Portugal: Lisbon and the Lisbon Coast

A brief review of places we visited during our five days in and around Lisbon and the Lisbon Coast.   (For the rest of our Portugal trip in Porto and the Douro Wine Valley, read here.)

CASCAIS

We made Cascais, the coastal resort town west of Lisbon, our home base for the five days.  There we rented a historic apartment on a pedestrian street in the city center which was 80 meters from the beach, next door to a McDonalds (this I did not know in advance), and entirely too close to the Train Station (except on the day we walked out our door and hopped on the train to Lisbon which was a 40 minute ride along the coast and cost 18 euros for the five of us.) If you wonder about garbage collection practices in Portugal, I can confirm that they are on it.  It was my conclusion that all the trash in China was being collected on our street every morning at 6am. 

Cascais

Offering beaches over culture, Cascais is really a sprawling suburb of Lisbon with several sand beaches intermixed with cliff like shoreline and countless resorts (directions are given with resorts as land marks).   The cobbled street Center reflects the wealth that is forcing its way into Cascais with trinkets and trash next door to designer boutiques.   The boardwalk from Cascais to Estoril is a lovely place to walk or run, and because we were there in April the gorgeous beaches were empty enough to serve as a soccer pitch most mornings and several evenings.     

Eating: Mar do Infermo for a killer seafood platter (sea bream, mussels, three kinds of shrimp); House of Wonders for a rooftop vegetarian lunch (the kids inhaled a vegetable lasagna and mushroom tofu pasta); Moules & Gin for a fun if not formulaic casual modern bistro serving mussels a dozen different ways; Armazen22 for a Brazilian steak dinner (surprisingly a nice change up from our fishy ways), our favorite: Dom Diniz for an unforgettable evening of they-just-bring-em tapas (flaming chorizo, cold cod salad, stuffed mushrooms, etc.) in a tiny two table deli restaurant.   It’s not gourmet, chef-prepared stuff just good eats in what feels like someone’s living room.  A bottle of red wine – any from the Douro valley – is mandatory with all dinners.  Reservations a must for every place but House of Wonders.   We topped off every meal with gelato at Santini Cascais (the one with the reputation and long lines) or on the same block Gelateria Italiana Fabio (the one with the great service and our new friend Phillip.)

Dom Diniz

LISBON

I shudder to tell you this, but I did not love Lisbon.  Granted we were there only one full day and we took a second afternoon to explore Belem (an outlying neighborhood of Lisbon.)  With that kind of limited time I realize that one’s reaction to a place is so dependent on the walking path they choose for that day.  Then again, Brett walked the same path I did and He LOVED Lisbon.  It is therefore possible that I was hormonal or wearing the wrong shoes.

Lisbon

We knew our walking path would involve San Francisco like hills (which we enjoyed), and we oriented ourselves toward the humble and compact Alfama quarter which all the guidebooks said not to miss.  There we did find windy streets and great views, but mostly we saw a lot of poverty in the middle of a gentrifying construction zone on steroids.  We felt like uncomfortable voyeurs with a camera.   Castelo de Sao Jorge, the hilltop citadel used as a royal residence and then arms depot, was worth the price of admission for the views of the city.  Tram28 – the “must do” for all tourists – was good for those who don’t mind being packed in like sardines and can clutch their purse at the same time they are enjoying the blocked views.  I watched a pickpocketing scheme unfold with a woman and a 6 year old boy on the tram that made my heart ache so much that I couldn’t wait to get off.   Brett thought the tram was awesome.  Clearly it can’t be just my shoes.  

Waterfront promenade in Ribeira

I did like the Chiado neighborhood and area around Comercio Square, Lisbon's monumental riverside.  We didn’t have time to see Fado, the music of Lisbon, but there was quite a bit of live music (always fun) playing on the streets of Baixa and Chiado.  The waterfront promenade in Ribeira to the west of Comercio Square is being built up and is quite a lovely place to be on a nice evening.  There they have a beverage kiosk where you can get something to sip on and take to sit down in some chairs looking out over the water.   We saw another one of these beverage kiosks (a great idea) in Praça Luíz de Camões .  We oft heard Lisbon described as the new Barcelona, just a few years behind in development.   Apparently I also prefer older, more developed cities.

