Suggestions for Lisbon to Porto portion of Caminho

[Urban trekker1]

Plans are starting to firm up for my May/June Caminho. My trekking partner will meet me in Porto then on to Santiago. That being said, I still want to start my journey in Lisbon with a few days of sight seeing. I'm looking for recommendations from Lisbon to Porto, such as walk from here to there, take the train or bus from here to there. Stop here and see this or do that. I enjoy the culture and the history, old ruins, and castles. I want to walk less than 25 kilometers per day so I can smell the roses. Thanks for listening

 

[jsalt]

A magical section for me, perhaps because I was all alone, and had the silence all to myself, on a beautiful sunny morning in early May, was the roman road (calzada romana) between Grijo and Porto. It starts as soon as you leave the village of Perozinho. Bom caminho!

 

[Stephen Nicholls]

I walked Lisbon to Porto last May/June. Check out diary III on the web site.
I have over a thousand annotated photographs - links also on web site.
I agree 100% with Jill - walk the Roman road, feel part of history, and hear those Roman chariots passing you over the cobbles....
Bom Caminho!

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi, Urban Trekker,
I may have already mentioned this, but the online CSJ guide would give you some basics on distance between towns, etc. http://www.csj.org.uk/guides-online.htm There is both a Lisbon-Porto section and Porto-santiago guide.

I was living in Lisbon for a while in 2009, and walked with a combination of day trips and a few three or four day segments. My stages are here http://www.caminodesantiago.me/comm...camino-portugues-from-lisbon.5398/#post-37487

You might want to cut out the Lisbon - Alhandra section. Walk on day 1 to the Parque das Nacoes from the cathedral and then take the metro back to where you are staying. (Cathedral to river park is about 10 kms, I think). Day 2 take the commuter line from downtown Lisbon to Alhandra and then walk to Azambuja, where there is private accommodation.

Places to visit: Tomar and its monastery, Conimbriga (about 10 kms south of Coimbra, Roman ruins) and Coimbra are the high points. My picture up on the left was taken as I arrived in Gaia, the town across the river from Porto. That is one of the most beautiful "built environment" views in the whole country, without a doubt.

There have been new places opening up all along the route since I walked, you can find a lot of those threads here in the forum and they might help you shorten some of the longer stages. How many days do you plan to take, more or less?

Buen camino, urbantrekker! Laurie

 

[hecate105]

We cycled starting at Sintra. Sintra is an awesome place if you like gardens and amazing architecture (Moorish ruined castle, Quinta de Regaleira http://www.portugalvirtual.pt/_tourism/costadelisboa/sintra/regaleira.html being the high spots) We chose the unmarked coastal route which basically meant following the sea on mainly tracks, cobbled paths and lanes - it was beautiful! If you go that way, don't miss the Lagoon de Obidos, St. Martinho do Porto, Nazare, Parc Natural Cabo Montego and Aveiro (boat museum) In Porto itself make time to sample the superlative delights of the Port Wine Institute and the local 'snack to end all snacks' the Francosinho...