“Come on, just a few more steps,” Dougie encouraged me as we negotiated the narrow cobbled streets of the old Alfama district of Lisbon, heading for our hotel, Solar do Castelo. Positive words, the sort I would have used on our son in the past, either as a grumpy toddler or listless teen. One last ditch effort: I put a sprint on as we turned the corner and spotted the front door of the hotel. Hunting out the keys – yes, I know, I never put them in the same place in my bag – we soon eased the door open and found sanctuary in this exquisite home from home.
It had been a long but very satisfying day exploring Lisbon for the first time and, in truth, we could have made things easier for ourselves by catching Tram 28 or the little 737 bus which would have taken us most of the way. But walking was good, and we’d already built up our stamina from similar climbs in the hilly cities of Porto and Coimbra, earlier in the week.
We had chosen this holiday, On the Waterfront, organised by Inntravel, as we were both keen for some of the decisions to be taken out of our hands for once. How lovely not to have to trawl TripAdvisor searching for the perfect hotel within our budget or spend hours deciding what might be worth seeing in each city. Inntravel chose the hotels and also booked our rail tickets for the connecting journeys between Porto and Coimbra and then Coimbra to Lisbon. We did book our own flights but actually Inntravel could have done this too and then it would have been even easier. The package involved two nights in each city but we preferred an extra night in both Porto and Lisbon: Inntravel were happy to make the arrangements.
Inntravel are specialists in Slow travel so they provide guests with maps and detailed walking trails which unwrap a more authentic holiday. You may know the company as providers of walking and cycling holidays where they take your luggage from one destination to the next, while you concentrate, unhindered, on the delights of the trail. I hadn’t appreciated the number of packages they have on offer and this one, involving rail travel, seemed a great way to see three Portuguese cities – although we took our own cases from city to city (just in case you thought there was a porter with us the entire time!)
There are so many memories buzzing around my head at the moment, I’m not quite sure where to start. I want to tell you more about our tour and tasting at Graham’s port lodge and our slightly tipsy walk back to the hotel. I can’t wait to share the meal we had in Coimbra, celebrating the love story of Portugal’s famous lovers, Pedro and Inês. And there’s all the Pasteis de Nata (delicious Portuguese custard tarts) we managed to devour almost every day. It was a holiday filled with a great deal of good food and an awful lot of wine.
It’s just as well we had plenty of walking to do…
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Each city deserves its own post so I can share all the wonderful things we experienced, but to whet your appetite, I think it’s only fair I give you a glimpse of what’s to come by way of a few photographs.
Dom Luis I bridge in Porto. The yellow boat is one of many Barcos rabelos which are regular sights along the river Douro in Porto. They were used in the past to transport the barrels of port along the river.
Three of the six glasses of port we tasted on our tour of Graham’s Port Lodge.
Stumbling upon an honorary degree ceremony in Coimbra was a treat. Check out the headgear!
Inntravel reminded us to look up as often as possible so we wouldn’t miss buildings like this one.
Sleep time, Portuguese style.
Inntravel (inntravel.co.uk 01653 617000) offers On the Waterfront, a walking and rail discovery of Portugal’s three great cities, Lisbon, Coimbra & Porto from £580pp based on two sharing including 6 nights’ B&B in 4-star hotels, self-guided city walking tours, and rail journeys Lisbon to Coimbra & Coimbra to Porto. Available 2 January-24 December. Flights (cost extra) into Lisbon and out Porto. The holiday can be taken in the opposite direction, flying into Porto and out Lisbon.
Disclosure: We booked our own holiday with Inntravel but were offered a discount in exchange for a review of the trip. All opinions are my own.
What a great idea to visit 3 cities in one trip and the walking tour is a great idea especially at this time of year when it’s not too hot. Thanks for sharing with #mondayescapes
Exactly – museums and galleries are quieter too in the low season. The temperature at the end of January was about 14-16 degrees and when the sun shines it’s lovely.
Oooh looking forward to your future posts! I’m already intrigued! #MondayEscapes
I’d best get a move on then!
Ok, so I want to read everything about your trip! I have been wanting to visit Portugal for a long time. I want to visit Lisbon for sure but would like to add Porto too. I like to walk too when I visit Europe. Have to admit that sometimes I over do it. #MondayEscapes
I think you’ll love Portugal, Ruth. Very easy to visit these cities by train too – an efficient, good value service. They are great cities to walk around, despite being hilly, but it’s easy to go too far when walking and then you remember you have to get back.
Glad I’m not the only one who occasionally misplaces keys (ahem). Lisbon is on my must see list; it seems to be very popular recently, sometimes I think I must be the only person left to visit! #Mondayescapes
It does seem popular lately – maybe that’s why I booked the holiday, the images had seeped into my mind!
Sounds like a great travel service! Good to have so much organised for you every now and then. Looking forward to hearing more about your trip Trish. I loved Porto but have yet to visit the other two cities. #mondayescapes
It made it very relaxing and reassuring too. But still allowed us to do what we wanted to during the day – the trails were just suggestions and my husband, in particular, liked to go off piste!
Loved my time in Portugal and look forward to reading about your travels there, particularly Coimbra which I thought was a charming city. But you’re not wrong, there sure are a lot of hills to climb in those cities. #mondayescapes
We did love Coimbra. We had the better weather in Porto, which made for better photographs, but the university city was a delight. I have strong leg muscles now!
I’ve been reading about slow travel recently. The idea of a tour company dealing with your luggage while you just focus on enjoyment is sooo tempting. Your social media posts on this trip have convinced me that I really need to visit Portugal – and I’ll check out Inntravel too. Any company that offers port tasting as part of its package has to be a winner! #MondayEscapes
This package was perfect for us as we could do what we liked each day, follow the trail or not, book a port tour if we wished, try out suggested restaurants too. But lovely to have hotels chosen – and all three were exceptional in their own way.
I am tempted to try a walking holiday with Inntravel – just to see if I can beat my luggage to the next hotel 😉
I love the idea of slow travel and essentially that is what we do with our girls but it never feels like that. We are always rushing to catch up 🙂 This sounds like a great way to see the three cities and, with all the wonderful food and wine, exactly the way I’d like to experience Portugal for the first time. Thanks for linking up with #MondayEscapes
I think it’s a lot easier without children, though not impossible! It was great to have some guidance but we didn’t have to stick to it. I’m glad we added some extra days on because that slowed things down even more: it was so worth it to see the best in Porto and Lisbon.
Very interesting post. What a fascinating city.
The three cities each had something to offer but all were beautiful and all built on hills!
It looks just gorgeous! I am liking the sound of Inn Travel quite a lot. I spend far too much time trawling when someone else could be doing it! 😀
Me too – it sounds like a good idea to have every option available but sometimes it can be bewildering. It was good to feel looked after by a company who knew their stuff!