At the end of September we had our first guests. We eagerly became their tour guides. We still had a lot to learn about what to see in Lisboa, so beforehand, we did research and made lists. It was a great opportunity to learn more about our city. We also planned a 5-day trip together to Porto.
So here is a summary of our itinerary, with links to blog posts for each day, with pictures. Some days we just wandered around discovering things. Other days, we had already identified particular target sites.
The weather got hot toward the end of the first week, and we got tired because of all the walking, so we slowed down a bit and added some outings further afield that had more leisure and less walking.
The purpose of this collection of posts is to make sure we remember the good stuff we discovered, so we can improve our tour-guiding for our next visitors.
Summary
Lisboa
- Day 1 25 Sep: Arrival, lunch and afternoon in Cascais
- Day 2 26 Sep: Belém monuments, walking tour in Lisboa city center
- Day 3 27 Sep: Sintra: Pena Palace, Quinta da Regaleira, Monserrate
- Day 4 28 Sep: Exploring Alfama on foot, Museu de Azulejos, dinner and fado concert
- Day 5 29 Sep: Eduardo Parque and Estufa Fria, ferry to Cacilhas, concert at Navy Planetarium
- Day 6 30 Sep: Another hot weather plan: Rideshare to Ericeira
- Day 7 1 Oct: Parque de Nações: Vasco da Gama tower, gondola, Oceanario
Porto
- Day 8 2 Oct: Train to Porto: São Bento station, Sé & Bishop’s palace
- Day 9 3 Oct: Porto & Gaia: Palacio de Bolsa, riverfront, Dom Luis I bridge, Jardim do Morro
- Day 10 4 Oct: Douro Valley bus tour with visits to vineyards and a boat ride
- Day 11 5 Oct: Porto & Foz: Jardins de Palacio de Cristal, Foz lighthouse, concert at São Nicolau
- Day 12 6 Oct: Train back to Lisboa
Great job. Loved the itinerary and appreciate all the work that went into it.