How to travel from Spain to Portugal. Ready route through Spain and Portugal. So, the main points of our route

Lisbon and Cape Roca, that is, the capital of Portugal and the westernmost cape of the Eurasian continent, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. The poet Luis Camões, known to us mainly thanks to the film “Pokrovsky Gates,” said about Cape Roca that “this is the place where the land ends and the sea begins.”
Madrid and Barcelona, the capital of Spain and the capital of Catalonia, respectively, are a port city on the Mediterranean Sea, the largest industrial and commercial center, the city of the 1992 Olympics, glorified by Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballe.

What should you do beyond the regular program?

Leaving the car in the parking lot, go underground and take a ride on the Lisbon metro, where there are many interestingly arranged and decorated stations. An all-day pass costs just over 10 euros.
Have lunch at the Mercado de Ribeira, a huge market in the center of Lisbon where you can find food for every taste.
In Barcelona, see not only the Sagrada Familia, but also visit the old train station Estacio de Franca. At least to appreciate its beauty. And find something Gaudian in it.
On August 17 of this year, Barcelona's Rambla street turned into the site of a tragedy: terrorists killed 17 people and injured 100. Stand silently for one minute at the intersection with Plaza Catalunya.
Rise to the snows of the Sierra Nevada to visit the southernmost European ski resort. So in one trip you can combine swimming in the sea and skiing or snowboarding. And this is in Spain, not in!

You can rent a car directly at the airport even without prior reservation. But it’s better, of course, to study rentalcars.com and choose a car in advance. That is, determine its class. There is no point in choosing a make and model. Cunning distributors will give out what is available. And they will definitely try to transfer you to a more expensive car.

What you should know about

When traveling abroad, it is worth stocking up on an international driver's license, which can now be obtained through the MFC. But in reality, rental companies rarely require it. And the traffic police will stop you in an extraordinary case - if you drive backwards on the freeway, swerve on the road or rush headlong.

Before your trip, you need to study, at least in general terms, the traffic rules of the country where you are going. Did you know, for example, that in Spain it is illegal to drive bare-chested, wear flip-flops, or drink water while driving? By the way, don’t rush to rejoice after returning the car to a rental office - the fine may catch up with you at home, by mail. And you have to pay it if you want to come to the country again and get behind the wheel.

To avoid incurring additional costs when renting a car, carefully study the contract before signing it. Please note that there may be overlapping insurance policies. But full coverage is worth leaving in any case. To avoid paying for a navigator, which can cost as much as the car itself and which you simply cannot do without in a foreign country, download local maps to your smartphone or tablet at home. It is better to take a child seat, which is also very expensive to rent, from home. Or maybe buy it on the spot. To paraphrase Suvorov, the city is cunning. And also cars for rent.

It is important to study not only the traffic rules, but also the parking rules in the countries where you are going. In short, parking spaces marked with blue markings are paid. There is a parking meter somewhere nearby. Stock up on coins. The machine may not accept banknotes or credit cards. Green or orange markings give priority to residents. Visitors will also have to pay for parking. Free parking is marked with white markings. Try to look for just such places. But in the center of Barcelona, for example, there are none at all.
It is faster to drive on toll roads (in Spain - A, AP, R or simply autopista) - straight and with a speed limit of 100–120 km/h. At payment points, occupy the lanes marked with a coin, banknote or bank card icon if you do not have a transponder. But there are always free alternatives to toll roads - N (autovia) roads. Naturally, you drive along them much more slowly, because there are many intersections and traffic lights and they are not straight, but winding. But the more interesting the journey becomes!

Even though you have a car at your disposal, be prepared to walk a lot, including stairs. Attractions are usually concentrated in historical city centers, where if there are parking spaces, they are usually paid, and even those are occupied by locals. Use public transport. It is very well developed in both Portugal and Spain. By the way, it’s better to look at the famous Lisbon trams from the outside: they are crowded with tourists from morning until late evening. If you want to get to know the old trams better, go to Porto, 300 km from Lisbon, where the tram museum is located.
If the car disappeared from the parking lot, it was most likely towed away. In this case, you will have to contact the municipal police. If you are just planning to evacuate, you may be able to negotiate payment of a fine on the spot or even get off with a warning. However, it is better not to take risks and carefully look at all the signs and read the information signs. If you don’t speak languages, you should use an online translator. Remember that the fines are large and it is inconvenient to pay them.

