Portugal

Classic routes

• 💃Madrid, Seville & Lisbon9 days · Madrid → Seville → Lisbon

🚋 Lisbon, Sintra & Cascais

The capital on its seven hills above the Tagus: Belém's Jerónimos Monastery and tower, Alfama and the castle, trams and fado; Sintra's palaces in the forested hills 40 minutes away by train, and the seaside town of Cascais at the end of the coastal line. Lisbon airport is Portugal's main gateway from India, by one-stop flights.

• LisbonHills, Trams and the Monastery Where Vasco da Gama Lies3 days · best March – June, September – October
• SintraFairy-Tale Palaces in the Hills Above the Atlantic1 day · best April – June, September – October
• CascaisA Seaside Town at the End of Lisbon's Coastal Railway1 day · best May – September

⛪ The Silver Coast & Central Portugal

North of Lisbon: walled Óbidos, the fishing town and giant winter waves of Nazaré, the monasteries of Alcobaça and Batalha, the Catholic shrine of Fátima, the old university town of Coimbra, and Aveiro's lagoon canals. Coaches and the main Lisbon-Porto railway link them; a hire car joins the coast and the monasteries in a day.

• ÓbidosA Walled Medieval Town and Ginjinha in a Chocolate Cup1 day · best April – October
• NazaréA Fishing Town Below the World's Biggest Waves1 day · best June – September
• FátimaThe Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fátima1 day · best May – October
• CoimbraPortugal's Oldest University and Its Gilded Library1 day · best March – June, September – October
• AveiroPainted Boats on a Lagoon Town's Canals1 day · best May – September

🍷 Porto & the North

Porto on the Douro with its port-wine lodges, the terraced vineyards of the Douro Valley upriver, and the Minho's historic towns of Braga and Guimarães. Porto's airport is the second way in from India, and urban trains reach Braga, Guimarães and Aveiro in about an hour.

• PortoPort Lodges, Azulejos and Bridges over the Douro3 days · best April – October
• Douro ValleyTerraced Vineyards Along the River of Port Wine2 days · best May – October
• Braga & GuimarãesThe Sanctuary Stairway and the Cradle of Portugal2 days · best April – October

🌾 Évora & the Alentejo

The rolling plains of cork oaks, olive groves and vineyards east and south of Lisbon, with Évora's Roman temple and walled old town at their heart, megaliths older than Stonehenge, and hilltop villages such as Monsaraz. Hot and dry in summer.

• ÉvoraA Roman Temple and a Chapel of Bones on the Alentejo Plain1 day · best March – May, September – October

🏝️ The Algarve

Portugal's southern coast: golden cliffs, sea arches and grottoes round Lagos and the Benagil cave in the west, the Ria Formosa lagoon and its islands round Faro in the east, and Cape St Vincent at Europe's south-western tip. Trains from Lisbon in about 3 hours; Faro's airport has flights from all over Europe.

• LagosGolden Cliffs, Sea Arches and the Benagil Cave3 days · best May – October
• FaroThe Algarve's Gateway on the Ria Formosa Lagoon2 days · best April – October

🌺 Madeira

A mountainous Atlantic island off Africa, under two hours by air from Lisbon or Porto: levada walks through laurel forest, sea cliffs and Funchal's gardens and markets, mild all year.

• Madeira (Funchal)Levada Walks, Cliffs and Flowers on an Atlantic Island4 days · best April – October

🐋 The Azores

Nine volcanic islands in the mid-Atlantic, about 2 h 15 by air from Lisbon. São Miguel, the largest, has crater lakes, hot springs, tea plantations and whale watching from Ponta Delgada. Green, mild and rainy, with weather that changes by the hour.

• São Miguel (Ponta Delgada)Crater Lakes, Hot Springs and Whales in the Mid-Atlantic4 days · best May – September