You do have to see the outlying neighborhood of Belem for several worthwhile sites (the Monument to the Discoveries and the elevator up it for views is great) and well-connected parks, just save your eating for in town.  We attempted a stop at the Pasteis de Belem – the pastry shop on the Rua de Belem that people make a pilgrimage to Lisbon for – but the queue was so long and complicated plus I made the mistake of saying “custard” when describing the pastries to my boys and they were certain “custard was not worth waiting for.”  We did however hit the Confeitaria National, a pastry shop on the busy Praça da Figueira that’s been around since 1829 (in Baixa), and we buffet styled Portugese pastries and every version of chocolate cake they had.

Eating:  Turns out I’m a sucker for any restaurant with the menu written on a chalkboard.   I had read about Taberna Da Rua Das Flores (in the Baixa Chiado neighborhood and very close to the train station) on a food blog and knew this was where we’d be eating if we had only one dinner in Lisbon.   We sampled more than half of the small plates on chalkboard – Portuguese fare with a twist of something unexpected – while locals popped their head in to buy bottles of their house olive oil.  The pacing of the meal was a bit slow as dishes came out one by one, but each dish also deserved to be the center of the table.  Aside from the fried goat cheese with special sauces, we had to elbow the boys to get our fair share.

SINTRA

Castelo dos Mouros

I’m losing steam on this blog, so here’s what you need to know:  Sintra Rocks.  We spent two days there.  The first day we spent hiking from the main city center straight up 2 kilometers to the Castelo dos Mouros, a Moorish castle.  Different than any other castle we’ve seen, this castle is beautifully built into the landscape.  You can climb along the jagged battlements and up a handful of towers for some absolutely breathtaking views.  Because it’s harder to access, there are fewer tourists and it’s a great spot to bring a picnic lunch.   Brett deemed it one of his top 5 most spectacular (and certainly unexpected) spots in our travels.

Palacio da Pena

The next day we came back and drove up past the castle to the Palacio da Pena which is a palace and enclosed park.  Tour buses let off here and you will queue for tickets.  The exterior of the palace is Disneyland-like in its grandeur and the interior has been preserved from when the last royal family lived there in 1910.   We especially enjoyed hiking, both on footpaths and hiking trails, in the 495 acre walled park with its lush vegetation and fine collection of trees.  This time we remembered our picnic.

OBIDOS

Obidos

The day we headed back North to the Douro Valley, we stopped off in Obidos and Nazare on the way.  Obidos is one of those preserved hilltowns enclosed within 14th century walls.  It’s beautiful and built for tourists.  Like a smaller Assisi in Italy, Obidos is not only a day trip destination but also set up with hotels, a pasada (guest house) set in a Castle, and restaurants for overnight visitors.  They are also a couple of cool bookstores.  I kept thinking that there must be a strong homeowners association in Obidos.  In addition to be swept clean, there was a uniformity of blue, red, and yellow paint blocks on all the white washed buildings.  And green thumb of not, you will be expected to have potted plants hanging from your window.

NAZARE

Nazare

Nazare is an old fishing village whose only attraction is a very long beach, and it’s a great one.  It’s a wide and long beach with awesome waves set against the backdrop of steep cliffs.  It’s apparently teaming with tourists in the summer.   The boys played soccer on the beach while I went in search of an espresso.   I snapped exactly one picture in Nazare.   The balance of the car ride involved lots of sand and me complaining about the espresso that was causing me a stomach ache.

MOST REPEATED CAR RIDE QUOTE:

Brett:  “Boys, we just passed Peniche.”  Quinn:  “Was it big?”

