Portugal 2020!

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stephenson

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Hi All,

This year our group is looking to visit Portugal - have done some initial planning, but looking for recommendations and options.

Initial thoughts are to fly into Porto, spend a few days there, then drive to Viana do Castelo for a few days, Pinhao for a few days, Coimbra for a few days, stay note side of Lisbon for a few days, and then Lisbon proper and depart. 20-30 days or so ...

We tend to like historic, but out of the way spots, with occasional larger thrown in.

Thoughts?
 
Portugal is a small country. You will see a lot in 20-30 days. We did not spend that much time, so did not have a chance to visit the southern beaches of Algarve. We did not even have time to spend in Evora, which is one of the recommended spots.

Oh well, gotta leave something for the next visit.
 
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I'm going in April for 2 weeks, first time in country.

Lisbon, Sintra, then drive down to Lagos to visit the coast for 3 days, fly up to Porto, then an overnight in Pinhao.
 
We have been to Portugal twice but want to go back. The first was from Spain to the Algarve, then up to Lisbon and area for a week.

The second was flying into Porto. We spent two days in town, rented a car, a spent a week in the Douro Valley. It was wonderful...so much that we plan to return.
 
In Lisbon, we stayed in an Airbnb right off the Avenida Almirante Reis, and it came with a parking spot in the underground garage. Of course, I just parked the car for the duration, except for the day trip to Sintra. Yes, I drove to Sintra instead of taking the train, but we left early at 5AM.

In the last day in Lisbon, we ventured out just 3 miles off the city center to the area around the aquarium (Oceanário de Lisboa) to get away from the crowd. What a huge difference with open spaces, wide streets, and more modern lodging. Next time, we will look for a place to stay there, and take the metro to downtown. The hubbub of Lisbon was good for a couple of days, then we needed room to breathe.


PS. Avenida Almirante Reis is the main avenue of Lisbon, and we happened to be there during the May Day Parade. It was fun to watch different worker's unions marching down the street loudly chanting, demanding better pay, more benefits, higher pension, etc... I did not speak Portuguese, but could still guess from reading the banners that they carried. :)
 
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We loved Portugal. Porto is great for a few days as well as Lisbon, but the soul of the trip was in the Douro Valley outside Pinhao. If you can find a guide, I would hire one. The logistics of the Valley are rustic at best. In some places you can't cross the river for many miles. Getting around is slow, but there are so many things to see from wineries to ancient Roman ruins to petroglyphs, but you need to know where they are and in some cases, that isn't easy.
The food is simple, but wonderful. It's a great area, though somewhat poorer country in relation to the rest of Europe. We'd go back.
 
Do they have peri peri chicken everywhere?

I remember th Bourdain episode on Portugal featured more than one dish which involved drain8ng the blood from the animal and cook8ng with it.

Not going to try those dishes.
 
Glad you ask!

No, I found out that peri peri chicken is only popular down south. Even in Lisbon, I stumbled on a single place claiming that it was its specialty, and I was disappointed. The grilled chicken was good, but the sauce was merely brushed on afterwards, and it came from a bottle. Hah! It was not hot enough for me.

I queried the waiter, and he admitted that peri peri chicken was not popular even in Lisbon, and most Portuguese did not eat spicy food. Next time, I will travel down to the Algarve to check this out.

PS. We ate mostly grilled fish while in Portugal. My wife who is not fond of fish said it was so good and she enjoyed it.
 
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explanade said:
Do they have peri peri chicken everywhere?

I remember th Bourdain episode on Portugal featured more than one dish which involved drain8ng the blood from the animal and cook8ng with it.

Not going to try those dishes.
Click to expand...

Never saw or even heard of it.
We ate lots of grilled fish, carrot/potato based soups and seafood stews.

Seek out a cherry cordial called Ginja.
 
We have not made it to mainland Portugal, but were in their Azore Islands a couple of times. We also were nearby a couple of times on the Spanish coast.

If you're wanting to stay in three cities for a week or so each, I suggest finding an apartment with laundry facilities. That way, you can travel with so much less luggage--a carry on bag will do it. We found great apartments in Barcelona and Granada, Spain on Booking.com earlier this year.
 
