7 Days in Portugal: Lisbon, Sintra, Porto & the Douro Valley

Portugal in One Week: How to Make It Count

Portugal punches far above its weight. This small country on Europe’s Atlantic edge offers extraordinary variety: a capital city with world-class food and fado music, a UNESCO World Heritage palace town, one of Europe’s most beautiful second cities, and river valleys that produce some of the world’s great wines.

One week covers the essential north. This itinerary runs Lisbon → Sintra → Porto → Douro Valley, best done by train and occasional car hire, with a return flight from Porto.

Days 1–3: Lisbon

Lisbon is Europe’s oldest capital and its most underrated. Built on seven hills overlooking the Tagus estuary, it rewards slow walking, late dinners, and an afternoon nap before the evening begins properly.

Day 1: Alfama & the Viewpoints

• Alfama: Lisbon’s oldest neighbourhood — a Moorish-era maze of white-washed houses, laundry-strung alleys, and fado restaurants. Get lost deliberately.
• São Jorge Castle: Moorish castle overlooking the city. The views are the attraction; the interior is modest.
• Miradouros (viewpoints): Portas do Sol, Santa Luzia, Graça — each offers a different angle on the orange-roofed city below.
• Fado dinner: A fado house (casa de fado) in Alfama is a non-negotiable Lisbon experience. Dinner is long, wine flows, and the music — haunting, melancholic, proud — is unlike anything else. Book ahead. Budget €35–60/person including dinner.

Day 2: Belém & LXFactory

• Pastéis de Belém: The original, the only, the irreplaceable pastel de nata (custard tart). Made at this bakery since 1837 from a secret recipe. Queue is long, queue is worth it.
• Jerónimos Monastery: Manueline Gothic architecture at its most ornate. The cloisters are extraordinary.
• Tower of Belém: Iconic fortified tower in the Tagus. Best photographed from across the water.
• Discoveries Monument (Padrão dos Descobrimentos): The large sculptural monument marking Portugal’s Age of Exploration.
• LXFactory: A repurposed industrial complex that has become Lisbon’s coolest creative market. Best on Sunday when the full market is open. Excellent restaurants, bookshop in an old printing factory.

Day 3: Baixa, Chiado & Bairro Alto

• Time Out Market: The deservedly famous food hall near Cais do Sodré. Not cheap, but a great way to try multiple Portuguese chefs in one sitting.
• Chiado: Lisbon’s most elegant shopping neighbourhood. The independent bookshop Livraria Bertrand (oldest bookshop in the world, operating since 1732) is here.
• Bairro Alto: The bohemian neighbourhood. Quiet by day, the epicentre of Lisbon’s nightlife from 11pm–4am.
• Ride Tram 28: The iconic yellow tram. Crowded (watch your pockets), but the ride through Alfama is genuinely charming. Take it toward the end of the day when crowds thin slightly.

Day 4: Sintra Day Trip

40 minutes by direct train from Lisbon Rossio station. Buy return tickets at the machine to avoid queues (€4.70 return). Sintra is a UNESCO World Heritage site and completely surreal — a 19th-century royal playground of fantasy palaces and gardens in forested hills above the Atlantic.

• Pena Palace (Palácio da Pena): A wildly colourful Romantic palace on the highest peak. Looks like it was designed by a child given unlimited budget and no restraint. It is magnificent. Book tickets online. Allow 2 hours.
• Moorish Castle (Castelo dos Mouros): The ruined castle above the town with dramatic walls running along the ridge. Views of Pena Palace and the Atlantic.
• Sintra Village: The village at the foot of the hills with excellent pastry shops (try travesseiros — almond-cream pastries).
• Cabo da Roca (optional): The westernmost point of continental Europe. A 20-minute taxi from Sintra. Dramatic cliffs dropping to the Atlantic. Wind is fierce. Utterly beautiful.

Return to Lisbon by 7pm. Evening free.

Day 5: Travel to Porto

High-speed Alfa Pendular train from Lisbon Oriente to Porto Campanhã (2h45, €25–40 booked in advance). Arrive in Porto and check in.

Porto reward an evening stroll along the Douro waterfront (Ribeira) immediately upon arrival. Settle in for a half-bottle of port wine at a riverside bar — you are in the home of port wine now.

Days 6–7: Porto

Porto is smaller, grittier, more intense than Lisbon. It has excellent bookshops, extraordinary azulejo tile art, and the world’s great port wine lodges just across the river in Gaia.

Day 6: Ribeira, Caves & Bridges

• Ribeira: The waterfront UNESCO neighbourhood. Medieval houses stacked above the river, rabelo boats (traditional wine barges) moored at the quay.
• Vila Nova de Gaia (Port Wine Lodges): Cross the Dom Luís I Bridge to the south bank. The major port wine houses — Sandeman, Graham’s, Ramos Pinto, Taylor’s — all offer tastings and cellar tours. Graham’s Six Grapes and Taylor’s Chip Dry are the most accessible for first-timers. Budget €15–30 per tasting.
• Dom Luís I Bridge (upper level): Walk across the upper pedestrian level for the best views of both banks.
• Sunset from the bridge: The light on Ribeira at sunset is extraordinary. Every photographer in Porto will be here.

Day 7: Majestic Café, Livraria Lello & Foz

• Livraria Lello: One of the most beautiful bookshops in the world. Possibly inspired J.K. Rowling’s Hogwarts staircase (debated). Entry fee applies (deductible from book purchase). Book a timed slot online.
• Majestic Café: A 1921 Art Nouveau café on Rua Santa Catarina. Coffee is overpriced, the interior is magnificent, and the atmosphere is old Europe at its best.
• Clérigos Tower: The baroque bell tower above the city. Climb for panoramic views.
• Foz do Douro (afternoon): Take tram line 1 along the river to where the Douro meets the Atlantic. Seafood restaurants line the coast. Order the arroz de marisco (seafood rice) for a proper final Portuguese meal.

Depart from Porto Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport.

Essential Portugal Tips

Food

• Bacalhau (salt cod): There are supposedly 365 recipes. Try bacalhau com natas (with cream) in Lisbon or bacalhau à Gomes de Sá (baked with potatoes and egg) in Porto.
• Pastel de nata: The custard tart. Served warm with cinnamon. Eat at least one per day.
• Bifanas: Pork sandwiches. Dirt cheap, delicious, sold everywhere.
• Wine: Vinho Verde (young white wine, slightly sparkling, from northern Portugal) is exceptional value — good bottles cost €5–8 in supermarkets. Port wine for evenings.

Budget

Portugal remains one of Western Europe’s best value destinations:

• Budget accommodation: €20–40/night (hostel), €60–100 (mid-range hotel)
• Meals: €8–15 for a full lunch with wine at a local restaurant (menu do dia)
• Transport: Trains are excellent value. Lisbon–Porto under €40 if booked ahead.

Getting Around

The train network connects Lisbon, Sintra, and Porto perfectly. Within cities, use the metro, trams, and your feet. Uber works well in both cities and is cheaper than taxis.

Portugal is one of the warmest, most welcoming, and most culinarily underrated countries in Europe. One week will send you home planning your return.