Ola! We are planning our first visit to Portugal this June (2026). There will be 4 of us including my wife and two daughters. We will probably spend 1 week. Any suggestions for a great places to visit or activities? What are people’s favorite things to do? My wife loves the beach, my oldest loves quiet reading and museums, my youngest loves social fun and coffee, I love food and them. Thanks for your help!
-Josh
Olá e Bem-Vindo a Portugal (early) – LOL…that’s quite an ask. Maybe if you let us know where you’ll be people can let you in on secret places, great things to do, etc. PT may be considered small, but it packs a punch with lots of diverse areas and much to do.
Ah yes! I did leave that part out. We plan on landing in Lisbon on June 14th and staying for about 1 week. We will probably stay in the Lisbon area the whole time so we can enjoy ourselves and take things easy. It looks like we will just miss the Feast of St Anthony. That is too bad. My wife’s family is orginally from Sicilly and they are always asking Him to help them find lost items around the house. How is the Lisbon book fair? We all love to read.
I appreciate your help!
-Josh
To satisfy your wife’s love for beaches is easy as Portugal has some of the best. Of course there’s the Algarve, but an easier trip from Lisbon would be to simply rent a car and drive north. Ericeira is a beautifulcoastal town with okay beaches, Santa Cruz is nice, but Peniche is actually the most amazing place for beaches. From there, visit Faz do Arelho, Sao Martinho, and of course the iconic beach of Nazaré. There are more as you travel north but that’s probably enough for a sample tour and can easily be done in a day, although splitting into 2 would be even better.
Òbidos is along the way and great for history and also good for art and literature.
As the previous response stated, Portugal may be small but has a tremendous amount of diversity. Looping back and visiting Alcobaca, Salinas, and Mafra would certainly round things out.
Enjoy!
Since you’re going to be based in Lisbon, first I’d suggest getting Metro cards for everybody, which are available at machines in the stations. They’re reloadable so you can add fare as needed. They will give you access to the Metro (subway), busses, the ferries across the Tejo, and the regional train to nearby destinations in the bigger metro area. The Metro and busses can get you closer to parts of the city that you might then like to explore on foot; the ferries will take you over to Almada, for example to visit Cristo Rei; and the trains can take you out to Belém, Sintra, and Cascais. (If you want to visit the monastery at Belém then get there closer to when it opens in the morning. There was still a line when we arrived but when we came out it was a lot longer.)
For coffee, one option is looking for quioscos where you can sit outside on a nice day with a capuccino and a pastel de nata while you people-watch. There are also larger ones around where you can get wine or beer and a meal. For lunch, check out what the prato do dia is, usually listed near the restaurant entrance.
And I can second Óbidos and Nazaré, although Nazaré’s big waves weren’t visiting when we were there last April, but still pretty.
Thanks /Obrigada!
I just lost my reply (so I will make this quick), Bacalhôa Buddha Eden in Bombarral was amazing for both Buddhist art and African influenced art, etc. There are also a lot of art and cultural museums, including Asian influence in Portugal - that was a delightful museum I came across one day wandering with a friend (apologies I don’t remember the name, but could try to find it when home). Wishing you and your family an amazing trip!