Day 4: Sintra
9am: Head out to Sintra (p. 157). Packed with palaces, this little town in the thickly wooded hills west of Lisbon has for centuries been an escape from the summer heat for the capital’s elite.
11am: A hilltop fantasy built in the 19th-century Bavarian mode, Palácio da Pena (p. 162) was the dream of the German husband of Portugal’s Queen Maria II. The views are amazing. Spend a couple of hours visiting the palace and strolling the romantic gardens.
1pm: The whole Sintra area is a World Heritage Site. After lunch in the town, drive west through the lush semitropical vegetation dotted with aristocratic abodes. Pass through the charming little wine village of Colares until you reach Cabo da Roca (p. 163), a blustery promontory that is Europe’s most westerly point.
3pm: If the weather is good, dip down to the beach of Praia da Adraga, enclosed between soaring cliffs, to soak up some rays.
5pm: Return to Sintra via the Parque e Palácio de Monserrate, a fairytale, Arabian-inspired palace surrounded by semitropical parkland that inspired Lord Byron and Hans Christian Andersen. Overnight in Sintra.
Day 5: Mafra
10am: It’s a 20-minute drive north from Sintra to Mafra (p. 170), home to the vast palace and monastery built by King João V, using riches acquired from an 18th-century Brazilian gold rush. The sheer scale of it is mind-boggling. You’ll need a couple of hours to tour the inside, including the library, which holds 36,000 leather-bound books, some over 500 years old.
Noon: Next stop, Óbidos (p. 193), 40 minutes farther north through the vineyards and apple and pear orchards of Portugal’s far west. Surrounded by high walls, this is one of the country’s best-preserved medieval towns. It’s filled with whitewashed houses, their doors and windows decked out in deep blue and yellow. Take lunch in the town.
3pm: From here, it’s a short hop to the Mosteiro de Alcobaça (p. 196), founded in 1153 by Portugal’s first king, Afonso Henriques, in the unadorned Gothic style newly imported from France. Entering the interior is like stepping into the Middle Ages. The little town of Alcobaça is also renowned for its brightly colored chintz fabrics and the heavenly treats based on centuries-old convent recipes sold by Alcôa pastry shop (p. 202).
6pm: Take an evening stroll around the clifftop heights of Nazaré (p. 205), a picturesque fishing port 20 minutes to the west. Then finish the day with a hearty fish stew before overnighting in Nazaré.
Day 6: Batalha
9:30am: It’s a 30-minute drive from Nazaré to the monastery at Batalha (p. 209), the first of two medieval UNESCO World Heritage Sites you’ll visit today. Executed in flamboyant Gothic style, Batalha was built in golden stone as a tribute to a Portuguese victory over invading Spaniards in 1385.
Noon: Another 40 minutes heading inland takes you to the pretty riverside town of Tomar (p. 262). After lunch in one of the restaurants in the pretty downtown, head up to the Convento de Cristo (p. 265), a fascinating complex of buildings dating back to the 12th century. It was once a stronghold of the Knights Templar. The architecture of the round church at the center was inspired by their crusading ventures to Jerusalem. Spend the night in Tomar.
Day 7: Coimbra
9am: Leave early to make the hour-long drive through thick forests of eucalyptus to the romantic city of Coimbra (p. 294), where you’ll spend the day.
10am: You’ll need a couple of hours to visit Portugal’s oldest university, dating back to 1290, including the ceremonial rooms, jail for unruly students, and the magnificent baroque library.
Noon: Wander down the narrow old street of the upper town, taking care descending steep Rua Quebra Costas (backbreaker street), popping in for a look at the Romanesque cathedral. When you reach the busy Baixa commercial district, grab lunch at historic Café de Santa Cruz.
2pm: Move next door to the church bearing the same name as the cafe, then lose yourself in the maze of narrow streets making up the Baixa and enjoy an amble through the romantic gardens beside the River Mondego.
4pm: Uphill again, spend a couple of hours in one of Portugal’s best provincial museums, the Museu Machado de Castro (p. 299). Be sure to explore the remains of the Roman city in the basement.
6pm: Catch an early-evening performance of Coimbra’s own amorous version of fado music at Fado ao Centro, where they’ll explain the music’s significance and serve a glass of port at the end.
The Best of Portugal in 2 Weeks
You can return to Lisbon from Coimbra in a couple of hours but if you have time, head north. A second week will open up the delights of Porto and the Douro wine region.
Days 1–7
Follow the itinerary suggested above.
Days 8 & 9: Porto
Porto (p. 331) is an hour’s drive from Coimbra. Both banks of the River Douro (p. 335) will keep you occupied on the first day.
DAY 8
10am: On the northern bank, the Ribeira district is Porto’s most traditional neighborhood. Behind a row of high-fronted, brightly painted merchants’ houses lining the quayside are a warren of alleys strung with washing, where you’ll stumble on architectural landmarks like the gold-lined São Francisco church (p. 337) and the Bolsa (p. 340), or stock exchange, with its sumptuous Arabian Salon (p. 340). Afterward, grab lunch at one of the cool restaurants in Largo de São Domingos.
2pm: Walk up the pretty Rua das Flores shopping street. At the top, peek at the tiled hall of São Bento railway station, and then continue up the hill to the Sé, Porto’s cathedral, where you’ll want to look in at the richly decorated cloisters and admire the view from the patio out front. Then walk across the upper level of the double-decked Dom Luís I bridge (p. 347), whose mighty ironwork spans the Douro. Now you are in Vila Nova de Gaia (p. 335), home of port wine.
4pm: Take the cable car to the waterfront and admire the barco rabelo boats that once hauled wine barrels, now moored in the Douro.