Going to Spain and Portugal, need your recommendations

In My Humble Opinion
1

Hello,

I am heading over to Spain and Portugal for 9 days, starting in Barcelona and ending in Lisbon. Would anyone care to offer advice and/or suggestions?

There are three big questions that I REALLY need answering: First, I have to decide between going northwest from Barcelona then down through Portugal. Or going south from Barcelona, over to the Algarve region, then up through Portugal, which is better? Secondly I really want to experience the best of their sherry and port, are there a couple of specific places I should hit? Lastly, I’m training to be a chef so I really want to experience as much food with as much variety as I can get in the 9 days–any tips for achieving this?

Thanks a lot.

2

My wife and I went to Spain last October, and I had a fantastic time in Seville and Cadiz. On the way from one to the other, our train went through Jerez, which apparently is known for its sherry and is, in fact, where the word comes from.

Indredible food, particularly the little tapas bars.

3

My first reaction was “NW from BCN? How in heaven do you do that? You can only go N or S, and to go W you have to go S!” Then I realized we were just having a language issue, as well as a problem with knowledge of Spanish roads and railroads.

It’s west of BCN. Really. The map just doesn’t have the lines right :slight_smile: And nobody here speaks in cardinal directions. We refer to going south as “going down”… unless it takes you to a higher place, in which case it becomes “going up” :smiley:

From BCN to Lisbon, you can go about 20 different ways - what do you want to see?

You don’t say whether you’re going by car or public transportation. I’ll assume car, but you can get the same routes by train or bus.

Route 1: One day or two in Barcelona (take advantage of the Tourist Bus, it goes to all the important monuments and you can take and leave it as many times as you want to), then head S to Tarragona, W to Lleida, W to Zaragoza (visit El Pilar and sleep over), W to Logroño, N to Bilbao (sleep, visit Guggenheim), back S to Logroño, S to Burgos (visit the Cathedral, sleep), continue W to Leon (Cathedral, Romanic art, sleep), head W into Portugal to Braga and Porto, then S to Lisbon. If you’re going by train you may want to skip Zaragoza, although the food is different there than in the other parts.

Route 2: Barcelona, Tarragona, Zaragoza, Logroño, Burgos, then go on S toward Madrid but don’t enter it, hit Segovia and/or Toledo if you can (the Alcázares are two of the most beautiful castles in the country and Segovia’s cochinillo can make any vegetarian reconsider), then go on W to Lisbon.

The Algarve route sounds just way too long for what’s to see, you’re talking about going the whole way around! Unless you can get a ticket for the Alhambra in Granada (the only castle that’s more beautiful than the two Alcázares, and the view is just incredible), which you need to reserve in advance, I don’t think it’s worth it.

You may want to take a look at the UN’s list of World Heritage Sites. Spain has the biggest amount. It may be a good way to figure out what do you want to see.

You do not need to visit Jerez to get good sherry or Porto for good port. They’re both sold all over the place.

Ask your hotel receptionist for tips on restaurants. Explain that you would like to try local food - not Italian, Mexican, Chinese or Nouvelle Cuisine (aka tiny portions, large dishes, huge bills). Many bars and restaurants offer daily menus at reasonable prices (2 dishes, wine, water, bread, dessert, coffee and sometimes salad): they can also be a good way to check out the local food, although sometimes they can be very generic (90% of them seem to include spaghetti).

Don’t ask for paella. Foreigners always ask for paella. Just don’t, unless it’s in one of those daily-menu places or you go through Valencia.

If you go via Zaragoza, my own hometown (Tudela) is halfway between Zaragoza and Logroño. There are some superb restaurants, although the ones in hotels tend to be the tiny portion etc etc kind. Restaurant Txoko, in the Plaza de los Fueros, has a country-wide reputation as a top place - superb menestra (veggie casserole). Hotel Morase, on Paseo Invierno, is also good for veggies. This area claims to have the best veggies in the world - it’s hard to be perfect, but hey we try :slight_smile:

The restaurants on Plaza del Pilar in Zaragoza have very good daily menus, with local dishes as well as the usual spaghetti and salads. Burgos, León and Segovia are great for roasts. The best dried ham (jaMON seRRAno) in the world is from Teruel, you can get some in Zaragoza. Barcelona has restaurants for pretty much any kind of cuisine in the world, including many that specialize in the different Spanish regions.

