We had two full days in Lisbon and left our schedule wide open to follow our mood and interests. Though spontaneous, the first day ended up being a little more structured, with visits to the aquarium (Oceanário de Lisboa) and castle (Castelo de São Jorge). The second day we did a little more wandering around the city, checking out its sights without any ticketed entries. We took the E15 tram to Belém, a district in Lisbon that lies along the river on the west side of the city. Though a bit on the outskirts of the city, Belem is a …

After a fun morning at Oceanário de Lisboa, we ate lunch in Parque das Nacoes and then took an uber to Castelo de São Jorge. Perched high in the hills of Lisbon, the site was settled in the 7th century BC, while the castle itself was built by the Moors in the 11th century. In 1147 the castle was captured by Christian Crusaders and over the next few centuries it served as both a defensive structure and a royal residence. In the late 14th century the castle was dedicated to Saint George, the patron saint of England, when King Alfonso …

With the exception of travel days and a free day in Porto, our trip until this point had been pretty well scheduled in advance. But we left our Lisbon days wide open to just go with the flow. Not surprisingly, when we gave the kids their choice of activities on the first day, they unanimously – and enthusiastically – selected the aquarium. When Lisbon won the bid to host the 1998 World’s Fair, they took a run-down neighborhood and created a massive exhibition grounds featuring a variety of pavilions. The theme of Expo 98 was “The Oceans, A Heritage for the …

After the Benagil Cave boat tour, Antonio from South Explorers met us on the beach and we started the second part of the tour – walking the Algar Seco Boardwalk along the cliffs of Carvoeiro. We headed up the steps from the beach and up the hill. There was a great little scenic viewpoint off to the side that looked back down over the beach and city. The wooden boardwalk starts at Forte de Nossa Senhora da Encarnação and ends at the Algar Seco rock formation. It is a short walk (only about 600 meters) but well worth it. The …

When we decided to try to squeeze the Algarve into our trip, it was for one main reason: to see Benagil Cave. The most famous coastal cave in the Algarve, Benagil’s stunning image is on every website, travel book or brochure about the region. For me, it was a can’t-miss site in Portugal and I was willing to add days to our trip and rearrange our travel route to see it. During our two nights in the Algarve, we stayed in Lagos. While we loved the hotel and the town, Lagos is not especially close to Benagil. Our options seemed …

While many of the castles that can be toured in Sintra once belonged to royalty, Quinta da Regaleira belonged to a wealthy – and eccentric – Brazilian-Portuguese businessman. The property gets its name from its owner in the mid-1840s, the Baroness of Regaleira. In 1893, it was sold at public auction to Antonio Augusto Carvalho Monteiro. Carvalho Monteiro purchased adjacent properties to expand the estate and built the current mansion between 1904 and 1910. Quinta da Regaleira is perhaps the most intriguing property in Sintra. While other castles were built as fortifications or displays of wealth, Quinta da Regaleira was …

The bright and colorful Pena Palace sits high atop a hill, its bold structure popping out from the lush green trees and gardens below. Featuring a Romanticism style of architecture, colorful towers, and mythological statues, the palace feels like it belongs in the pages of a fairytale. It seems impossible that such a fantastical castle exists in real life, but there it is, visible from Lisbon on a clear day. With roots as a 12th century chapel, a monastery was built on this site in the 15th century. The original monastery structure sustained significant damage during the Lisbon earthquake of …

Our final stop on our transfer tour from Porto to Sintra was Óbidos. And what a great stop it was. We loved both Aveiro and Nazaré, and Óbidos made it 3 for 3 on this tour. It was amazing! Óbidos is a medieval walled city that makes you feel as if you have stepped back in time. The walls and castle date back to the Moorish occupation in the 8th century. The city was conquered and annexed into Portugal in 1148. Its charms were evident even at that stage, and King Dinis presented it to his wife Isabel as a …

The second stop on our Porto to Sintra transfer tour was Nazaré. Located on the Silver Coast in Central Portugal, Nazaré is best known for its record-breaking waves and the surfers who brave them. Nazaré is made up of two regions, Praia (the beach area) and Sitio (the old town built on top of the cliff), which are connected by a funicular. Our first introduction to Nazaré was navigating the narrow streets of the Sitio neighborhood in an attempt to find a parking spot. Igor lamented the many large campers visiting from Spain, clogging up parking lots and going the …