Like most people, we have done very little travelling this past year. The global pandemic has limited all thoughts of international travel and made domestic excursions more of a calculated risk and logistical challenge. My family is in the “high risk” category for Covid-19, so, 2020 has been the year we learned how to quarantine as a family rather than travel. Luckily, we have had wonderful memories of past adventures to reflect on. As expected, lockdown has not stopped me from planning future adventures.
I am dreaming of the day when we can make another trip to Portugal to see more of that beautiful country and perhaps explore it’s neighbor, Spain, while we are in that region. In March of 2019, my husband and I attended a wonderful wedding in Colares, a small beach town located in central Portugal. This wine region west of Lisbon emits a sleepy timelessness. It is in the Sintra area, where the affluent families of Portugal used to go to escape the steamy Lisbon summers in their colorful wind-cooled palaces.
Portugal was a country neither of us had visited before. We enjoyed our time there so much, we can’t wait to go back with our family.
While there, we were able to explore the capital city of Lisbon and several smaller towns in the Sintra area along the central coast. Some of our favorite finds were the smaller coastal towns of Cascais and Nazaré, as well as Fátima and the Óbidos castle. I will list some of our trip highlights and recommendations below:
Lisbon – A wonderful city for shopping and people watching. Spend some time wandering the old streets of Alfama or catching a gorgeous sunset view in Graca. Don’t miss spending some time in Rossio Square.
When you are hungry, try the fish on Rua dos Bacalhoeiros or head over to the Time Out Market to sample everything. There is also a variety of nightlife to experience.
Cascais – A coastal resort town known for its wide sandy beaches and busy marina. We enjoyed wonderful seafood, shopping and outdoor cafés.
Nazaré – A lovely picturesque oceanfront village that has become one of the most popular seaside resorts in the Silver Coast. It is known for it’s excellent surfing conditions with very high breaking waves.
Sintra – The are two sites to see in Sintra. The Pena palace is a castle that stands on the top of a hill in the Sintra Mountains above the town of Sintra, and on a clear day it can be easily seen from Lisbon and much of its metropolitan area. The second is Cabo da Roca. It’s a cape which forms the westernmost point of the Sintra Mountain Range, of mainland Portugal, and of continental Europe.
Fátima – A central Portuguese town that’s home to the Sanctuary of Fátima, a Catholic pilgrimage site.
Óbidos castle – The castle is one of the best-preserved medieval towns in Portugal, providing a glimpse into the the history of the area. It is located on a hilltop and encircled by a fortified wall. The castle has stood at the top of Obidos hill since the Moors era (8-11th century). 
In Sintra, we stayed in an lovely oceanfront hotel called the Arribas Sintra Hotel. We also found a wonderful local restaurant, Nortada, where we had our favorite meal of the trip. Nortada, is a fantastic oceanfront seafood haven that only serves the freshest catch. If you have the opportunity, try the octopus!
Good food and happy people abound in Portugal. We look forward to the day when we can return with our family. For now, we will keep planning a trip back to this picturesque country. We look forward to enjoying all that the country has to offer from the big cities to the small towns. There is a wide array of activities to experience wherever you go but make sure you leave time to stop for a coffee, pastry (perhaps indulge in a Pastel de Nata) at one of the many outdoor cafés.