Despite their geographical proximity, these countries are different and diverse. Even in Spain alone there are 17 regions whose residents pretend that they do not understand either the language of their neighbors or the principles of their life. Northerners scold lazy southerners, Westerners do not agree with those living in the East. The usual story.
The borders between EU countries are practically invisible, and you can have breakfast in Portugal and dinner in Spain, or vice versa.
The length of the coast of Portugal is 1793 km. And this country is five times smaller than neighboring Spain. If you only have a few days at your disposal, do not try to embrace the immensity and visit all the places indicated in the guidebooks. If you are in a hurry all the time, you will not get pleasure and, moreover, you will not be able to relax. Plan no more than three sites to visit each day, and devote the rest of the time to free walks. There will be something to see another time when you return.

One of the best shops for Portuguese wines is Garrafeira Nacional in Lisbon. It is located on the same street as the Santa Justa elevator, but a little higher, at number 18.

If we exclude “dust collectors”, from Spain I would advise bringing wine, olive oil and, of course, jamon - dried pork leg. Moreover, it is better to buy the simplest (unripe) and inexpensive jamon in a regular supermarket (for example, Mercadona), asking the seller to saw off the hoof to make it easier to put the delicacy in the suitcase. There, in the store, the jamon will be packed in several layers for transportation on the plane.

But if you are a connoisseur of beauty and love music, or want to give an unforgettable, expensive gift to a musician, buy a flamenco guitar made by one of the local craftsmen.

Where and what is

Oh, I could write a poem on this topic. However, I will say it briefly. When preparing to travel to these countries, tune in to the local cuisine, with an abundance of fruits, vegetables, seafood and meat dishes. Choose those establishments where mostly locals sit. These are usually located away from tourist routes. Don’t be embarrassed if you are served a menu without pictures - you can ask the waiter to show the dish “live”. In any case, what you are served will be both edible and tasty. Don't disdain Spanish snacks - tapas. You can already eat a decent amount of them. But, of course, it’s still worth trying gazpacho soup, paella, and the ubiquitous pizza.

By the way, sometimes you may have to resort to fast food to reduce waits in restaurants and costs. And treat the children to ice cream. It is very tasty, especially in Lisbon. It is also worth enjoying the famous Portuguese pastel basket cakes.

Where to live

As with food, everyone chooses according to their own taste and budget. If you are coming for a day or two, it is better to stay in a hotel; if you are coming for a couple of weeks, or even months, you should consider apartments that can be found on booking.com or (better) on airbnb.ru. But in this case, you will have to plan your routes so that you return to your place of residence every day or at least every other day.

Route for a trip to Andalusia: Malaga - Granada - Jaén - Cordoba - Seville

Length: 750 km
Travel time: days
Points inspected: 20
Spent (for two): 347 euros
Gasoline: 55 euros
Hotel: 72 euros
Lunches and dinners: 150 euros
Museums and other attractions: 20 euros
Souvenirs: 50 euros

I have long been planning to ride buses in the southwestern part of Spain. All my previous trips to Spain took place around Valencia. I wanted something new. So in the spring I planned a route from Madrid to Seville via Cordoba. During the journey, a spontaneous idea arose to add Portugal: only in Seville I decided that why not go to the sea in Albufeira, and since I was already in Albufeira, I should stop by Lisbon... Well, as it usually happens: step by step, city after city. The result was a short trip through Spain and Portugal, with the following route: – Cordoba – Seville – Albufeira – Lisbon – Coimbra – Salamanca – Madrid.

Bus route plan

On the map: bus route in Spain and Portugal

The route was designed so that you could spend 2-3 days in each city, but at the same time, the bus journeys would not be tiring, that is, spend no more than 5 hours on the road. I rode buses throughout Spain and the south of Portugal, visiting 7 cities in succession. It turned out to be a great and varied trip: relaxing by the sea, walking along ancient streets, romantic Lisbon, beautiful parks, magnificent views. I recommend it to all independent travelers :)
The only thing to make this route cheaper is to buy hotels and tickets in advance, and not the day before departure.

I'll tell you in more detail how it all turned out.

Two days in Madrid

I set aside a couple of days to relax and walk around the city. Arrived in Madrid in the evening. It’s good that I read in advance - from terminal T1 I took an express bus - 30 minutes straight to the Atocha railway station. I was glad that I chose housing near the metro - I didn’t want to wander around in an unfamiliar area in the evening.

