Planning a trip to Portugal and only have a few days? Here is where I would go.
This is my Portugal itinerary for couples and families, from the vineyards of the north to the Atlantic coast.
I have been photographing weddings, couples and families since 2014. I am based in Cascais and I work in Portugal, England and the United States. Thousands of photo sessions later, I still get excited every time someone tells me they are coming to Portugal for the first time.
So here is my short list. Four places. For each one, one place to sleep, one table to book and one or two places to walk.
And if you are coming as a couple or as a family, there is something else worth planning. A photo session somewhere along the way. A proposal on the coast. An engagement session in the vineyards. Your kids running on a beach in Cascais. I will tell you where I would do it in each place.
Let's start in the north.
1. Douro Valley wine trip: two nights among the vineyards
The Douro was demarcated in 1756, one of the oldest wine regions in the world, and it looks like it. Terraced vineyards climbing straight up from the river, quintas on every bend, silence. Give it two nights at least. It is about two hours by car from Porto. If you can, come in September or October, during the harvest.
Where to stay: Quinta de Ventozelo (2 nights)
Ventozelo Hotel & Quinta is a 500-year-old estate near Ervedosa do Douro, in São João da Pesqueira. It covers around 400 hectares, half of them vineyards, and runs from the river up to 600 metres. The 29 rooms are spread across seven restored buildings, so it feels like staying on a farm, not in a hotel.
There are seven marked walking trails through the estate, with audio guides. Walk one in the late afternoon. The light over the terraces is the reason you came.
Dinner on your first night can be at the estate itself, at Cantina de Ventozelo, where the recipes are from the Douro and Trás-os-Montes and much of the produce is grown on the quinta.
Wine tasting: Quinta do Vallado
Quinta do Vallado was built in 1716 near Peso da Régua, where the Corgo river meets the Douro. It once belonged to Dona Antónia Adelaide Ferreira, the most famous woman in the history of Port wine, and it is still in the Ferreira family. Book the visit and tasting in advance: winery, ageing cellars, then the wines.
Dinner: Cozinha da Clara
Cozinha da Clara sits inside Quinta de la Rosa, just outside Pinhão, with a large terrace over the river. Book ahead and ask for the terrace. It goes first.
Before dinner, stop at Pinhão railway station. Its walls carry 24 azulejo panels from 1937, more than 3,000 hand-painted tiles showing the vineyards, the treading of the grapes and the rabelo boats that once carried the wine down the river to Gaia. It is the whole story of the Douro on one platform.
A session in the vines
In the vineyards, at the end of the day, when the sun drops behind the hills and the terraces turn gold. An engagement session here feels slow and warm. It also works beautifully for families: a quinta has space for kids to run, and nobody else around.
2. Lisbon for couples: hills, trams and viewpoints
From the Douro, take the train or drive south, about three and a half hours. Lisbon is a city of hills, trams and viewpoints. Two or three nights is enough to fall for it.
Where to stay: Bairro Alto Hotel
Bairro Alto Hotel is a five-star boutique hotel on Praça Luís de Camões, right between Chiado and Bairro Alto. You can walk almost everywhere from here. Go up to the terrace at the end of the day for the view over the city and the Tejo. Its restaurant, BAHR, is in the Michelin Guide, if you want a special dinner without leaving the building.
Where to eat: Taberna da Rua das Flores
Taberna da Rua das Flores is a small tavern five minutes' walk from the hotel. Portuguese petiscos, a menu on a blackboard that changes every day, dishes made for sharing. It is small and it fills up, so go early.
Where to walk
Alfama. The oldest neighbourhood in Lisbon, Steep stairs, tiled façades, fado drifting out of small doorways at night. Walk up to Miradouro de Santa Luzia before the tour groups arrive. A pergola of vines and bougainvillea over the terrace, and on the church wall, tile panels showing Lisbon before the 1755 earthquake. Tram 28 stops right beside it.