And sorry this got so long. I’ll make sure my email is public - please email me with any questions, I don’t want to bore people any more!

4

I lived in Lisbon for two years; my wife and I visited every province in the country and preferred the north for food, scenery, and friendliness of the locals. The Douro Valley near Oporto is the home of Port wine, among others. I would suggest visiting some of the wineries and taking a drive up along the Douro River. Fall is the prettiest time for this region, but it’s impressive at any time.

Stop at Bucaco Forest (sorry, don’t know how to make the cedilla), which is very nice, and have lunch at the old castle on the grounds, which is now a hotel/restaurant.

Be prepared for a lack of public toilets in Portugal. They’ve never really managed to grasp the concept of tourism.

In and around Lisbon are many castles, walled cities, and hilltop towns such as Obidos and Marvao. The old Moorish castle is interesting. Visit the Jeronimos Monastery and the Belem Castle in Belem, on the train on the outskirts of Lisbon. There is a bakery in Belem famous for a pastry called “Pasteis Do Belem”. Ask a local where it is.

Food in Lisbon is spotty, unless you are a fan of salted cod. Bread, wine and cheese rule the day, IMO. Portugal makes some of the best red wines in Europe. Forget the whites, and for Og’s sake stay away from the exports like Mateus and Lancers, although the Mateus estate is picturesque. Visit a grocery store and pick up outstanding red wines for very little money. If you can find a round of a goat cheese called ‘Quejo da Serra’, grab it. Buy some paozinho (little bread rolls) at a corner bakery and you’ve got a feast. Some dishes to try might be ‘pasteis de bacalhao’ (pronounced bah cahl yow), bacalhao a braz, and caldo verde (a soup).

Visit the Alfama District for a look at old Lisbon; make sure to visit Sao Jorge Castle while there. The Port Wine Institute is on Rua São Pedro de Alcântara (connects to the street where I used to live) in the Bairro Alto District and is worth a visit to try the really fine ports. While in Bairro Alto, visit the so-called Fado District. This is very touristy, but it has some decent restaurants. In the Chiado District, have an espresso at the Brasileira coffee shop where the poet Fernando Pessoa used to hang out. His statue is in front on the square and this is an extremely popular meet and chat place for Lisbon urbanites.

That’s a start. Enjoy!

5

Chefguy and Nava,

Do either of you know if there are cooking classes available that I might attend (offered in English)? Or a way to find classes? I’ve seen a lot of culinary tours offered, but these tend to be 8 days in lengh and cost of 1000euros. I’d really like to get some lessons while I’m over there.

Thanks for the help!

6

Don’t know any, but there are several cooking schools in Barcelona, all of which double up as restaurants. The Hofmann school offers short courses, 1-2 days, but I don’t know if you’ll be able to find anything in English.

Most cooks will be perfectly happy to share recipes or even, if the kitchen isn’t too busy and knowing you want to become a chef, give you a tour. Try being nice to the cook in your hotel :smiley: Among other things, it’s a place where somebody is bound to speak English! (or a reasonably similar language)

You can get cookbooks in English relatively easy, specially in a big town. In Barcelona, check out Happy Books. I got my Big Fat English Dictionary there, 11lb worth of it for less than $10. There is one on Passeig de Gracia and one in Pelai, very close to Plaza Catalonia.

7

No idea. We took classes from the cook at the embassy, but that was years ago. I might be able to find out, though. When are you going?

8

I land in Barcelona on May 10th and plan to spend a couple of days there. I fly out of Lisbon on the 19th.

9

I’ve sent an email to someone who stays in touch with us. Email is unreliable back and forth from there, but I’ll pass on any info she sends.

10

I’m not a local, but the place is Pasteis de Belem and they have a website (though only in Portuguese). It’s very close to the Jeronimos Monastery and I’ll second the recommendation of them both.

11

I live in Lisbon but I don’t have much to add to Chefguy’s excellent suggestions.

