Portugal itinerary, day by day

From Lisbon to the cliffs of the Algarve, day by day: the map, what is worth booking, everything that costs nothing, driving times, and where to sleep at three budgets.

🗓️ 3, 7 or 14 days📍 5 stops☀️ Best time: April to June and September to October

Lisbonne · Photo Leandro Henrique / Pexels

Route map (numbers = order of the stops).

Portugal in 3 days

2 stops · 12 things to do · ≈ 60 km

1Lisbon

Days 1-2

A capital built on seven hills and rebuilt after the 1755 earthquake. Home of fado and of azulejo tiles, and the place where tram 28 and the Alfama lanes earn their reputation.

🎟️ Worth booking

Tram 28 and Alfama, guided2h on foot · from €25
The tram that climbs the old city, then the lanes on foot with someone who knows which door leads where.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Sunset cruise on the Tagus2h · from €35
Lisbon from the water as the light goes, with the bridge and the hills lining up behind you.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Miradouro de Santa Luzia · Wandering the Alfama · Mercado da Ribeira · LX Factory

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Home Lisbon Hostel (€35 a night) · Mid-range: The Lumiares Hotel & Spa (€180 a night) · Luxury: Bairro Alto Hotel (€340 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Le 17.45 ↗ ★ 5 · 3340 reviews
Mercearia do Século ↗ ★ 4.9 · 949 reviews · €€
Estaminé art food drink ↗ ★ 4.9 · 515 reviews
Augusto Lisboa - Alfama ↗ ★ 4.8 · 3448 reviews · €€
A Nossa Casa ↗ ★ 4.8 · 2412 reviews · €€

Photo Charly Constant / Pexels

🚗 Car · 40 min · 30 km (or train · 45 min)

2Sintra & Cascais

Day 3

The summer residence of Portuguese kings, now UNESCO-listed. Romantic palaces set in a forest that holds its own mist, thirty minutes from Lisbon.

🎟️ Worth booking

Pena Palace, skip the lineEntry · from €20
The yellow and red palace on the ridge above Sintra. The queue at the gate is the part worth skipping.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Quinta da RegaleiraGardens · from €12
Gardens built as a riddle, with a spiral well you walk down into and tunnels that come out somewhere else.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Sintra old town · The Cascais beaches · Boca do Inferno · Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point of Europe

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Casa Azul Hostel (€70 a night) · Mid-range: Sintra Boutique Hotel (€140 a night) · Luxury: Penha Longa Resort (€350 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Tasco do Strauss ↗ ★ 4.9 · 2316 reviews · €€
Nau Palatina ↗ ★ 4.9 · 862 reviews · €€
Almina Cascais ↗ ★ 4.9 · 445 reviews
Cajó ↗ ★ 4.8 · 938 reviews
Taberna Clandestina Cascais ↗ ★ 4.7 · 3583 reviews · €€

Photo Mike van Schoonderwalt / Pexels

Portugal in 7 days

5 stops · 28 things to do · ≈ 680 km

1Lisbon

Days 1-2

A capital built on seven hills and rebuilt after the 1755 earthquake. Home of fado and of azulejo tiles, and the place where tram 28 and the Alfama lanes earn their reputation.

🎟️ Worth booking

Tram 28 and Alfama, guided2h on foot · from €25
The tram that climbs the old city, then the lanes on foot with someone who knows which door leads where.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Sunset cruise on the Tagus2h · from €35
Lisbon from the water as the light goes, with the bridge and the hills lining up behind you.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Miradouro de Santa Luzia · Wandering the Alfama · Mercado da Ribeira · LX Factory

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Home Lisbon Hostel (€35 a night) · Mid-range: The Lumiares Hotel & Spa (€180 a night) · Luxury: Bairro Alto Hotel (€340 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Charly Constant / Pexels

🚗 Car · 40 min · 30 km

2Sintra & Cascais

Day 3

The summer residence of Portuguese kings, now UNESCO-listed. Romantic palaces set in a forest that holds its own mist, thirty minutes from Lisbon.

🎟️ Worth booking

Pena Palace, skip the lineEntry · from €20
The yellow and red palace on the ridge above Sintra. The queue at the gate is the part worth skipping.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Quinta da RegaleiraGardens · from €12
Gardens built as a riddle, with a spiral well you walk down into and tunnels that come out somewhere else.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Sintra old town · The Cascais beaches · Boca do Inferno · Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point of Europe

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Casa Azul Hostel (€70 a night) · Mid-range: Sintra Boutique Hotel (€140 a night) · Luxury: Penha Longa Resort (€350 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Mike van Schoonderwalt / Pexels

🚗 Car · 1h30 · 135 km

3Évora

Day 4

A walled museum-city in the Alentejo, lived in since Roman times. Its Temple of Diana and its Chapel of Bones span two thousand years between them.

