Portugal 5 Day Itinerary (No Tourist Traps)
Five days is the Lisbon-Sintra-Porto trip above plus the Douro Valley, port lodges included, without yet stretching south to the Algarve. Euros throughout, CP’s Alfa Pendular runs Lisbon to Porto in 2h35 to 3h15, and spring or autumn beats a hot, packed summer for all of it. Lisbon’s overtourism crush (crowded trams, a nightly tourist tax) is worth knowing about before you book. Our 4-day stops at Porto if that’s enough; 6-day and 7-day push on to the Algarve.
Book these before you go:
- Your Lisbon hotel : Alfama or Baixa keeps you walking distance from Day 1 and 2
- A Sintra day tour with Pena Palace entry : the ticket on this trip that sells out first
- A Vila Nova de Gaia port-lodge tour : book one lodge properly rather than three rushed ones
- A Douro Valley wine cruise : the train-plus-cruise combo covers the valley in a single day
| Day | Focus | Getting there | Rough daily cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alfama, the miradouros, Belem | Metro plus walking | EUR 60-90 |
| 2 | Baixa, Chiado, a fado dinner | On foot | EUR 50-80 |
| 3 | Sintra: Pena Palace, Quinta da Regaleira | CP train from Rossio, about 40 min | EUR 70-100 |
| 4 | Porto: the Ribeira, Livraria Lello | CP Alfa Pendular, 2h35-3h15 | EUR 60-90 |
| 5 | Vila Nova de Gaia, Douro Valley day trip | Linha do Douro train, about 1h Regua-Pinhao | EUR 90-130 |
Day 1: Alfama, the miradouros, and Belem
Land at Humberto Delgado Airport and take the metro’s red line into the centre, 20 to 30 minutes for under EUR 2 a ride. Spend the morning in Alfama, Lisbon’s oldest district, which survived the 1755 earthquake intact because it sits on solid bedrock while most of the rest of the city didn’t. Ride Tram 28 once, early or late, never at midday; it’s genuinely useful and also a documented pickpocket line.
In the afternoon, head to Belem for the Jeronimos Monastery (around EUR 18) and the Belem Tower (about EUR 8), then Pasteis de Belem, the only bakery legally allowed to call its custard tart a “pastel de Belem.”
Day 2: Baixa, Chiado, and an honest fado dinner
Baixa is the grid rebuilt after the 1755 earthquake; walk it before the heat and the tour groups arrive. Skip the fado houses sitting directly on Alfama’s main tourist lane; the better rooms charge a modest cover instead of running a free show for a captive audience.
Day 3: Sintra, on Pena Palace’s schedule, not yours
The train from Lisbon’s Rossio station takes about 40 minutes; fare is around EUR 2.30 each way. Pena Palace’s interior needs a pre-booked, timed ticket (EUR 20 combined with the park, EUR 14 park-only, via parquesdesintra.pt ); take the first slot of the day and the crowds stop being a problem. Quinta da Regaleira, a short walk away, is worth its own hour (around EUR 15, regaleira.byblueticket.pt ).
Day 4: Porto, on the fast train
The Alfa Pendular runs Lisbon to Porto in 2h35 to 3h15 with 15 to 19 direct departures a day. Spend the day on the Ribeira waterfront, then Livraria Lello, a paid, timed-voucher entry now (Silver around EUR 8-10, Gold around EUR 15.90-15.95, both credited toward a book), worth fifteen focused minutes and no more.
Lisbon or Porto: which city actually wins?
Porto, if you only get one. It’s smaller, cheaper, and calmer than Lisbon, with a genuinely comparable riverfront and easier same-day access to the Douro Valley than Lisbon has to any comparable wine region. Lisbon wins on sheer scale of things to do; Porto wins on not fighting a crowd for most of them.
Day 5: Port lodges and the Douro Valley
Cross the Dom Luis I bridge to Vila Nova de Gaia, a separate municipality from Porto proper, where the port lodges actually sit. Book one lodge tour (Sandeman runs from around EUR 23 per person) rather than hopping between three; the tours cover similar ground and a second or third visit is diminishing returns, not triple the insight.
Is a Douro Valley day trip worth it from Porto?
Yes, if you pick one format and stick to it. The scenic Linha do Douro train out to Pinhao, about an hour from Regua, plus a short river cruise (roughly EUR 30-77 per person, or EUR 25-40 for a combined train-and-cruise package) covers the terraced vineyards properly in a single day. A full wine-estate tour with tastings is the better call if wine, not scenery, is the point. Don’t try to do both formats in one day; that’s the actual trap here.
Before you go
Portugal runs on the euro, and the language is Portuguese, not Spanish. Lisbon’s municipal tourist tax runs about EUR 4 per person per night. Check current Alfa Pendular schedules before locking in a tight schedule, and read up on Graham’s Lodge before you pick a port house for Day 5.