3. Cascais: a royal villa, the sea and Guincho beach
Cascais is where I live, so forgive me if I get a little attached here. It is 30 minutes from Lisbon by train along the river and then the sea. A fishing town that became a royal summer retreat, with the Atlantic on one side and the Sintra hills on the other.
Where to stay: Grande Real Villa Itália
Grande Real Villa Itália was the home in exile of Umberto II, the last King of Italy, who reigned for only one month in 1946. Supporters built the villa for him beside the house where he first lived in Cascais. It became a five-star hotel and spa in 2004. It sits right on the sea, across from Boca do Inferno, with the whole bay in front of you.
Where to have lunch: Furnas do Guincho or Monte Mar
Both are on the Guincho road, both face the open Atlantic, both are about fish and seafood. Choose by mood.
• Furnas do Guincho sits right over the rocks. Fish baked in salt, cataplana, a Furnas-style fish stew. Book a table on the esplanade.
• Monte Mar has been on this road since 1973. Hake fillets with cockle rice, seafood cataplana and the sound of the sea the whole meal.
Where to walk
• Boca do Inferno. A collapsed sea cave in the cliffs where the waves crash in. It is right across from the hotel, so walk there before breakfast.
• Praia do Guincho. A wild, open beach at the foot of the Sintra hills, with dunes and big surf. Guincho faces west, so the sun sets over the Atlantic all year round. Cascais bay faces south, and between May and August the sun sets behind land there. If you want a sea sunset in summer, drive the ten minutes to Guincho. Just south of the beach, a wooden boardwalk of almost 2 km crosses the Cresmina dune, with the ocean on one side and the hills on the other.
Guincho at sunset
Guincho at sunset. Wind in the hair, the ocean, the hills turning pink behind you. It is where I photographed Maddie and Daniel's sunset proposal. For families, the beach is wide enough for kids to run as far as they want, and this gives the best photos.
4. Sintra and Cabo da Roca: the edge of Europe
From Cascais, Sintra is an easy day trip, so there is no need to change hotels. Palaces in the forest, fog rolling over the hills, and at the end of the road, the edge of Europe.
Where to go: Cabo da Roca
Cabo da Roca is the westernmost point of mainland Europe. Cliffs, wind, a lighthouse working since 1772 and a stone monument with a line from Camões: "where the land ends and the sea begins". Drive up from Guincho along the coast road. Go late in the afternoon, stay for the sunset, and bring a jacket. It is always windier than you expect. If you have good shoes and an hour to spare, an unmarked path from the lighthouse drops about 160 metres to Praia da Ursa, a wild beach with rock stacks rising straight out of the sea. No bar, no facilities, ropes in two steep places. Not for flip-flops.
Where to have lunch in Sintra: Incomum by Luís Santos
Incomum is a contemporary Portuguese restaurant a short walk from the historic centre, run by chef Luís Santos since 2014. Closed on Wednesdays, so plan around it.
One more place in Sintra
If you only visit one palace, make it one with gardens you can get lost in. Monserrate is my favourite. I wrote a whole guide on why Monserrate is the best spot to propose in Sintra.
5. Photographs of your trip to Portugal
You will take hundreds of photos on your phone. Most of them will be of the view. Very few will have both of you in them, and almost none with the whole family together.
That is where I come in. One hour, somewhere along your route, and you go home with photographs of you in Portugal, not only of Portugal.
• A proposal. You plan the moment, I hide nearby and photograph everything, from the question to the hug to the portraits after. See how it works on my proposal photography page.
• An engagement session. Already engaged, or just married and travelling? A relaxed session in Alfama, on Guincho beach or among the Douro vines. Have a look at my engagement sessions.
• A family session. Kids on the sand, grandparents in the frame, everyone in the same picture for once.
A few practical things
When should we book?
As soon as you know your dates. Sunset slots in spring and summer go first.
What if it rains?
Weather on the coast changes fast. We watch the forecast together and move the session if we need to.
Can you come to the Douro?
Yes. The Douro is further from me than Lisbon, Cascais and Sintra, so tell me your dates and I will send you the details.
Tell me where you are going and when. I will tell you where the light is best.
