Portugal or Barcelona - 7 days

Hi.

I'm living in London for the short term and have just been able to get 1 week off work the week beginning 12 October.

Due to flight costs/times and where I've been before I'm trying to decide whether to go to Portugal or Barcelona and surrounds. I may have time to go back and do the rest of Spain next year so I won’t rush all over the country now.

I've done quite a bit of travelling in Western Europe before (but not to Portugal/Spain) and I'm looking for somewhere with culture, scenic cities/towns and history. I'm not interested in beaches or parties.

1. Would you consider Portugal somewhere that is worth going if you have a limited time in Europe? Or should I stick to Barcelona - which everyone seems to love?

2. In Portugal I’m thinking whether to do Porto and north Portugal, or Porto and travel down and fly out of Lisbon. Which would you recommend?

Will travel by train but could hire car if required.

Any thoughts appreciated! Thanks!

If you're tempted to go to Portugal, then by all means... go.
Its off the beaten, since its not on the way to other tourist loops.

You can include eerr "do" Barcelona with another trip.
IMHO

edited by what the hell, you asked.
8-(;o)

1. Definitely! I love Barcelona too, but it's pretty much overrun by tourists. Portugal is much more off the tourist radar but has a lot to offer, from great food to relatively low prices.

2. I'm fond of Lisbon, so I'd go for the latter option. Make sure you visit Sintra as well, it's an easy day trip from Lisbon and a magical, fairytale-like place.

I'm a superfan of Barcelona so my vote goes to Barcelona :)

However, if I were you, I'd just do my homework and spend some time reading (and also seeing pictures, that always helps me a lot! I use Google Images or Earthtrek) about what I might see and do in Portugal and in Barcelona, and I would make my choice. I have your same interests, and both places offer culture, scenic cities/towns and history, and both places can be enjoyed by people who are not interested in beaches or parties. So, it's hard to give a suggestion based only on your interests. People here will invariably tell you what their own preferences are. However, the good thing is that - wherever you decide - you won't be disappointed!

As to Portugal, for what my opinion matters, I also preferred Porto to Lisbon, but Lisbon offers the possibility to have more day trips. I would consider spending two days in Sintra though. There's so much to do and see! Some of the places I adored are Obidos, Batalha, Nazaré and Alcobaça. I was bitterly disappointed by Aveiro.

7 days seems a long time for Barcelona, so I'd also recommend flying to Porto and out of Lisbon.

Portugal is a great place to visit in my opinion. However, do keep in mind that it has a lot of small towns. Only Lisbon and Porto have more than 100,000 people in them. Depending on your point of view, that can be good or bad. If you are more of a big city person, Barcelona is probably a better choice. We spent all of our time in Portgual from Lisbon and all the way up north to Braga. There are various towns you can visit in the north such as Coimbra (definitely underrated in my opinion) and Braga. Day trips to places like Alcobaça, Batalha and Fátima are possible from Coimbra.

Hi, in this period I think Porto going south it's better. I would rather spend few days more around Lisbon.You have great beaches and sights just near the city. Sintra, Costa da Caparica, Cascais....really nice places to visit.
If you decide to spend a few days in Lisbon check this events and travel guide , you will find lot of information to enjoy your holiday.

Have fun!

Another vote for Portugal. Lisbon is worth spending 2-3 full days, Evora is nearby and is a world heritage site and south of Evora is the Alentejo with beautiful landscape. Sintra is also worht going, so is Mafra

I recommend flying into Porto and out of Lisbon. I did it last year and it was a really good trip. There are regular trains from Porto to Lisbon, and the trip only takes 3 hours. Both cities are worth seeing, and they're both relatively inexpensive, so your budget will go a long way.

Another vote for Portugal! It sounds like just the right amount of time and it's easier to tack Barcelona on to another trip in the future.

Spend a day sipping port at various Port houses. Renting a car would make it easy to explore magical places like Obidos, Sintra, Evora, and Marvao (they all fit your decription). Lisbon is a great place to spend a few days. You could also take the train from Porto to Lisbon, then rent a car and see Obidos, Sintra and Evora before returning the car to Lisbon (avoiding the expense of 1-way rentals) and spending a few days in that great city.

Having been in both places I can definitely recommend Portugal. Barcelona is nice too, but much more touristy, in my opinion less climatic and significantly more expensive then Catalonia. Travelling with a similar standard in Portugal you can spend half the Catalonian costs on accomodation and entrance fees, one third less on food and a bit less on transport too.