🎟️ Worth booking

Old town and Chapel of Bones, guided1h30 · from €15
The Roman temple, the cathedral and the chapel lined with the bones of five thousand monks, explained rather than just seen.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Alentejo wine tasting2h · from €30
The reds of the plain, drunk where they are made, with someone to tell you what you are drinking.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The Temple of Diana · The lanes of the old centre · The public garden

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Moov Hotel Évora (€55 a night) · Mid-range: Convento do Espinheiro (€160 a night) · Luxury: Octant Évora (€170 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Três Marmelos ↗ ★ 5 · 263 reviews
Recanto ↗ ★ 4.9 · 348 reviews
A Casa ↗ ★ 4.9 · 282 reviews · €€
Taberna Típica Quarta-feira ↗ ★ 4.8 · 1955 reviews · €€
Restaurante Lombardo ↗ ★ 4.8 · 739 reviews · €€

Photo Petra Nesti / Pexels

🚗 Car · 2h30 · 215 km

4The Algarve · Lagos

Days 5-6

The port the caravels sailed from during the Age of Discovery. Today it is ochre cliffs and the sea caves of Ponta da Piedade.

🎟️ Worth booking

Benagil caves by kayakHalf day · from €45
The sea caves of the Algarve from the water, which is the only way into the one with the hole in its roof.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Catamaran and dolphins2h30 · from €40
Out along the cliffs by boat, with a real chance of dolphins on the way back.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Ponta da Piedade · Praia Dona Ana · The Seven Hanging Valleys trail

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Rising Cock Hostel (€36 a night) · Mid-range: Cascade Wellness Resort (€190 a night) · Luxury: Boutique Hotel Vivenda Miranda (€250 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

CIUCCIO - Italian based kitchen and International food. ↗ ★ 4.9 · 1309 reviews
BUeNI Lagos ↗ ★ 4.9 · 766 reviews
Búteo ↗ ★ 4.9 · 613 reviews
Eattico ↗ ★ 4.8 · 1506 reviews
Restaurante Azimute Lagos ↗ ★ 4.8 · 942 reviews

Photo ClickerHappy / Pexels

🚗 Car · 2h45 · 300 km (back to the airport)

5Lisbon

Day 7 · return

A capital built on seven hills and rebuilt after the 1755 earthquake. Home of fado and of azulejo tiles, and the place where tram 28 and the Alfama lanes earn their reputation.

🎟️ Worth booking

Tram 28 and Alfama, guided2h on foot · from €25
The tram that climbs the old city, then the lanes on foot with someone who knows which door leads where.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Sunset cruise on the Tagus2h · from €35
Lisbon from the water as the light goes, with the bridge and the hills lining up behind you.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Miradouro de Santa Luzia · Wandering the Alfama · Mercado da Ribeira · LX Factory

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Home Lisbon Hostel (€35 a night) · Mid-range: The Lumiares Hotel & Spa (€180 a night) · Luxury: Bairro Alto Hotel (€340 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Charly Constant / Pexels

Portugal in 14 days

7 stops · 36 things to do · ≈ 1 250 km

1Lisbon

Days 1-3

A capital built on seven hills and rebuilt after the 1755 earthquake. Home of fado and of azulejo tiles, and the place where tram 28 and the Alfama lanes earn their reputation.

🎟️ Worth booking

Tram 28 and Alfama, guided2h on foot · from €25
The tram that climbs the old city, then the lanes on foot with someone who knows which door leads where.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Sunset cruise on the Tagus2h · from €35
Lisbon from the water as the light goes, with the bridge and the hills lining up behind you.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Miradouro de Santa Luzia · Wandering the Alfama · Mercado da Ribeira · LX Factory

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Home Lisbon Hostel (€35 a night) · Mid-range: The Lumiares Hotel & Spa (€180 a night) · Luxury: Bairro Alto Hotel (€340 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Charly Constant / Pexels

🚗 Car · 40 min · 30 km

2Sintra & Cascais

Days 4-5

The summer residence of Portuguese kings, now UNESCO-listed. Romantic palaces set in a forest that holds its own mist, thirty minutes from Lisbon.

🎟️ Worth booking

Pena Palace, skip the lineEntry · from €20
The yellow and red palace on the ridge above Sintra. The queue at the gate is the part worth skipping.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Quinta da RegaleiraGardens · from €12
Gardens built as a riddle, with a spiral well you walk down into and tunnels that come out somewhere else.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Sintra old town · The Cascais beaches · Boca do Inferno · Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point of Europe

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Casa Azul Hostel (€70 a night) · Mid-range: Sintra Boutique Hotel (€140 a night) · Luxury: Penha Longa Resort (€350 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Mike van Schoonderwalt / Pexels

🚗 Car · 1h30 · 135 km

3Évora

Day 6

A walled museum-city in the Alentejo, lived in since Roman times. Its Temple of Diana and its Chapel of Bones span two thousand years between them.

🎟️ Worth booking

Old town and Chapel of Bones, guided1h30 · from €15
The Roman temple, the cathedral and the chapel lined with the bones of five thousand monks, explained rather than just seen.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Alentejo wine tasting2h · from €30
The reds of the plain, drunk where they are made, with someone to tell you what you are drinking.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The Temple of Diana · The lanes of the old centre · The public garden

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Moov Hotel Évora (€55 a night) · Mid-range: Convento do Espinheiro (€160 a night) · Luxury: Octant Évora (€170 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Petra Nesti / Pexels

🚗 Car · 2h30 · 215 km

4The Algarve · Lagos

Days 7-9

The port the caravels sailed from during the Age of Discovery. Today it is ochre cliffs and the sea caves of Ponta da Piedade.