Update:My Portuguese neighbor Sergio just told that it's impossible to understand Lisbon without being there at night ... which I missed on this trip.  He also said there was some great cherry liqueur I should have tried in Obidos.

Northern Portugal: Porto and Douro Wine Valley

Generally we stay in Airbnb properties when we travel because it’s cheaper for a family and we like the independence that comes with our own space.   Airbnb rentals however don’t make as much sense for short stays as many properties have a three night minimum.   We decided we wanted to tour as much of Portugal via car as we could over our nine Spring Break days pushing us into short stays and therefore hotels on the bookends of our trip.  (We stayed in an adequate though not great Airbnb property in Cascais for the five middle days using it as our home base for touring Lisbon and the Lisbon Coast.  That portion of the trip will follow in a separate blog.)  When we do stay in hotels, Brett labors over finding small boutique ones.  Big hotels are avoided at all cost.  Our kids don’t love that about us (what kid doesn’t like a hotel pool), but we have come to an understanding that “this is how we do it.” 

We flew out of Franfurt-Hahn on the budget Ryan Airlines into Porto, rented a car at the airport, and drove 30 minutes into Porto for a two night stay.  (Note:  Avis runs a friendly, though not turn-key operation in Portugal.  Included in your rental is your salesperson running out to the lot to collect your car, a how to instruction for operating the car (?) and a several minute documentation of the scratches on your Skoda wagon.)  A car is not necessary in Porto as the city is best accessible on foot, but the logistics were easier for renting a car at the airport and leaving it in a city parking garage for 48 hours.   This will take some explaining to your concerned children, but be warned that you should take care of this before departing the car rental as you will be busy navigating at least eight freeway changes from airport to city.

 I admit to coming to Porto with low expectations, saving up my enthusiasm for the second half of the trip in and around Lisbon.  I however was pleasantly surprised by this city perched on a rock gorge above the Douro River mostly because of where we stayed.  I don’t generally write hotel reviews, but the Guest House we stayed in so framed our experience that it deserves an exception.   It is rare to find a place that is luxurious but affordable and where you are treated as family.

You only really need two days in Porto: one day to tour the sites and the second day to tour the Port wine caves across the river.  We only had one full day (Saturday) and a ½ day on Sunday.  Given our traveling configuration with three children and my confession that I don’t care much for Port, we skipped the Port wine caves. 

Hotel Review: Guest House Douro, Porto Portugal

Rates:  130-190 euros/night including breakfast.  Our double occupancy room with river view was 185 euros/night and the triple occupancy room for boys on the same floor with a 13th century street view was 170 euros/night.

Guest House Douro

Basics:  Ranked #1 out of 96 B&Bs in Porto, the simple but classy eight room guest house with magnificent Douro River views has been gutted and gorgeously designed with a modern flare to maximize its space.   It is run by a lovely Portuguese couple, Carmen and Joao, who spent twenty years living and working professionally in Montreal before coming back to Portugal to open this guest house.

View from our room

Location:   As my boys would say:  “The location is beast!”  Guest House Douro is located in Porto's  Unesco World Heritage listed and lively waterfront  Ribeira area.  Waterfront doesn’t always conjure up best images of a place to inhabit after hours, but aside from the noisy seagulls in the morning, the Ribeira promenade is a delightful place to stay.  It offers easy (though steep) access to all the historical monuments, Douro boat tours (we didn’t take go on one but we saw the queue from our window), as well as two solid traditional Portuguese restaurants within a stones throw.  Agrade is the better of two restaurants in terms of food, though next door neighbor Adega xxx (can't remember it's full name) is better in terms of outdoor seating. There are plenty more restaurants to choose from in the area too.  You can see the Vegas-like signs for all the Port wine caves across the river for easy plotting of a foot tour.  There are countless outdoor cafes along the promenade, and the running along the Douro River- the life blood of this port city- is outstanding.  Flat with a wide birth and dotted with early morning fishermen, you can do a long 8 mile out and back run to the Atlantic Ocean in one direction (Brett and Quinn’s direction) or a 4 mile out and back run the other direction (my direction). 