Since you only have 9 days maybe you should avoid the long route through Algarve, although you might like to try the local cuisine, if you enjoy seafood. It’s not expensive during the low season. Get some recommendations first from the hotel or the locals. If you want to learn some recipes, flattery will get you a long way. I wouldn’t mention I’m a cook, but that’s just me.

If you come to Lisbon you should visit Sintra, it’s 50km from the city but it’s worth it. Beautiful scenery. It’s the last place in Portugal unspoiled by savage housing development. The whole trip along the coastline from the center of the city to Sintra through Cascais is nice to do by car (avoid rush hour and be warned that drivers are less than civil here). There are many beaches with some nice bars and restaurants near the sea.

You might also like to visit Sesimbra (across the Tagus river from Lisbon) for some fresh fish dishes. Beautiful natural sights around this area too, although unfortunately still recovering from last summer’s fires.

Be sure to go to a good steakhouse too, I’ve never had steak in Europe like I do here, IMO of course.

12

If you’re at all interested in modern art, there’s a fantastic Salvador Dali museum here, plus the excellent Guggenheim in Bilbao as someone already mentioned.

The Dali museum is actually a few miles NE of Barcelona (about 1 hour’s drive IIRC), and big enough to be worth seeing but small enough to leave Barca in the morning, look round it, and then hop over to Bilbao on a sleeper train for the Guggenheim the next day. FWIW, I’m not at all interested in art, but found both places fascinating.

13

The Dali museum is fascinating, yes. Dali had a lot of fun doing what he did, and it shows. With other modern artists (Miró, Tàpies) you have no idea what is it you’re looking at. Dali’s work is weird but understandable. Disney’s movie Dumbo was written by a team of Spanish writers, who were in contact with Dali when he was in the States: the pink elephants sequence is said to be his idea.

And there’s guided daytrips offered to Figueres from Barcelona (aka Barna, aka BCN, aka Barnacity - but this last one only to people who like comic books…). Barça is only the sports team :slight_smile:

We went to Bilbao on Holy Saturday and the place was so packed that we decided to skip it. There are always two exhibits at Guggenheim (aka the doghouse): the big one right now is on Aztec art. Just looking at the building itself is cool, too, specially if you get a sunny day and the Museo de Bellas Artes nearby has some primo paintings (including several small Grecos, a Raphael). The big buildings across the ria (estuary) from Guggenheim are Deusto University.

I’ll be in Barna May 13 to 16, so it looks like we’re crossing. Pity!

  • The doghouse nickname for Guggen Bilbao was born even before it was opened. There is a permanent exhibit right in front of the door called Puppy, a huge dog sculpture which doubles up as a garden. The flowers get changed every three months and people can sign up to help with the planting. And well, this is in a town where the soccer stadium (St Mamés) is aka The Cathedral and people call water from the ría Bilbao Champagne with a straight face. So having a huge Puppy with a titanium doghouse makes perfect sense.
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:smack:

15

First off, thanks to every one, these posts have been unbelievably helpful.

Secondly, I’ve narrowed down my trip to the following path:

Barcelona (figueres) – 2 days
San Sebastian (bilbao) – 1 day
Galacia – 1 day
Porto – 2 day
Lisbon (sintra, evora) – 3 day

My new concern is how to get from San Sebastian, to Galacia, and then down to Porto. Does anyone have any suggestions?

16

One piece of advice for Sintra: take a torch.

Why? Because I found that one of the most memorable sites in the area is the Quinta da Regaleira. The underground labyrinths are one of the strangest features of what’s a deliberately strange garden, but there’s no lighting in them. This means that you can recreate the experience of trying to find your way through them groping in the dark. A more sensible approach, perhaps, would be to have a torch handy.

If it helps, my experience as a tourist in Sintra and Evora was that the first required at least a day and a half, while I felt that a day was enough to see round the latter.

17

No answer from Anabela, so I’m assuming that my email once again disappeared into the ether. If you are still interested in cooking, you might try stopping by the Amoreiras shopping mall. They may have something.

18

Thansk for the attempt, much appreciated. With only 9 days there I probably won’t waste too much of that in a cooking class, but I’ll certainly keep an eye out.

Does anybody know how available internet access is over there? I must admit I’m a bit of an adict so I’m hoping for a few high-speed-cafes…