To my surprise, I did not find any flights from Madrid to Cordoba for the popular Spanish bus company Alsa. So I bought tickets for the company bus Socibus right at the bus station. For some reason it failed on the Socibus website. Ticket price 18 euros.

In the photo: tourists buy tickets for the Socibus bus at the Madrid bus station

On the day of departure, I got to the bus station by metro - first on the blue line to the Pacifico station, then on the gray line to the Mendez Alvaro station. The bus started on schedule. We drove to Cordoba for about 5 hours with one 15-minute stop. As it turned out, Socibus is quite a good company. True, there were no built-in TVs in the bus interior like in Alsa.

In the photo: a Socibus bus traveling on the route Madrid - Cordoba

Two days in Cordoba

We arrived in Cordoba around 16-00. The bus station is located on the map. Directly opposite it, across the road is the railway station. Comfortable!

Even before the trip, I booked a room at the Serrano Hotel. I chose the hotel because of its convenient location - no more than 10 minutes from the station. For those who travel through Cordoba by bus and train, this is the best option. We checked in very quickly, although we were given a room with a window onto the patio. However, for a couple of days this is not a problem, considering the price.

In the photo: a walk through the historical part of Cordoba, Spain

Cordoba turned out to be a very interesting town, elegant white streets, many flowers, wonderful shops and souvenir shops.

Photo: Cordoba is famous for its floral street decorations

It's interesting to just walk the streets and take pictures.

In the middle of the day, many establishments were closed, but I wandered around the old part of the city, and came out to the river and the Roman bridge.

In the photo: Roman Bridge in Cordoba

As I found out later, it is best to go to this bridge in the evening, when it is effectively illuminated. Sorry the photos didn't turn out.

In the photo: a pastry shop selling turron in Cordoba

If you're in Cordoba, be sure to try the local turron - these are slabs of nougat and fried nuts. The recipes are different, but all turrons are very tasty. I took a few with me on the road.

I couldn’t find any bus tickets with normal prices and departure times from Cordoba. Probably the fact is that I started looking for tickets on the eve of departure. Therefore, I went to Seville not by bus, but by Renfe train. I bought tickets directly at the railway station from a ticket machine for 13.55 euros. The train from Cordoba to Seville takes 1 hour 20 minutes.

Seville - the birthplace of flamenco and bullfighting

The route from Cordoba to Seville was made by train. So I arrived in Seville at the Santa Justa train station. This station is on the map.

From the railway station I took bus 21 to the final stop - Plaza de Armas station. I walked from there to the hotel, using a navigator to navigate the labyrinths of old Saville. Once again I was glad that I was traveling with little luggage.

In the photo: reception of the Zaida Hotel in Seville, Spain

Albufeira - a resort in Portugal on the ocean

Pictured: Sete Rios bus station in Lisbon

In Lisbon, as it turns out, finding a good and inexpensive hotel or hostel is very difficult. But I was lucky - friends who had already visited Lisbon advised me to stay at Lisbonera Guest House. The owner of the hostel, Ricardo, spoke in detail about the different bars in the area and gave out a map with an almost complete one-day route around Lisbon :)

In the photo: a room in the Lisbonera hostel, in Lisbon

In terms of location, it’s certainly not the center of Lisbon, but it’s even better. Quiet area, close to the metro, excellent park and supermarkets. All my hikes in Lisbon started from Parque Eduardo and ended at the Pargue metro station.

In the photo: view of Lisbon from Eduardo VII Park

Lisbon turned out to be a completely limitless and multi-level city, despite the fact that every day I walked from 10 to 16 kilometers along it.

In the photo: view of the Fortress of St. George, Lisbon

Now I know that 4 days in Lisbon is catastrophically short. It would be nice to live in Lisbon for a month (just not in the summer), and not in a hotel, but in good apartments. Visit different bars and coffee shops. In general, I already have Lisbon planned for the next season.

In the photo: Figueira Square in Lisbon

Coimbra is a small but very cozy student town north of Lisbon. It’s strange that before this trip I had never even heard of this city before. The town is beautiful, with a river and good parks.

In the photo: view of the river in Coimbra

I walked from the station to the hotel - 15 minutes in a straight line. I stayed at the small and pleasant hotel “Vitoria”. It is very close to the Coimbra A train station, and very close to the historical quarter of Coimbra.

