Any Advice on Must See/Do in parts of Portugal & Spain

[RB]

We are visiting parts of Portugal & Spain in May/June 2014. We are keen walkers & will be relying on public transport. This is our first trip to these parts so we are actually spending some time in the cities. Our current plans over about 5 weeks take us to Porto, Pinhao, Ponte de Lima, Coimbra, Lisbon, Tavira, Seville, Granada, Capileira, Canilllas de Albbaida and then out of Malaga to Italy. Any tips/advice gratefully received

 

[erkpod]

I've been to Porto, Lisbon & Seville (all day trips) about 3 years ago. I'd start with a double deck bus tour to get your bearings & see what you might want to see more of.

From memory, Porto & Seville have light rail & bus systems while there's a metro & streetcars in Lisbon. Porto & Lisbon in particular are pretty cities.

 

[moa999]

Looks like a pretty good itinerary. I loved Seville, albeit having done the 'river cruise' - don't bother, take the double decker buses instead.

If in Andalucía region I would also recommend

Ronda - for the gorge and the bull ring - Ronda travel guide - Wikitravel
Gibraltar - just to walk across a working runway and see the rock and fortifications - a walk in itself if you avoid the cable car

There is a train line through Ronda that I believe runs from Algeciras up to the main Seville-Malaga line and is a pretty tourist trains in itself.
From Algeciras you can get a bus to La Linea, which is the border with Gibraltar.

Also from Algeciras or Tarifa you can do day trips or trips across the Straits to Morocco.

 

[Rox]

Out of your list I have only been to Granada , as a jump off point for a walking tour in the Sierra Nevada, and also to see the Alhambra that the Lonely Planet raves about.
It is huge and remarkable, and I'm glad I've been but the build up was possibly too big and I was a bit disappointed.
The unexpected highlight was a city we hadn't planned on, Cordoba. A friend texted us strongly recommending it while we were heading south by train, so we diverted and spent a day there , and were extremely glad we did. The highlight of cordoba is the huge mosque (Mezquite?) that the subsequent Catholic regime plonked a cathedral in the middle of. It is built with remnants of the Romans before them, and is truly remarkable. The big tip is to go really early as you get in free, before the tours start, and are almost alone in the silence, with just a few echoing footsteps and that's what makes it so majestic. We spent the rest of the day just wandering narrow ancient streets ( oh and some more roman ruins with huge Moorish palatial gardens attached - we stumbled on them while exploring and again they let us in for free, I don't know why . )
The mistake we made was getting a bus on to Granada too late ( getting lost in those convoluted streets) and made that trip in the dark, and I suspect we missed some spectacular scenery and castle ruins.

 

[casanovawa]

Barcelona was interesting, but i don't see it on your list, or Madrid either, so i take it you have done these before?

When i was in Madrid i did a day trip out to Segovia to see the Roman aqueduct and the alcazar...

I've done Porto also which was a nice city to walk around, and in April will be flying to Malaga to check out some of the Costa del Sol and some of the architecture around the place from the different empires that have occupied parts of Spain... When i want to look at things worth visiting in a region one site i go to is this Hillman Wonders site which lists some of what he considers to be the best things to see just as a bit of food for thought...

Top 10 Hillman Wonders of Spain - Candid tips & rankings
Spain wonder map - by travel authority Howard Hillman
Top 5 Hillman Wonders of Portugal - Candid tips & rankings

 

[amaroo]

Absolutely love Spain....

Madrid - one of best cities I've visited.....much better than Barcelona, IMO.
Toledo - great day trip from Madrid
Sevilla - beautiful...must visit place!
Granada - see above!
Barcelona - interesting place.....would go to Madrid before Barcelona, every time.
Montserrat - good day trip from Barcelona

The big fail for us was not including Cordoba on the list I see Rox has also highlighted this amazing place.

Veuling airlines was pretty good and reasonably priced......as was the train between Madrid - Sevilla and Madrid - Toledo

The Big Tip - make sure you have pre-purchased your ticket for Alhambra rather than just turning up! It's a timed access site. The place attracts over 3,100,000pa or 8,500 people a day......it's Spain's most popular tourist attraction.

 

[Alanslegal]

Spent a week in Lisbon a few months back, the city had a fantastic vibe and I very much enjoyed my time there. We stayed in an apartment in the Old Town but was only minutes walk away to the Lisbon downtown. Lots of steps to navigate however there are some great views of the City and beyond. Catch the old tram, you will know what I mean. There's bars, restaurants in Chiado, Baxia, Rossio up the hill. Very lively places, lots of nightlife activity. You must go check out the famous portugese egg tart bakery Cafe de Belem, their tarts are out of this world but do expect big queues as they sell over 20,000 tarts daily!

