Looking for ideas for your road trip to northern Portugal? While Portugal is much smaller than many of its western European neighbors, it has no shortage of diverse and unique things to do and see. We only had one week to visit, and as I started my trip research, I quickly discovered there is no way you can see the entire country in that short of time.

I decided to focus on Lisbon and the northern half of the country, mainly because it was November and not the best time for beaches and Algarve. l do hope to be back to see more of Portugal one day!

Days 1-2: Porto

We flew into Lisbon, rented a car, and drove north to Porto, the second largest city in Portugal. Porto is famous for its namesake beverage: Port! Similar to champagne, which can only be called such if it is from the Champagne region in France, port is only from grapes grown upriver from Porto in the Duoro Valley.

Spending a full day in Porto will give you a chance to see the city and also time to visit one (or more!) port cellars on the south side of the Duoro. You can walk everywhere, even to the cellars, and get great views from the bridge of the city.

We visited Graham’s where we signed up for a tour and tasting. I thought I disliked dessert wine, but it turns out I really like port! And it’s always fun to learn about how products are made and their importance to the culture.

Day 3: Douro Valley

Next up is the beautiful Douro Valley, for more Port and wine tasting!

There are so many small and family owned vineyards along the Douro, but not knowing much of anything about wine, I blindly picked a few to visit based on which had info online. This way I knew where we were going with our limited time, but if time is no object, driving around or asking other locals about which vineyards to visit would make this feel more relaxed.

We visited two vineyards for tours and tastings, one that mainly made Port, and the other, mostly wine. We opted to spend the night in the valley, near Peso da Régua, but had it been warmer out, a day trip down the river from Porto would have been lovely.

A road trip offers more flexibility to visit off-the-beaten path locations, and I especially love visiting small local businesses. The workers’ passion and knowledge are infectious, and I get excited about topics I never thought about before (like people mashing grapes with bare feet – yes! that really does still happen).

Day 4: Schist Villages and Batalha Monastery

Today involved a bit of driving – mainly to see a few Schist villages on our way to Batalha Monastery, before ending up in Nazaré. I was intrigued by these little stone villages nested in the forests, and I think to get the most out of a visit, would be to plan a hike between two (or more) of them. The surrounding areas are very scenic, and due to it being late November, the towns were pretty empty when we came through.

Batalha Monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is definitely worth a visit. I sometimes feel like I’ve already visited enough old churches to last me a lifetime, but some, like this, are not to be missed.

Day 5: Nazaré, Obidos and Sintra

Surfing world records have been set in Nazaré (like crazy 70ft waves!), and since I’d never seen a wave bigger than a few feet, I was intrigued. Being a beach town, it was dead in late November, and even the surfing crowd seemed pretty limited. We didn’t see any huge waves, guess we’ll just have to visit again 🙂

Both Nazaré and Obidos came on my radar from the Moon Portugal book. As much as you can access information online, there is something I love about having a physical book to read about the history and culture of the places I’m visiting.

Obidos is a charming walled city with whitewashed buildings and cobblestone streets. They were starting to decorate for Christmas, and it made the town even more cozy! Obidos is known for their cherry liqueur, which they serve to you in a shot glass made of chocolate! What’s not to love?!

In the afternoon, we made our way to Sintra, where we would stay for the next two nights. Sintra is sort of like Disneyland but with real castles. I don’t mean that in a negative way (although there are loads of tourists there), but rather it has so many of the similar sensory elements – castles, colorful buildings, crowds, and just sort of a magical air. Trust me.

Day 6: Sintra and Lisbon

There are a handful of extremely popular tourist sites in Sintra, and it would be much too rushed to try and see everything in a day trip from Lisbon. While any one landmark won’t take more than an hour or two, you may wait in lines to enter, and some are rather spread out. Do not miss National Palace of Sintra or Pena Palace!

The Parques de Sintra site is an excellent resource to get a glimpse of all the unique destinations in this area.

After dropping off our rental car at the airport in Lisbon, we took the metro to our hotel in the city and went exploring.

Tip: When you no longer need your rental car, get rid of it! Avoid driving in unfamiliar urban areas, insane parking fees at hotels and instead use public transportation or ubers. This will save you money and stress.

Walk around the winding streets of the Alfama neighborhood, see the Praça do Comércio and find a wine bar to indulge in Portuguese wine and cheese. Then, head to TimeOut Market, a great place to grab a bite to eat and try some of the more well known Portuguese restaurants. They have (as of this writing) 26 restaurants, 8 bars and many other vendors selling everything from food to art.

Day 7: Lisbon

First order of business today was heading over to Belem, which is just a bit west from downtown Lisbon, to get the famous pastel de nata (Portuguese egg custard tart that is to die for!) from Pasteis de Belem. While you’re in Belem, visit Jeronimos Monastery and Belem Tower (below), which is at the mouth of the Tagus river and the Atlantic Ocean.

On the way back into Lisbon, stop by LXFactory, an artsy warehouse area filled with cute shops, cafes and of course, artwork! Spend the afternoon walking around Bairro Alto, with a great city viewpoint at São Pedro de Alcântara, before having to choose from all the great restaurants where to eat dinner. Soak in the last evening in this beautiful city and country!