A holiday. A real life holiday! 12 months on, we set foot on an airplane like the whole episode was nothing more than a bad dream. Covid conditions have certainly made things difficult, all of a sudden heading to France or Portugal feels more akin to the logistical headache of the US or Vietnam. Testing, forms and needlessly confusing language make for a frustrating and stressful pre-travel week.
Choosing somewhere to go at the moment is tough, there’s so many moving parts, so it’s perhaps no surprise that only the well-trodden trips are currently in-play. Our desire to explore the hidden corners may have to wait a little while yet. In a desperate bid to get some actual proper sun we packed up for Portugal.
We left our golf clubs at home, avoided the allure of the Algarve, and went for a Lisbon-Porto road trip. We had seven days to scale the best part of the country, allowing us a couple of quick stops along the way, between the two big cities. We love a road trip, it’s such a wonderful way of exploring a country, seeing the lesser visited sites at the luxury of our own pace. However, unfortunately for us, Portugal really hate tourists in cars. Most of the motorways in Portugal are tolled, and they – for some mind numbing reason – make them extremely challenging to pay.
Don’t make the same mistake we made, ensure that you get the Via Verde transponder with your hire car that automatically collects the toll charge. In their ultimate wisdom, Portuguese powers that be decided in order to be more efficient, they removed all manned toll booths with an automatic system that now instead requires you to go to a Post Office no sooner than 2 days but definitely before 7 in order to pay your charge and avoid a fine. So for the love of god, and if you take only one thing away from our ramblings, when they offer you the Via Verde for ~€1 a day, just do it.
Lisbon was our starting point, bringing back wonderful memories of our first trip together seven odd years ago. We had only two days in the city, and so decided to focus our time in the main boroughs of Alfama, Bairro Alto and Baixa & Rossio. These make up the central crux of the city, and must surely encompass 95% of everything that a tourist would dare to dream of. The major omission is Belem, a beautiful 16th century tower that is one of the ‘7 Wonders of Portugal’. A tough loss for sure, but we soon drowned our sorrows in Pastel del Nata and Ginginja. We’d recommend ‘A Ginginja’ to try out the famous cherry liquor. It is old as the day is long, and the small pavement bar is frequented by all walks of life: tourists, hipsters and old Portuguese men, giving the place a particularly unique vibe. Elsewhere, we hit the major sites: photographing the famous yellow 28 trams, climbing up the unforgiving Alfama hills to visit the castle, and marveling at the beautiful Praca do Comercio. Lisbon might not be full of sites like other European capitals, but there’s still more than enough to keep your camera busy for a few days.
❤️ It may be touristy, but the TimeOut market is well worth a visit. You’ve also got to tick off the local treats: a Pastel del Nata at Manteigaira, Ginginja from ‘A Ginjinja’, and try and catch some Fado Music if you can.
? We were lured in by the abundant electric scooters, but the epic hills and cobbles make it a miserable experience. Baixa also turns a little seedy late at night, so watch your step. Nothing too threatening, but you might get offered hash a bit…
The next stop is the very short journey to Sintra. Once resided in by the rich and royalty of Lisboa, the hillside township is straight out of a fairytale, full of epic palaces and castles. Usually frequented by day-trippers and tours, it can be a little carnage during the day. We stayed the night here instead, and got to enjoy a much more serene morning and evening. There’s enough palaces here for Princesses of all tastes, but the brilliant greenness of Quinta da Regaleira – home to the iconic Initiation Well – and the spectacularly colorful Pena Palace were the ways we decided to spend our time. We usually prefer a whistle-stop visit to sites, but we spent 2+ hours at each, and easily could have spent longer. The townships themselves are pretty, and a great spot for an afternoon glass of wine. Nau Palatina also deserves a special mention, one of the best meals we had in Portugal.
❤️ After the hustle and bustle of the city, Sintra felt like an oasis. The castles and palaces are spectacular, and only time will stop you from exploring every corner.
? A victim of its success and extremely convenient location, we’d love it a little less busy given the choice.
Back on the road again, and this time we arrived at the walled city of Obidos. A small medieval town, set inside the impeccably kept castle walls, it’s another place fit for a fairytale. The tight lantern lit streets adorned in the towns crest give it a hugely atmospheric feel. There is unsurprisingly not a huge amount to do in Obidos, but the brilliance of the place is in its peace and beauty. Apart from seeing the handful of decent sites: castle, main gate and aqueduct being three of which, the best part is grabbing some beautiful local wine and just basking in the tranquility of the place. This was our favorite stop and was where it started to feel like you were actually on holiday. It was a hard place to leave.
❤️ Tranquility and beauty. An oasis in contrast to the carnage surrounding, you’ll want to take a picture of every street.
? It’s not a place for those who need sites and activities for stimulation.
Perhaps unfairly so, we arrived into Porto with quite low expectations. We hadn’t heard too much about the city before visiting, and my god did it blow us away. What a place. For however much we loved Lisbon, this is the place for a city break in Portugal. Once again, with time of the essence we focused our adventure to the main central districts. The Ribeira is wonderful, with it hard to take your eyes off the sun glistened river. The cathedral and the Eifel inspired Luís I Bridge are rightfully highlights, with the bridge walk an especially enjoyable experience. It should be warned however, Porto is certainly no secret, and booking restaurants is tough and the queues for visiting sites are rollercoaster long. In a longer trip, or a trip of earlier wake-ups we’d have loved to go inside the iconic Livraria Lello, a bookshop that JK Rowling supposedly used for inspiration for Harry Potter. Despite this, the real pleasure is the atmospheric nature of the city. Spending time by the river, or getting a buzz on at one of the many fun bars that litter the city is better than any tower in our books.
❤️ The atmosphere of the place is incredible. Despite being so busy, it maintains its ‘friendly small city’ vibe effortlessly. Duoro wine, how have we not mentioned it yet. Drink it all the time. With dinner, with lunch, hell, even with breakfast.
? We didn’t get to go to as many of our shortlisted restaurants due to them being fully booked, and together with the long lines of attractions, it might infuriate some visitors who feel like they can’t get the most out of their trip.
…
The pandemic has taken so much, and yielded so little, but without it, we’d never have thought (or being forced) to take a week long trip to Portugal, so we ought to be somewhat grateful. We had a a great variation of places and things to do in our short trip, and the added luxury of not being a huge country means that a road trip is a very attractive proposition for people who find little enjoyment in driving.
❤️Food and drink wise: you’ll do very well. And not for a huge price either, Portugal was surprisingly inexpensive given its prominence and Euro denomination. It’s a great trip for taking things slow and enjoying life. There isn’t a huge amount of sites to see, but what there is, is beautiful.
? The toll road situation is a bit farcical, and without the motorways available to you can spend longer than you like in the car. Portugal is also no secret, and even off-season it still pulls in the crowds. If you want a OTBT trip with places to yourself, this isn’t it.
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