Some time ago I told you about two cities that I had the chance to visit in Portugal: Lisbon and Porto. Two Portuguese cities among the most touristic in the country. These cities attract more and more visitors every year and for good reason, they have a lot to offer.
Porto and Lisbon have many things to see and do, two ideal cities to spend a weekend or a week with friends, family or lovers.
We will also see that visiting Porto and Lisbon on a small budget is possible.
Let's try to answer a question that many are asking: Porto or Lisbon?
Summary:
> The essentials of Porto
> The essentials of Lisbon
> Save on your trip to Portugal
> My opinion: Porto or Lisbon?
Looking for a Lisbon travel guide?
Like many, I often travel with a travel guide. If you are looking for a guide for your visit to Lisbeonne, let me recommend the "Cartoville" guide from Gallimard. These guides are perfect for directing you during a city trip.
Organized in neighborhoods with numerous maps, the “Cartoville” guides really stand out from their competitors by their practical and intuitive aspect. You will discover the essentials of each district, the places to eat, where to go out, etc.
The essentials of Porto
Let's start our visit with the city of Porto. Porto is the smaller of the two cities, it is located in the north of Portugal and is crossed by the Douro, a river that separates the city in two. Porto is located in the Douro Valley at the mouth of the river. The valley is renowned for its production of Port.
Here are some of the must-sees in the city of Porto:
- The famous Sao Bento train station and its azuleros
- The impressive cathedral of Sé
- The unmissable Dom Luis I Bridge
- One of the many Porto wineries
- The Church of Clerigos
- The garden of the Crystal Palace
- The Lello and Irmao bookstore
Porto is a pleasant city with parks, many cafes and restaurants. Porto is for me an ideal destination for a romantic weekend. Porto is a city on a human scale and 3 days will be enough to see the essentials.
The essentials of Lisbon
Now let's move on to visiting Lisbon. Capital of Portugal, Lisbon is a much larger city than Porto. It too is located at the mouth of a river, the Tagus.
Let’s review some Lisbon must-sees:
- The Alfama district, historic district of Lisbon with its Saint-Georges castle
- The lively district of Lisbon Bairro Alto
- The famous Santa Justa lift
- The main place of Lisbonne, the Praça do Comércio
- The April 25 Bridge which will lead you to one of the largest statues of Christ in the world, Christ the King
- Visit Belém, its famous tower or its Jeronimos monastery which houses the tomb of Vasco da Gama
If you want to know more about visiting Lisbon, do not hesitate to read my article about visiting Lisbon.
Save on your trip to Portugal
Now let's go over some small tips that will help you save money on your trip to Portugal.
First tip to take advantage of a cheap trip to Portugal, look for good deals by going to sites like the Official Holidays, a site that lists offers to save on your trip.
The first saving will, of course, be on the plane ticket. Lisbon and Porto are two cities connected to the rest of Europe via numerous low coast companies.
The second saving can be made on accommodation. This is often the main source of expense during a trip. Lisbon, like Porto, has many types of accommodation of all kinds, including youth hostels. Youth hostels still have a bad reputation for many, even though they have been transformed for several years to become accommodation that is sometimes more comfortable than many hotels for a price that is often lower. Hostels do not only offer dormitories (contrary to many received ideas), they often offer single, double or triple rooms with or without private bathroom.
Moving away can be a good way to reduce the cost of housing. It is possible to find accommodation slightly outside the hyper center but close to a metro or tram station which will allow you to quickly reach the places of interest in the cities.
In the specific case of Lisbon and Porto, another way to save on your trip may be to combine these two cities.
Even after visiting Porto and Lisbon, it is difficult to choose one of the two cities. Both cities truly deserve to be discovered. Visiting both cities in one trip is a good way to save money.
This is the solution I chose during my stay in Portugal. I arrived in the city of Porto, then I took the train to reach Lisbon, then my return was from this city.
The Porto train is caught at Campanhã station accessible from lines A, B, C, E and F.
The price of the trip between Porto and Lisbon is between 20 and 40 euros and lasts between 2h30 and 3 hours. You will arrive at Oriente station in Lisbon.
My opinion: Porto or Lisbon?
For my part, I really enjoyed each of the two cities. I liked Porto a lot, I found the city very pleasant to visit. You won't get bored there and you can get around very easily.
Lisbon, meanwhile, really looks like a capital. Much larger, much more extensive, there are many things to do there. The city has many neighborhoods that are very different from each other. However, I found Lisbon to be an equally pleasant city, although it will sometimes be necessary to take public transport to get around certain parts of the city.