I have been to Portugal a couple of times. My recommendations are:
Queloz Palace in Lisbon
Port Lodges in Porto
Sintra, Cascais and Etoril
Restorant Castro in Cascais
Lagos
 
Recommendations -

Go to the Pasties de Belem site for original custard tart - so good!
Enjoyed the National Coach Museum in Belem
Drinks on patio behind Convento do Carmo in Lisbon - amazing ambiance
Pinhao - do the Jorge Barefoot Tour - really fun day
 
Speaking of custard tart, I read so much hype about it I bought 3 for each of us, because on Youtube someone claimed to eat 1/2 dozen in a day.

Oh my. It was hard enough to finish the 2nd, let alone the 3rd. Don't overeat, and ruin a good thing.
 
NW-Bound said:
Speaking of custard tart, I read so much hype about it I bought 3 for each of us, because on Youtube someone claimed to eat 1/2 dozen in a day.

Oh my. It was hard enough to finish the 2nd, let alone the 3rd. Don't overeat, and ruin a good thing.
Click to expand...

We started out ordering 1 each. Waiter looked at us like we were crazy. Did end up with a 2nd one each after we split a sandwich.
 
We are going to Portugal in 2020 also. Flying into Porto and will have a rental car for Douro Valley. This will be our first visit to mainland Portugal. We have been to the Azores a couple of times and really enjoyed that.
 
Obidos is very nice but can be crowded and touristy. Walk up hill for a 'block' or two and walk along the less crowded streets above the main drag. IIRC, there are several nice plazas with views of the surrounding countryside.

Also, if you can arrange it, tour a cork farm. It was one of the most interesting things I did in Portugal. I leaned how the previous dictator took the land, overworked the cork trees, and how the families finally got it back. The families are restoring the old cork trees to health, planting new ones and expanding into other areas to finance things (like guided hunting, and making wine). Whatever you do don't refer to a bad bottle of wine as being 'corked'. Them is fighting words!!!

The cork business is interesting. The owner of the farm we toured is in his 40's. He is planting new trees, not for him or his children, but mostly for his great-grandchildren.

Oh, the Portuguese spent years viewing American TV shows with Portuguese subtitles, so their English is rather good.
 
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Hmm, Peri Peri chicken is associated with Portugal but has origins in Africa:

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2018/oct/17/how-to-cook-the-perfect-piri-piri-chicken-recipe

A Portuguese dish with its roots in Angola and Mozambique, popularised in the UK by a Johannesburg-based restaurant chain, piri piri chicken may have a complicated past, but its present is crystal clear: we absolutely love it. That “cheeky” chain, Nando’s, has been described as “one of the most successful cults in Britain”, having carved itself an unlikely, but undeniable niche in our national identity. In perhaps the ultimate sign of its success, piri piri has now been added to the list of dubious attractions at my local Texan fried chicken shop, too. It seems we just can’t get enough spicy grilled poultry.

Popularity, however, breeds contempt – and, even leaving aside questions of animal welfare, not all this piri piri has the vim and vinegar of the salty, sizzling stuff shoved through the hatch of your average Lisbon kiosk or churrascaria. Fortunately, however, if you can grill chicken, you can make much better piri piri chicken at home.
Click to expand...

Apparently the Nandos chain originated in South Africa.
 
Chuckanut said:
Obidos is very nice but can be crowded and touristy.
Click to expand...

That's why I suggested arriving early.......I think we got there from Lisboa at 8:00 a.m. (Probably left Lisboa around 6:00 a.m.)

Departed shortly after the crowds arrived.
 
explanade said:
Hmm, Peri Peri chicken is associated with Portugal but has origins in Africa:
Click to expand...

Yes. The heat from the sauce comes from the African piri piri pepper plant, which is also called bird's eye chili.

I currently have about 1/2 dozen of this plant in my backyard. The chili is quite hot, but not to the level of a habanero. The plants are quite prolific and the chili so hot and used so little, that my freezer has several bags of them harvested from the past 2 years. See photo linked from the Web.

81VJktkIGmL._SL1500_.jpg
 
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I did not go to Obidos. Did not even know about it till now.

Another reason for a return trip.
 
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