What to see in Portugal, a week-long itinerary based on the story of two travelers on vacation, to discover the state in the Iberian Peninsula overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.
Itinerary
Between the end of July and the beginning of August this year, my husband and I went on a holiday to Portugal.
We decided for this destination fairly quickly because we are unable to plan tourism holidays long in advance.
Portugal is a country that was already in our hearts and therefore we booked everything, in the week before the departure date, via internet, including the air ticket, Air Dolomiti to Monaco and then the Tap to Lisbon, the various hotels in the cities we wanted to visit and the Hertz rental car.
We landed in Lisbon on the afternoon of July 27, picked up the car at the airport and headed straight for Fatima.
We started our tour from Fatima, where we found ourselves immediately well, because after the trip we needed a small and cozy place to settle in a bit.
This place was a beautiful spiritual experience for us and the memory of this visit always excites us, despite the passage of time.
The next day we went to visit the Convent of Christ in Tomar, making a fairly winding road through woods, in some parts burnt, perhaps by fires that occurred in past years.
The Convent is immense and to visit it, all with a guide in hand, it took us a long time.
This convent is rich in history, having belonged first to the Order of the Templars and then to the order of Christ.
Already only these two names evoke important periods in the history of Portugal and the thought goes to all the people who over the centuries have inhabited this place, to their ideals, to the life they led.
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Here we began to familiarize ourselves with Manueline art, which will be a recurring motif throughout the trip.
On the same day we visited the magnificent Monastery of Santa Maria della Vittoria in Batalha, built by King John I as a thank you for the victory over the Castilian in 1385, a truly beautiful example of Portuguese Gothic.
The center that has arisen around orbits around this beautiful work.
In the evening we returned to Fatima and prepared for the second leg of our journey, namely Porto, passing through Coimbra.
The following day we arrived in Coimbra early on, to devote as much time as possible to visiting this beautiful Lusitanian city.
We visited its famous and fascinating university, which dominates the city, from its courtyard you have a magnificent view of the Mondego river.
La Sè Vecchia, in Italian Old Cathedral, is in Romanesque style, while the new Cathedral is in Baroque style and is located a little higher than the old one, because the cities in Portugal, at least the ones we visited, are all in high, resulting in ups and downs.
In the lower area of Coimbra are the two convents of Santa Clara.
Just enough time for a walk in the city and then departure for Porto.
The hotel was in the center of Porto, a challenge to get there but then we did it!
In the evening we were having dinner in a restaurant in Vila Nova de Gaia, a picturesque town on the bank of the Douro river, with spectacular views of the city of Porto on the other side.
Very beautiful the Cathedral, for its position and for its appearance, as well as the Church of San Francesco, very rich inside, and the Tower with the Church of the Clerici in Baroque style, the work of the Italian architect Nasoni, who a passerby , recognizing us at first sight for Italians, he immediately pointed out to us saying: "This made an Italian!".
The visit to the Sandeman winery was also amusing, with a tasting of the famous “Porto” wine.
What see
The next stop was Lisbon, but before we got there we wanted to get a little waved by the Atlantic wind, so we stopped on the coast in Nazarè, a beautiful tourist resort with a rich history behind it.
Just before entering the town, along the road, a row of seated ladies showed a sign with the words "rooms" written on it, and so also on the promenade, where others sold dried fish, or dried fruit, lupins and more, doing in the same time crochet.
The elderly ladies were dressed in dark with the apron in front and the headscarf tied to the Brazilian, even the men of a certain age were often dressed in dark with the typical hat on their heads.
However, the most beautiful part of this location is the original nucleus which is located at the top of the cliff, in a dominant position over the whole bay.
The Church is noteworthy, a sanctuary erected in honor of the Virgin Mary which originally has a history dating back to the year 1182, when a nobleman recommended himself to the Virgin and was saved by her, avoiding to fall off the cliff during a hunting trip.
As a sign of thanks, this character had the building of worship built, which inside preserves some very beautiful azulejos.
Later we moved to Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point of the European continent, greeted by the strong wind blowing on the top of the jagged magnificent cliffs, while we admired the infinite landscape on the Atlantic Ocean.
After this pleasant wave, we left for Lisbon, passing through Sintra.
Lisbon welcomed us immediately in its role as capital of the country.
In fact, we went to the Castle of San Giorgio, which is located at the highest point of the city, where the patrol walkway, some towers and ramparts remain, from where you can admire a beautiful panorama of the city.
We also visited Alfama, one of the oldest neighborhoods in Lisbon, which survived the 1755 earthquake, which caused much damage to the city.
To get there we took the legendary tram 28, which climbs the hill, rattling and offering the opportunity for many photographic shots by tourists.
In the evening we went to Barrio Alto, another very ancient and characteristic neighborhood.
We had dinner in the famous restaurant "Cervejaria Da Trindade", we went early, as recommended, as a very long queue is formed at rush hour to enter.
We ate excellent cod, which in Portugal you can't help eating, since they know how to cook it in every way and is present in the menus of any restaurant.
To get to the Barrio Alto we walked on foot from the Chiado district, instead of taking the Elevator of Santa Justa, which is a neo-Gothic style elevator, created to compensate for the difference in level that characterizes the city.
The following day we continued the visit of the city with the beautiful Jeronimos Monastery and the Tower of Belem, typical examples of Manueline art found on the Tagus River, together with the Monument of the Discoveries.
After tasting the famous Belem pastries, at the famous pastry shop located near the monastery, we returned by tram 15 to Praça do Comercio, in the lower part of the city.
We went to visit the Cathedral, a Romanesque and Gothic building with a beautiful facade formed by a central rose window with two towers on the sides.
Immediately below the Cathedral is the Church of Sant'Antonio which, according to tradition, is located where the house where the Saint was born was.
Always with tram 28 we arrived at the Church of San Vicente de Fora, built by the Italian Filippo Terzi in the typical style of the Roman churches in the Renaissance.
In addition to the tram, we also walked a lot through the Baixa squares, trying to get the most out of the last hours of this holiday.
In fact, the next day, early in the morning, the plane was waiting for us to return home.
