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Portugal - 9 or so Days - Questions?

Kim

10+ Posts
My niece is studying abroad in Florence so my SIL and I are going to meet her in Portugal for her spring break. My SIL and I arrive on a Friday and my niece will join us on Saturday. We're there until the following Sunday.

I'm thinking staying in Lisbon until Wednesday and then training to Porto, returning to Lisbon to an airport hotel (any recs?) on Saturday as we have very early flights on Sunday morning.

Does that amount of time in each city make sense? Or should we increase one over the other?

Does anyone know of a company that does wine tours leaving from the city into the countryside? Or a good tour guide within either city? A shopping tour by any chance? I did find the rec for Culinary Backstreets on the forum from several others so I'll be contacting them too.

Any neighborhood suggestions for where to stay? I'm going to look for a two bedroom apartment, if possible in Lisboa and either an apartment or hotel in Porto. Make sense?

I'm sure I'll have some other questions - just trying to focus in on this since we're a bit pressed for time.

Thanks!
 
Staying longer in Lisbon makes sense to me, as there is more to see and do. There is no real need to stay close to the airport the night before your flight unless you just prefer that. The airport in Lisbon is very close to the city. If you stayed in the vicinity of the Oriente metro/train station, it would be a very short taxi/Uber or 2-3 metro stops to the airport.

There are a number of companies in Porto that do day trips into the Douro valley for wine tours. I used CoolTour Oporto several years ago and was quite satisfied. It’s a long day but gives you a good intro into the wine, river, etc. In Porto, a quick water taxi ride gets you to Gaia where a large number of port cellars are located. Some of these also do wine tastings.

In Porto, Taste Porto does very nice food tours. They take you to a number of the high interest places, as well as, give you a good intro into the food.
In Lisbon, Your Friend in Lisbon does a great private walking tour of the city. And, yes, Culinary Backstreets is a very good company for food tours.

As far as areas to stay - either Baixa or Chiado are my favorites in Lisbon. Baixa is flat, which was a life saver on my first trip, since I was not accustomed to climbing hills. Chiado is hilly but has more restaurants.
In Porto, I prefer staying close to the river, if possible.
 

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