Stay a little longer
If you can, give yourself a few extra days. Sintra’s palaces are a short drive away, Lisbon is close by, and the Atlantic coast is on the doorstep.
Sintra
Hilltop palaces, romantic gardens and misty forest trails, a short drive from the resort.
- Pena Palace, the colorful palace on the hilltop. Book tickets ahead.
- Quinta da Regaleira, with its gardens, grottoes and the famous Initiation Well.
- The Moorish Castle, whose ramparts look out to the sea.
- Monserrate, a palace mixing Moorish, Gothic and Indian styles, in lush gardens.
- Sintra town: try a travesseiro pastry at Piriquita.
Lisbon
Portugal’s capital: trams, tiled façades, viewpoints and long lunches.
- Alfama, Lisbon’s oldest neighborhood, with fado in the evenings.
- Belém, for the Jerónimos Monastery and the original pastéis de Belém.
- Tram 28, rattling through the old town’s hills.
- The miradouros, viewpoints over the city and the river.
The coast
Cascais and Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point of mainland Europe.
- Cabo da Roca, dramatic cliffs and a lighthouse at the edge of the continent.
- Cascais, a seaside town with beaches, a marina and seafood.
- Guincho, a wild, windswept beach popular with surfers.
- Praia Grande and Praia das Maçãs, beaches on Sintra’s coast.
Porto
Portugal’s second city, on the Douro river: port wine, tiled churches and a riverside made for long evenings. About three hours north of Lisbon by train.
- The Ribeira, the colorful riverfront, for dinner by the water.
- The Dom Luís I bridge, walked across the top deck at sunset.
- Port lodges in Vila Nova de Gaia, across the river, for tastings.
- São Bento station, with its walls of blue-and-white azulejo tiles.
- Livraria Lello, one of the world’s most beautiful bookshops (book tickets ahead).