Morning run along Douro

The Room:  The rooms are small, but what it lacks in space is made up for in every other way.  The immaculate rooms are light filled with large French windows that open, wood floors, and a plush bed.  The marble bathrooms have everything you need, which in my case is a shower with good water pressure and big fluffy white towels.  Long and narrow, the Guest House has four floors with two rooms on each floor.  Since we were in two rooms, we had the 4th floor all to ourselves and they encouraged us to utilize the corridor between them for some additional space.  We always need more space for our collection of shoes so we took them up on this offer.  They moved out some furniture to accommodate an extra futon like bed in the boys’ room, which was disguised with equally luxurious linens that made it feel less “third wheel” like.  Everyone was happy.  Especially us in our own room.

Outdoor seating at Adega

Amenities:   They have all the things you’d expect like TV and hi-speed wireless Internet that works, but one small thing I didn’t expect.  Since it’s a Guest House, we were given keys to our room but not the house.  We had to ring the doorbell every time we came back thereby not being anonymous when someone forgot their hat or returned from a sweaty run.  I soon realized this is by design.  The personalized service of Carmen and Joao is what really makes the place.  Joao sets out a mean breakfast spread (included in the room price) with an array of cakes, breads, cheeses, meats, fresh squeezed orange juice and  a fruit sculpture made up of local fruits that I guarantee you won’t be able to finish.  Joao will not let you leave your papaya uneaten.  Carmen mapped out a well-explained, better than any tour guide walking route for us to see all the important sites noting ones (three outstanding churches, including the “gold one”) we should save for Sunday morning.  She made a booking for our first dinner as we arrived late at 9pm (at their favorite restaurant Agrade) and though we made our second dinner reservation (Adega) on our own, she called anyway to make sure we had the best outdoor table.  Port and iced tea were offered on arrival and every time we came back to the Guest House.  I may not be a Port fan or convert, but when in Porto ... you will have Port.  Very few families stay at the Guest House but it is most definitely family friendly.  Carmen and Joao lavished our boys with attention.  (Shy children beware.)  Carmen taught Lawton a little Portuguese and read him a book, and they made a full court press to have Colin stay with them longer.  AND, the best service of all was that they strongly recommended we change our plan for the tail end of our trip which was to spend two days in the coast town of Aveiro and instead spend two days in the Douro Wine valley.  Naturally they recommended a few Pousadas (country inns set in remote, scenic locations) with one favorite recommendation.  We did a quick Google search on the options they gave us and sprinted back downstairs drooling about their strong recommendation.  Carmen helped book us two nights there while Brett canceled our Aveiro lodging.

Casa do Visconde de Chanceleiros

I could write another full review of Casa do Visconde de Chanceleiros, but instead I’ll let the Trip Advisor reviews and my photos tell the story.  Another place with personalized attention that won’t break the bank, but this time set in the countryside where birds not seagulls are nature’s wake up call.  I confessed to not much caring for Port, but the red wines coming out of Douro make me (and the whole country) swoon.  They are outstanding.  We were only at the Casa do Visconde de Chanceleiros for about 36 hours, and aside from a hike through the vineyards, we happily put our Guide Books away and hung out on the terraced grounds of the pousada.  We bounced from swimming pool to game room to soccer on the tennis court and we had two fabulous home cooked dinners there.  Apparently you can train 2 hours from Porto to Pinhao (the nearest town to the pousada), but the drive was also easy and spectacular.   After seven days of city hopping, even with chilly weather, the quiet and beauty of this region was a perfect topper to our trip.  Unlike Porto, we wish we had a day or two longer here.

Bottom Line: If you go to Porto, stay with Carmen and Joao.    AND, don’t miss the Douro Wine Valley! 

Photos from Porto:

Photos from Douro Wine Valley: