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day trips from porto Douro Valley landscape

Travel Bloggers Share: Day Trips From Porto

October 18, 2018 Kathleen Poon Destinations, Portugal

If you don’t have a lot of time to explore a country in-depth, day trips from cities is the best way to discover smaller towns or the countryside, and Portugal is no exception. Continuing from my last blog post on Porto, there are plenty of day trips available from this northern city so much so that I had a tough time deciding which one to choose. I had contemplated a historical and cultural day trip to Braga, a city of grand baroque buildings and Gothic churches, or a cruise through the Douro Valley to explore its famous wine region. I

Downtown Food Tour Taste Porto

October 2, 2018 Kathleen Poon Destinations, Portugal

Porto is one of Europe’s food mecca, and you have to experience its lip-smacking gastronomy by going for a food tour. Food tours in Porto introduce you to their local markets, petiscos (small plates) of seafood variety, meat sandwiches, sweets and pastries, and allow you to wash down morsels of food with lots of wine – naturally. I had signed up for the Downtown Food Tour with Taste Porto a year ago, and I remembered the food tour being one of my best activities in Porto. Led by a knowledgeable and fun guide and along with six travellers from the

ten unmissable activities when you visit porto azulejos sao bento railway station

10 Unmissable Activities When You Visit Porto

May 18, 2018 Kathleen Poon Destinations, Portugal

The second largest city in Portugal – Porto – has always been a historic mercantile city and till today, is a busy industrial and commercial centre. Located in the north, Porto is not too far from Lisbon – only two and a half hours by train – and yet the two cities are contrasting in many ways. There has been a longstanding rivalry between the two cities that locals from Porto often joke, “In Porto, we work, so Lisbon can spend” 😊 Porto seems to be not only more industrious but also more traditional and yet bohemian. Still, the city

Travel Bloggers Share: Best Places to Stay in Lisbon

March 23, 2018 Kathleen Poon Destinations, Portugal

Throughout my 4-day visit to Lisbon last year, I stayed with a friend in a suburb called Odivelas which was a twenty-minute commute by metro to the city centre. I didn’t spend time researching on where to stay, and so, I have no personal recommendations or reviews on accommodations in Lisbon. However, I have gathered a list of accommodations based on personal recommendations from 13 travel bloggers. Depending on your budget and preferences, here’s a fairly good selection of hostels, hotels and an apartment in Lisbon for you to consider and to choose from: *Read: Discover Lisbon with Lisboa Card

travel guide to fatima portugal sanctuary of our lady of fatima upon arrival

Travel Guide to Fátima, Portugal – The Apparitions of the Virgin Mary in 1917

March 13, 2018 Kathleen Poon Destinations, Portugal

Catholics around the world have heard about Fátima in Portugal as it is one of the major pilgrimage centres in Europe, after Lourdes in France. Fátima is a small non-descript town of 8,000 people but the town swells with millions of devotees arriving for the annual pilgrimage seasons of 12-13 May and 12-13 October. Why is Fátima a pilgrimage site? Fátima is a pilgrimage site for Catholics as this is where the miraculous apparitions of the Virgin Mary happened in 1917. On 13 May 1917 at noon, three little shepherds – Lucia aged 10, and her cousins Francisco and Jacinta aged

Sintra – Day Trip from Lisbon

March 6, 2018 Kathleen Poon Destinations, Portugal

Sintra is a picturesque town on the foothills of Serra de Sintra and is known for its medieval palaces and whimsical castles which were homes to Portugal’s monarchs and are now UNESCO World Heritage sites. Sintra is a popular destination for day-trippers from Lisbon as its distance is only 25km west of Lisbon. Day-trippers can travel to Lisbon for thirty minutes by car or forty-five minutes by train. While it’s convenient to drive to Sintra, traffic can get heavy due to its narrow streets and limited parking spaces. Bus services to Sintra are available but the journey is longer than

Ibis Coimbra Centro Hotel – Review

December 17, 2017 Kathleen Poon Destinations, Portugal

When it comes to choosing the right hotel accommodation, it is a matter of three things: affordability, facilities and location. Luxury hotels might be out of reach for some of us which then leaves us with boutique and budget hotels or hostels. Boutique hotels are springing up like mushrooms in nearly every city but after some time, they might lose their sparkle, not being able to upkeep their maintenance and facilities. Hostels are definitely not suitable for business travellers or for those travelling with families. However, there is one trusted brand which has appealed to all groups of travellers –

Student Life and Fado in Coimbra

December 13, 2017 Kathleen Poon Destinations, Portugal

Halfway between Lisbon and Porto in the central region of Portugal is a medieval city called Coimbra. Perched on a hill overlooking the Mondego River, Coimbra (pronounced as kweembra) flourished under Moorish rule for over 300 years until the Christians ousted them in the 11th century. Coimbra was the medieval capital of Portugal from 1139 to 1255 until Afonso III decided to move the capital to Lisbon. *Read: Discover Lisbon with Lisboa Card Coimbra is also Portugal’s equivalent of Cambridge or Oxford, renowned for its university – Universidade de Coimbra – the oldest and most distinguished university in the country.

Discover Lisbon with Lisboa Card

November 26, 2017 Kathleen Poon Destinations, Portugal, Travel Guides

Portugal has never been viewed as an exciting European holiday destination until recently. Previously overshadowed by major players of European tourism such as France, Germany and Italy, Portugal – or rather its capital city, Lisbon – has had been a short detour for most tourists travelling in Spain. But Lisbon is now one of the hottest new destinations that offers a rich and varied history, lively nightlife and mostly sunny weather all-year round. Sitting on seven hills, Lisbon is a treasure chest of historical monuments and grand plazas. To discover a city like Lisbon, you will invariably spend some amount