Tomar or Guimares
I'll be spending 2 weeks in Portugal at the beginning of December. I'm trying to decide if I should spend the one extra day we have in Tomar, Duoro Valley or Guimares. Currently our plan is as follows:After visiting Lisbon, Evora, Monsaraz, Marvaos in the first 5 days, we''ll drive to Tomar (from Marvaos), stop for 2-3 hours and continue on to Coimbra for the night. The next morning we'll be exploring Coimbra and drive to Lamego after lunch. We'll stay the night in Tabuaço. Next morning, we'll do wine tasting in Pinhao and drive to Amarante via Ajilo and Sabrosa. After a couple of hours in Amarante, we'll drive to Guimares to stay the night there. Next day, we'll explore Guimares and drive to Porto around d 4pm.
With this schedule, I feel like we don't have enough time to explore Tomar and its vicinities, e.g. Almourol, and the towns along the way from Marvaos to Tomar. Do you think we should scrap Guimares and spend one night in Tomar instead?
Is Guimares definitely not to be missed?
1
No doubt there about choosing Guimaraes. It is the birth city of the nation with many monuments related to it. It is also classifed as world heritage by UNESCO and its centre is picturesque. Aditionally it is European Capital of Culture in 2012. Don't miss it!There's nothing special about Tomar apart the "Convento de Cristo".
3
Hi,Guimaraes is indeed a not to miss place! The well-preserved medieval town is considered the birth of the Portuguese nation and has plenty of wonderful places to visit. To visit Guimaraes is to understand the origins of my country.
However, if you have the chance don't miss the opportunity to spend a few hours in Tomar. Convent of Christ and its famous Janela do Capítulo (Window of the Chapter House) are worthy of a visit.
4
I have to add a dissenting opinion. We stayed a night in Tomar and while there are no mind-blowing monuments in the town itself (except the convent in the outskirts), it was one of the most enjoyable places in Portugal for us. A charming little town, nice for a stroll, having a bica and a glass of porto or macieira in a cafe, eating out etc. We stayed in a basic residencial (http://www.residencialluz.com/) situated right on the main street which added to the charm.The convent was also something definitely worth seeing.
We were in Guimaraes for a day trip from Porto. Nice and interesting but we remember Tomar as much more charming. It's a purely subjective opinion though.
