7-Day Portugal Itinerary: Lisbon, Sintra, Porto

Quick answer: This 7-day Portugal itinerary covers the must-see highlights without rushing, with detailed day-by-day plans, restaurant recommendations, and budget guidance.

Best for: First-time visitors who want to maximize sightseeing while still tasting local culture.

Day 1 — Lisbon’s Old Heart

Start in Alfama, Lisbon’s tangle of Moorish lanes below the castle. Walk up to Castelo de São Jorge for the city’s best rampart views over the Tejo — buy the ticket online (about €15 / roughly $16) to skip the midday queue, and aim for opening at 9am before tour groups arrive. Wind down through the Sé Cathedral and catch the iconic yellow Tram 28 as it grinds past Graça and the Miradouro da Senhora do Monte. Board at an early stop like Martim Moniz rather than mid-route, where it fills instantly. For lunch, seek out a tasca serving grilled sardines or bacalhau à brás. End the day at the Time Out Market in Cais do Sodré, where regional chefs share stalls. Insider tip: pastéis de nata are everywhere, but a genuinely warm one, dusted with cinnamon at the counter, beats any takeaway box.

Day 2 — Belém and the Trams

Head west to Belém, Lisbon’s monumental riverside quarter, reachable in about 20 minutes on Tram 15E from Praça da Figueira (a single fare is roughly €3 / about $3.20 onboard, cheaper on a rechargeable Viva Viagem card). Tour the fantastical Jerónimos Monastery, a Manueline masterpiece — entry is about €18 (roughly $19), and pre-booking a timed slot saves an hour in line. Walk the waterfront to the Torre de Belém and the Padrão dos Descobrimentos monument. The unmissable stop is Pastéis de Belém, the 1837 bakery whose secret-recipe custard tarts (about €1.40 each) draw a queue; sit inside the tiled back rooms where locals go, rather than joining the takeaway crush. Afternoon: the modern MAAT museum along the river, or the Coach Museum. Return for sunset drinks at a Bairro Alto rooftop.

Day 3 — Sintra Palace Day

Take an early train from Rossio station to Sintra, leaving roughly every 20 minutes and costing about €2.45 (around $2.60) each way for the 40-minute ride. This UNESCO-listed hill town of palaces demands a full day. From Sintra station, hop the 434 tourist bus (about €4.10 one-way, or a €13.50 day pass covering both loops) up to the candy-colored Pena Palace, Portugal’s most photographed Romanticist folly — book a timed palace-and-park ticket online (roughly €20 / about $21) as it sells out on summer mornings. Wander the exotic gardens, then descend to the Quinta da Regaleira to climb down its spiral Initiation Well. Insider tip: go straight to Pena at opening, before the buses clog; the earliest slot is the calmest. Try a travesseiro, Sintra’s flaky almond-cream pastry, at a Praça da República café before catching the train back.

Day 4 — Coast to Óbidos

Collect a rental car this morning and drive north up the coast toward Porto, breaking the roughly 3-hour journey into a scenic day. First stop: Óbidos, a whitewashed medieval village encircled by intact walls — walk the ramparts (free, but no railings, so mind your footing) and sip ginjinha, sour-cherry liqueur served in an edible chocolate cup, from a hole-in-the-wall stall for about €1.50. Continue to Nazaré, the fishing town famous for the giant winter waves at Praia do Norte; ride the funicular (about €3 / roughly $3.20) up to the Sítio clifftop and the lighthouse-fort surf museum. Lunch on grilled fish at a seafront restaurant. If time allows, detour inland to the vast Gothic Monastery of Alcobaça. Insider tip: Portugal’s toll motorways use electronic gantries, so ask the rental desk to fit a transponder to avoid fine-generating confusion.

Day 5 — North to Porto

Continue north, returning the car in Porto or dropping it before the tight old-town streets. Base yourself near the riverside and dive into Ribeira, Porto’s UNESCO-listed waterfront of stacked, tile-fronted houses along the Douro. Cross the double-deck Dom Luís I Bridge on foot for a vertiginous view. Climb to the Clérigos Tower, then queue for Livraria Lello, the neo-Gothic bookshop with its crimson staircase — the ticket (about €10 / roughly $11) is redeemable against a book, and pre-booking a slot spares you a 30-to-60-minute wait. See the blue-and-white azulejo panels inside São Bento railway station, free and just a five-minute walk away. Insider tip: order a francesinha, Porto’s decadent layered meat sandwich drowned in beer-and-tomato sauce, at a traditional spot rather than a tourist café — it is a proper meal, so arrive hungry. Finish at a Ribeira terrace watching the rabelo boats.

Day 6 — Douro Valley by Rail

Give the Douro Valley a full day by rail — one of Europe’s great scenic train rides. Catch the direct morning Inter-Regional from São Bento (around 09:25) to Pinhão, roughly a 2.5-hour trip; the return fare is about €20 (roughly $21), seats are unreserved, and you buy at the counter, so there is no need to book ahead. Sit on the right-hand side leaving Porto: after Régua the terraced vineyards tumble to the water’s edge and the river is sometimes just meters below the tracks. In Pinhão, admire the azulejo-tiled station, then book ahead for a tasting at a riverside quinta such as Quinta do Bomfim or Croft (tours with two tastings typically run about €15–25 / roughly $16–27). Lunch riverside on local fare. Insider tip: a short Douro river cruise from Pinhão’s quay frames the valley from the water. Return to Porto by the late-afternoon train.

Day 7 — Gaia Cellars & Farewell

On your final morning, cross to Vila Nova de Gaia, the south bank where the great port-wine lodges age their barrels. Ride the Teleférico de Gaia cable car (about €7 / roughly $7.50 one-way) down from the upper bridge deck for river views, then tour a historic cellar — houses like Graham’s, Taylor’s, or Sandeman offer guided visits with tastings for roughly €20–30 (about $22–32). Learn how tawny, ruby, and vintage differ before a final glass on a terrace overlooking Porto’s skyline. If time remains, browse the design shops and street art of the WOW cultural district built into the old warehouses. Insider tip: buy any bottles you love here at the source, and check your airline’s liquid-baggage limits before packing. Toast the trip with a chilled white port and tonic, the locals’ summer aperitif, before heading to the airport for departure.