
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Guelph
VivaHappyBlog wrote: I'd say Mid-April to Mid-June or Sept-Oct would be nice, as the weather is mild and comfortable to walk around and explore. Summer is the high season and everything is more crowded/expensive, plus it can be VERY hot.
Thanks for the advice.

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