Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Holidays

Use our Travel forum for recommendations on everything from day trips to the best family-friendly holiday destinations.

3 days/Long Weekend in Portugal

7 replies

58NotBothered · 29/01/2017 14:53

Where to go? Lisbon or Porto?
Any tips, recommendations or definite avoids?

OP posts:
Costacoffeeplease · 29/01/2017 15:09

Either, they're both great - friendly, small and easy to navigate on public transport, interesting architecture, lovely food, good value, probably more sightseeing in Lisbon but Porto has the Port houses for tastings Smile

58NotBothered · 29/01/2017 18:10

Ah port houses, that sounds like my thing ;-)
I once had some lovely wine called Tuella Duoro that was made with the same grapes as port is made from. It was gorgeous.
Thanks for the information.

OP posts:
Otherpeoplesteens · 08/02/2017 15:40

Both of them will be very enjoyable as long as you get decent weather; like most of Portugal they are miserable places in the rain.

In Lisbon the metro and tram system will get you virtually everywhere, get a '7 Colinas' travel card for unlimited use. You can also get the 'Lisboa Card' which gets you onto public transport and entry to many of the sights and museums, but you have to hammer throughout the sightseeing to make it worthwhile. For sights, a day in Belém by tram seeing the Jéronimos Monastery, the Tower of Belém and the Coach Museum is well worth it. Best restaurants for evening eating are in Bairro Alto - take the Gloria lift up.

Big warning about Lisbon - if you arrive late at night after the metro has stopped running then you'll be faced with unmetered cabs at the airport who will try to charge you the outrageous flat fare for a ride into town. This flat fare is, in theory, for journeys out of town but they really have you over a barrel and you could well end up paying €30+ for a ride that is less than €10 on the meter during the day. Any arguments - go into the hotel and ask them to help. Keep your bag in the passenger compartment.

Porto, even more so than Lisbon, is constructed entirely on incredibly steep hills. It is a compact city but expect to lose several kilos if you walk around a lot. I'd strongly recommend one of the hop on/hop off open-top bus companies as a way to get around and do some sightseeing; you can get a ticket valid for two days. If you want a trip outside town, you can book a day coach trip up into the Douro valley to Pinhão in vineyard country including a visit to a winery where port is made. Best places for restaurants in Porto are all around the Cais do Ribeiro at the riverside.

To correct Costa slightly, because I'm anal like that, the port lodges where the stuff is aged in barrels are actually in Vila Nova de Gaia, across the river from Porto.

Costacoffeeplease · 08/02/2017 15:47

Wrist slapped

Costacoffeeplease · 08/02/2017 15:52

Although to be pedantic, the reference to port was in the context of comparing Lisbon and Porto

Otherpeoplesteens · 08/02/2017 15:52

Costa Smile Wine

58NotBothered · 12/02/2017 16:36

All very useful information, thank you!

OP posts:
New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Swipe left for the next trending thread