🎟️ Worth booking

Benagil caves by kayakHalf day · from €45
The sea caves of the Algarve from the water, which is the only way into the one with the hole in its roof.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Catamaran and dolphins2h30 · from €40
Out along the cliffs by boat, with a real chance of dolphins on the way back.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Ponta da Piedade · Praia Dona Ana · The Seven Hanging Valleys trail

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Rising Cock Hostel (€36 a night) · Mid-range: Cascade Wellness Resort (€190 a night) · Luxury: Boutique Hotel Vivenda Miranda (€250 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo ClickerHappy / Pexels

🚗 Car · 4h15 · 430 km

5Coimbra

Day 10

A university town since 1290, among the oldest in Europe. Its baroque Joanina library is the reason most people come.

🎟️ Worth booking

The university and the Joanina libraryTicket · from €14
Gilded shelves, painted ceilings, and a colony of bats kept on purpose to eat the insects that would eat the books.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The university lanes · The botanical garden · The banks of the Mondego

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Serenata Hostel (€40 a night) · Mid-range: Quinta das Lágrimas (€150 a night) · Luxury: Tivoli Coimbra (€110 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Calma Tavern ↗ ★ 5 · 366 reviews
Restaurante MA ↗ ★ 4.9 · 286 reviews
Restaurante O Palco ↗ ★ 4.9 · 212 reviews
Restaurante Fogo e Tradição ↗ ★ 4.8 · 285 reviews
Zé Manel dos Ossos ↗ ★ 4.7 · 3023 reviews · €

Photo Petra Nesti / Pexels

🚆 Train or car · 1h15 · 120 km

6Porto

Days 11-12

Where port wine was born, straddling the Douro. Iron bridges, blue tiles, and the cellars to taste in across the river at Gaia.

🎟️ Worth booking

Port tasting in the Gaia cellars1h · from €30
Across the bridge in Vila Nova de Gaia, where the barrels have been resting since the eighteenth century.
Book on GetYourGuide →
The six bridges cruise1h · from €20
An hour on the Douro that shows you Porto from below, which is the angle the city was built for.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Crossing the Dom Luís bridge on foot · The Crystal Palace gardens · The Gaia waterfront · Livraria Lello, from the street

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Gallery Hostel (€42 a night) · Mid-range: PortoBay Flores (€170 a night) · Luxury: The Yeatman (€390 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Muu Steakhouse ↗ ★ 4.9 · 3747 reviews · €€€
La Salumeria Porto ↗ ★ 4.9 · 2105 reviews · €€
DAMA pé de cabra ↗ ★ 4.9 · 1435 reviews · €€
ZA IN PORTO ↗ ★ 4.9 · 901 reviews · €€
A Despensa ↗ ★ 4.8 · 6115 reviews · €€

Photo Rafael Rodrigues / Pexels

🚗 Car · 1h30 · 120 km

7The Douro Valley

Days 13-14

The oldest demarcated wine region in the world, drawn up in 1756. Terraces climb almost vertically above the river, and the whole valley is UNESCO-listed.

🎟️ Worth booking

River cruise and quinta tastingFull day · from €70
A full day up the valley by boat, stopping at the estates that make the wine.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Miradouro de São Leonardo · The wine villages · Pinhão and its tiled station

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: LBV House Hotel (€70 a night) · Mid-range: Morgadio da Calçada (€175 a night) · Luxury: Six Senses · Vineyard Suite (€480 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Casa do Arco by Douro Exclusive ↗ ★ 4.9 · 204 reviews
Restaurante Regional Fonte Nova ↗ ★ 4.8 · 860 reviews · €€
Tasca da Quinta ↗ ★ 4.8 · 744 reviews · €€
Douro Excellence ↗ ★ 4.8 · 380 reviews
Aneto & Table ↗ ★ 4.7 · 1208 reviews · €€

Photo Matheus G. / Pexels

Hotel prices are per room per night, activity prices per person, checked when written. Some links are affiliate links (Booking, GetYourGuide): we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

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Good to know before you go

🍽️ What to eat

Pastel de nata: a crisp custard tart, dusted with cinnamon. The one thing you will eat every day.
Bacalhau: salt cod, done a thousand ways (à brás, com natas, and on it goes).
Francesinha: the grilled sandwich of Porto, meat and cheese under a beer sauce.
Grilled sardines: the food of summer street festivals, above all in Lisbon.
Vinho verde and port: one young, cool and faintly sparkling, the other fortified and famous.

⚠️ What to avoid

Skip the tourist-menu restaurants in the Baixa and look for a neighbourhood tasca instead.
The bread and olives put on your table are not free. Send them back if you do not want them.
Tram 28 when packed is pickpocket country: keep your bag in front of you.
Do not drive into central Lisbon or Porto. The streets are narrow and parking is a fight.

Plan this trip

📒 The free printable Portugal guide→ 🗓️ Best time to visit Portugal, month by month→ 🎟️ What to book before you go→

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