You’re holidaying in Lisbon. When there’s more than city experiences on your agenda, there are countless excellent day trips to enjoy. Once you’ve done a guided tour, you can always go back on your own and explore with confidence now you know the basics. Here are four top class Portugal day trips from Lisbon to feast your eyes on. 

Tips: The best tours include entry tickets. If it’s hot and there’s a drive involved, choose a tour with air conditioned vehicles. It’s always wise to book early in the summer season because the best tours sell out fast. 

Tour Sintra and Cascais from Lisbon

These two wonderful towns are stuffed with natural and architectural wonders. This tour treats you to a journey of discovery into the lush green landscapes of Sintra Natural Park, the secret trails and caves at Pena Park and the dramatic cliffs at Roca Cape. You’ll explore the Pena National Palace, drive the Atlantic Coast to Cascais, wander the town and relax on its scenic beaches. If you’d like to spend time on your own, some tours work free time into the schedule. Others are full-on for the whole day.

Here are some more things to see in these fantastic towns:

  • Fall in love with Pena Park and Sintra Natural Park, both worth another visit now they’re familiar
  • Marvel at the Roca Cape, Europe’s most westerly point
  • Sit back while someone else drives you along the spectacular Atlantic coast road
  • See Sintra National Palace in the flesh, Admire Pena palace, wander the magnificent Palace of the Millions estate and visit the Moorish castle, Monserrate palace, Queluz palace in Sintra, and Azenhas do Mar just outside the town
  • Relax on one of many lovely Cascais beaches
  • Cool off in the Condes de Castro Guimarães Museum
  • See local artistic genius at the Paula Rego Museum
  • See the perfect Portuguese home: Casa de Santa Maria
  • Explore Santa Marta Lighthouse Museum
  • Feel the power of nature at Boca do Inferno, the Gate to Hell with its great roaring mouth and crashing waves

Do Sintra, Pena Palace, Regaleira, Cabo Roca and Cascais in a day

For a whistlestop tour of the countryside and coast beyond Lisbon’s city limits, take a tour including a generous handful of Portugal’s top attractions in just one day. You kick off in scenic Sintra, skip the queues to get straight into the gorgeous Pena Palace, see Quinta da Regaleira, drop by Cabo da Roca and skim through Cascais before driving back to Lisbon, a rich and exciting experience taking in all the best bits.

  • Don’t miss the old Quinta da Regaleira estate, a spectacular World Heritage Site in Sintra with a romantic palace, chapel, park, lakes, grottoes, wells and more to poke around in

Travel to Fátima, Nazaré and Óbidos from Lisbon

The fascinating heritage and stunning rural landscapes around Lisbon are the focus for some tours, taking in the delights of Fátima, Óbidos and Nazaré all in one. Fatima is a big hit with Christians, an important pilgrimage site where in 1917 some children saw a vision of the Virgin Mary, also called Our Lady of Fátima. Quaint Óbidos offers a glimpse into life in small-town Portugal, a delightfully pretty little place packed with interesting sights. Then there’s the seaside village of Nazaré, where they’ve fished for centuries, and the mind-boggling architecture of UNESCO World Heritage site at Batalha Monastery. Breathtaking coastal views across the Atlantic, green rolling hills and huge cliffs make a varied tour like this even more special.

  • Visit the Sanctuary of Fatima and the Marian shrine
  • See the world-famous Batalha Monastery
  • Discover the natural drama of the Nazaré cliffs
  • In Fatima you can visit the caves at Grutas da Moeda, see the humble home of siblings Casa Jacinta and Francisco Marto, who died in the WW1 flu epidemic, go to the serene Valinhos Sanctuary and see fantastic art at the Museu de Cera
  • In Nazaré you can stroll the two huge beaches with their truly massive waves and magical sea views, walk to the iconic São Miguel Arcanjo Fort, admire the weird Veado sculpture, which blends surfing with the old story about Dom Fuas Roupinho and a deer, go to the Big Wave Museum and admire the incredible caves at Praia do Norte
  • In Óbidos you can admire the lovely cobbled streets, which actually look a lot like Appledore in Devon. The castle is a fairytale masterpiece and the Santa Maria church is unusually attractive with wonderful views. There’s an excellent municipal museum, lots of Instagrammable churches, the crystal clear lagoon with its old fishing cottages, and an impressive aquaduct dating back to the 1500s. Don’t forget the Porta da Vila with its traditional decorative tiles, the famous blue and white ones plus some unusually colourful designs

Three urban settings in a day: Porto, Nazare and Obidos from Lisbon

We’ve already talked about the attractions of Nazare and Lisbon, both of which are the stars of a popular tour that also includes Porto, a good way to get the flavour of all three and see which you’d like to explore in more detail on your own. You’ll walk around the medieval walled city of Obidos and the fishing town of Nazare before heading to Portugal’s second city, Porto, for a guided tour. This place is also UNESCO-listed with an exceptionally lovely old centre. If you’re into history and culture, pick a tour with a guide who knows about the old stuff.

You could spend a week getting familiar with Porto, which has all this to offer along with mouthwatering cuisine, excellent wines, great bars, clubs, cafes and shopping:

  • The Historic centre
  • The Cais da Ribeira district
  • The old 1780s fountain in Ribeira Square
  • Ponte de Dom Luís I bridge
  • Ponte de Dona Maria Pia railway bridge, a National Monument since 1982
  • Palácio de Bolsa
  • Torre dos Clérigos
  • Funicular dos Guindais 
  • Estação Ferroviária de São Bento
  • Capela das Almas
  • Muralhas de D. Fernando
  • The Church of São Francisco
  • Porto Cathedral
  • Igreja de Santa Clara – and many other churches and religious buildings  
  • Museu Nacional de Soares dos Reis
  • Museu de Arte Contemporânea – Serralves Art Museum
  • Centro Português de Fotografia 
  • Casa do Infante
  • Museu do Futebol Clube do Porto
  • Jardins do Palácio de Cristal
  • Parque da Cidade do Porto
  • Jardim do Infante dom Henrique
  • Sea Life Porto   
  • The Monastery of Serra do Pil

These four Portugal day trips are just the tip of the iceberg. Take a tour, see what you fancy.

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