Day trips, head out to Cascais - it's the beach town equivalent to say a Bondi Beach. You can catch the bus/train from Lisbon downtown, takes a bit over an hour though. And not too far from there is Sintra. I would highly recommended if you have the time, to stay in Sintra for a a night or two, it is an amazing quaint little village. Otherwise, at least go there for the day. The castle there is beautiful, and you have to also explore that little village I just mentioned too!

Madrid, even though I have been there I can't remember much what I did. I think I was out too much however FWIW I found Madrid much more enjoyable than Barcelona even though for some reason I end up in Barcelona quite often over the past four years. Jump on the 'hop-on, hop-off' buses if you are short of time as they take you around, you see most of the tourist things and you get to perfect your bearings so then when you do decide to explore, you have an idea where things are.

If you are able to/have the time, I would recommend heading up to San Sebastian, great little coastal city. Highly recommend that City and if you are a foodie, well it's got alot of oustanding restaurants there too and many listed in the San Pellegrino List. However if you can't make it and you love your food, 90 minutes out of Barcelona in the quaint town of Gerona, you can go to El Cellar de Can Roca .... the world's best restaurant. We went there a few years back and though my tastebuds which aren't the best really enjoyed the amazing-gastronomical food that was presented, we had the best time, the service impeccable, it was close to perfect. I know its not the right time, but heading to Pamplona during the San Fermin Festival aka home of the bull run, is something that everyone should do once (well maybe if you disagree with bull running concept). Every person in town is dressed red and white, jam packed in those cobble stoned streets in the old town, and celebrating like there would be no tomorrow. The town parties on the eve of the bull run so if you don't like the idea of bull running, just go for the festival. I chickened out from the run but that is understable

There's loads to see and do anywhere you go so have a great time!!

 

[RooFlyer]

Brings back a heap of great memories.

As a walker are you going to do any of St James' Way in the north? I haven't but wish I did. Catch the Guggenheim at Bilboa at the same time (actually I think the exhibitions at the Guggenheim were carp, but the outside is definitely worth a visit)

In Spain, definitely have a look at the Parador chain of hotels. Govt owned, and therefore not as expensive as they might be. They specialise in being in old palaces / mansions, giving absolute luxury feel and mostly in absolutely prime positions. Each hotel is graded (A to F from memory) with price bracket accordingly. Some good specials if you can time it. The equivalent in Portugal, the Pestana group is pretty pathetic in my experience.

Spain:
* Segovia (massive, two tier aqueduct PLUS the castle that was the inspiration for the 'Magic Castle' at Disneyland)
* Avila (walled city)
* Granada (Alhambra; palaces and cathedrals)
* Seville (ditto; Alcazar, Girlaldia, cathedral, plus a place to just hang out; best Easter festival)
* Toledo (Alcazar; cathedrals fabulous old town on a hill top)
* Salamanca (old square, roman bridge, great Easter festival)
* Santillana del Mar, close to the northern coast. Home of the Altamira Paleolithic cave paintings. And a fabulous Parador!

* Madrid of course, if you go that way - the Prado art gallery (but I got bored after 2 hours of massive El Greco canvases ) and the royal Palace

Portugal
* I loved Lisbon. For accommodation, have a look at the Britania Hotel - fantastic boutique Art Deco hotel, fabulous service. They have decanters of port at strategic places - such as in your room and at the breakfast buffet :mrgreen: The Lisbon aquarium is actually worth a visit (especially once you are ancient monument-ed out! The trams in Lisbon are fun.

* Peniche just up the coast from Lisbon. Fishing town. Enjoy sardines grilled on coals right by the marina.
* Obidos - aqueduct and walled town. Beautiful bouganvillias draped over whitewashed houses along narrow winding streets ...
* Porto - Do visit a Port Lodge. We did Taylors, with a tour and tasting - fantastic!
* Duoro Valley (inland from Porto) - where the port grapes are grown. A little disappointing; very dry and not dissimilar to many Australian wine landscapes.

But to show how you can come across amazing gems ... we were driving south on the freeway towards Madrid and decided to stop in Burgos for a drink and toilet stop. Didn't know anything about the place. Found ourselves near the centre and decided for a walk. Came across the Cathedral. Wow! You could fit Westminster Abbey inside it a couple of times and the decorations were spectacular.

 

[RB]

Thanks for the inputs folks. When I looked at the 'Destination Guide" section there was very little info

 

[drross]

love Spain but obviously after reading this post we have so much more to see. thanks Guys

 

[markis10]

There have been quite a few AFFers victims of crime during their Spanish sojourns, I would suggest extra precautions are in order, specifically storing passports in a hotels secure area etc.