Once again, I was looking for exciting places to visit in Dec – Jan, some place which would allow me to escape the Toronto freezing temperatures and have lot more than just beaches. Portugal, with 10 – 18 C day temperatures, treasure of historical monuments (some dating back to the Roman times), beautiful cities and great food, seemed to be the perfect destination. On further research, I realized that there were a lot of sights to see in smaller towns which would best be covered by a car, such as Obidos, Fatima and Alcobaca on the drive between Sintra and Porto or Miranda do Douro, Salamanca and Avila between Porto and Madrid or Toledo and Cordoba on the way from Madrid to Seville.

Initially i settled for 4-5 destinations in Portugal but once I decided to rent a car, covering part of Spain seemed very much within reach. The itinerary started taking shape now.

Itinerary :

Toronto to Lisbon

Lisbon (2 nights) – Sintra (1 night) – Obidos – Alcobaca – Fatima – Porto ( 2 nights) – Miranda do duoro – Salamanca – Avila – Madrid (2 nights) – Toledo (1night) – Cordoba – Seville ( 1 night) – Lagos ( 1 night) – Evora (1 night) – Setubal – Lisbon ( 1 night)

Lisbon to Toronto