Top Day Trips in Portugal

Porto ★ 4.8 · Braga

Porto is 55 minutes from Braga by fast train: a full food day covering the francesinha at Café Santiago, fish at Mercado do Bolhão and a wine bar in Miragaia.

Tip: Take the 09:00 Alfa Pendular from Braga and return after 21:00 for a full day. The Bolhão market (Monday to Saturday) is the best morning start in Porto.

Sintra (travesseiros and queijadas) ★ 4.8 · Lisbon

Sintra, 40 minutes from Lisbon by train: travesseiros, the puff pastry with almond-egg-yolk filling developed at Casa Piriquita in the 1940s, plus queijadas.

Douro Valley (port quintas) ★ 4.8 · Porto

The Douro Valley east of Porto is the original demarcated wine region from 1756, with tasting at quintas like Croft, Taylor's, Niepoort and Sandeman.

Vinho Verde Quintas of the Lima Valley ★ 4.7 · Braga

The Lima Valley quintas 30 to 50 km west of Braga produce the most elegant Vinho Verde; day trips combine cellar visits, tastings and vineyard lunches.

Tip: Quinta da Soalheira and Quinta do Ameal near Ponte de Lima offer cellar visits with advance booking.

Evora (Alentejo cooking and wine) ★ 4.7 · Lisbon

Evora: a Roman-walled Alentejano town 1.5 hours from Lisbon, the canonical day-trip for acorda alentejana, ensopado de borrego and tastings at Cartuxa.

Guimarães ★ 4.6 · Braga

Portugal's birthplace is 25 minutes by train and home to roast suckling pig, traditional tascas in the UNESCO historic quarter and a Michelin-worthy lunch.

Tip: Book lunch at a restaurant in the Largo do Toural area. The Saturday morning market in Guimarães adds fresh produce shopping before the restaurant.

Peneda-Gerês National Park ★ 4.5 · Braga

Portugal's only national park is 45 minutes from Braga: mountain villages serve cachena beef stew, smoked trout and alheira sausage at near-zero prices.

Tip: The restaurants in Caldas do Gerês and Campo do Gerês use hyperlocal ingredients.

Ponte de Lima ★ 4.5 · Braga

Portugal's oldest municipality and the Lima Valley's most scenic food town: lamprey in season (January to April) and estate vinho verde at Lima restaurants.

Tip: Lamprey season runs January to April; outside season the smoked and preserved preparations are available year-round.

Setubal (choco frito and moscatel) ★ 4.5 · Lisbon

Setubal one hour from Lisbon: choco frito, fried cuttlefish in a beer batter, and Moscatel de Setubal tastings at Jose Maria da Fonseca's Azeitao cellar.

Matosinhos (grilled fish) ★ 4.5 · Porto

Matosinhos just north of Porto is the working fishing port, with a pavement grill street where every taberna runs a charcoal grill of sardines.

Barcelos ★ 4.4 · Braga

Barcelos is 25 minutes by train and home to the Frango de Barcelos: piri-piri chicken grilled over charcoal, one of northern Portugal's defining street foods.

Tip: Thursday is the weekly market day in Barcelos, one of the largest in Portugal. Combine the market with a chicken lunch at any of the local frango specialists.

Ericeira (Atlantic seafood) ★ 4.4 · Lisbon

Ericeira, 45 minutes from Lisbon: an Atlantic fishing village turned surf town, charcoal-grilled sea bass at Mar das Latas, percebes at Tik Tak.

Aveiro (ovos moles) ★ 4.4 · Porto

Aveiro south of Porto is the Portuguese Venice, a lagoon town with painted moliceiro boats, the ovos moles wafer-and-egg-yolk sweet and a fresh ria fish.

Viana do Castelo ★ 4.3 · Braga

Viana do Castelo is 50 minutes by train: an Atlantic port with a fish market, bacalhau com broa specialties and Lima-to-sea Vinho Verde estates nearby.

Tip: The Mercado Municipal in Viana opens Monday to Saturday mornings.

Azeitao (cheese and wine) ★ 4.3 · Lisbon

Azeitao, 45 minutes from Lisbon: a queijo DOP sheep's-milk cheese and Moscatel wine country, with the Jose Maria da Fonseca cellars dating from 1834.

Braga (old kitchens) ★ 4.3 · Porto

Braga north-east of Porto is the religious capital, with a cuisine of bacalhau a Braga at Brac, frigideiras at Cafe Frigideiras do Cantinho and the Bom Jesus.

Guimaraes (posta a Mirandesa) ★ 4.3 · Porto

Guimaraes north-east of Porto is Portugal's birthplace city, with the posta a Mirandesa beef cut grilled over wood at Solar do Arco and the old town a UNESCO.

Amarante (papos de anjo) ★ 4.2 · Porto

Amarante east of Porto is the Tamega river town with foguetes pastries, papos de anjo and the Confeitaria da Ponte facing the medieval Sao Goncalo bridge.

Cacilhas (riverside fish lunch) ★ 4.1 · Lisbon

Cacilhas, ten minutes across the Tagus from Lisbon: a fishing wharf with riverside grills, Ponto Final and Atira-te ao Rio for charcoal fish lunch.

Cascais (seafood and surf) ★ 4.0 · Lisbon

Cascais, 40 minutes from Lisbon: a beachside town with grilled lobster at Mar do Inferno, lunch at Furnas do Guincho overlooking the Atlantic dunes.