In the photo: Hotel “Vitoria” in Coimbra

I liked everything about the hotel, although I wanted to get a room with a view of the embankment, like in the picture, but it was not possible. But overall, it’s a clean and cozy hotel. Next time I'm in Coimbra, I'll stay here.

Coimbra has two distinct parts – old and new. Tourists see only the historical part of the city with the university and the botanical garden, and tourists do not notice the new quarters because they are located behind the mountain.

In the photo: the most popular place among tourists is the Largo da Portagem square in Coimbra.

The oldest and largest university in Portugal is located here.

In the photo: graduates of the University of Coimbra

The blocks adjacent to the university look like the scenery for a film about Harry Potter and Hogwarts :)

In the photo: students in Coimbra, Portugal

Student fraternities are an important component of city life; at any time of the day, bands of new students run around Coimbra, performing some strange initiation rituals :) It’s all funny to watch.

My journey ends in Portugal, then Spain.

Pictured: ALSA bus from Coimbra to Salamanca

Two days later I left Coimbra for Salamanca in Spain by . Ticket price 35 euros. Travel time was about 4 hours with one 25-minute stop.

Salamanca, 2 days

The bus station in Salamanca is located.
To save time, in Salamanca I chose a hotel near the bus station - “Hostal Barcelona” - quite practical accommodation for the price. All rooms are located on the second floor. Despite the busyness of the place, I got a great night's sleep every night. The main advantages of the hotel are low price and excellent location.

Pictured: daily get-together at Plaza Mayor in Salamanca

I started my walk around Salamanca from Plaza Mayor. This is the center of Salamanca, there is always something going on here, either active tourists or students. By the way, the movie “Point of Fire” with Dennis Quaid was filmed on this square :)

In the photo: Salamanca Cathedral

The Cathedral of Salamanca is the main attraction and perhaps the largest Catholic building in all of Spain. However, most tourists admire not the size of the building, but the stone figurine of an astronaut, which restorers wove into the overall bas-relief at the entrance to the cathedral. If you're in Salamanca, you'll find it :)

In spring it is beautiful here, everything is in bloom.

Salamanca in spring. Spain

The walls of the university are decorated with patterns. It was interesting to look at the figures and details of the pattern, because... everything is different, not repeated.

In the photo: bas-reliefs on the wall of the university in Salamanca

On this wall of the university there is another task for tourists - to find a stone frog sitting on a skull. They say it helps students pass exams.

In the photo: near the University of Salamanca

The city has many small parks with beautiful views. If you are in Salamanca in April or May, be sure to find the place El Huerto de Calixto y Melibea - this is a park with many flowers and panoramic views of the city:

Salamanca in Spain: El Huerto de Calixto y Melibea – a park with an observation deck

In the evening, I advise you to wander around the Calle Latina area - you will find several excellent and inexpensive student bars.

In the photo: Roman bridge over the Tormes River in Salamanca

Also in Salamanca you should definitely walk along the old Roman Bridge, look at the ducks, show yourself :)

Two days in Salamanca flew by. And now - the final stretch Salamanca - Madrid on the AVANZA bus, tickets bought at the ticket office at the bus station for 14.30 euros.

The bus arrived in Madrid at the already familiar Estacion Sur bus station. Thus, my bus route through Spain and Portugal turned out to be neatly looped. I visited 7 cities in 16 days. This is such a self-guided bus tour!

Results and conclusions on the bus route in Europe

In the photo: the bus enters Lisbon

The total budget for transport was about 140 euros. A little expensive, but most of the tickets were bought right before the trip. If I had bought tickets in advance, this amount could have been halved.

Here are the conclusions I drew from my traveling around Spain and Portugal by bus:

Different bus companies are optimal for each region. To clearly select bus route segments, have on hand for different European countries.
You need to find out in advance the location of the arrival bus station and, if the bus station is in the city, then find a hotel nearby so that you have more time to explore the city.
You always need a smartphone with a navigator.
It is useful to register in the ALSA+ program on the website alsa.es - bonuses will be awarded for each trip, which can then be used to pay for tickets.
In small towns in Portugal, bus tickets can be purchased at bus station ticket offices and the schedule can be viewed on websites.
It is always useful to have cash with you, small change up to 10 euros, for a city bus.

Rating: 4.82/5. Total votes: 11

In April-May 2016 we were on vacation in Portugal. But, while planning the route, it became clear that going to Portugal is many times cheaper through Spain (that is, flying to Madrid, renting a car there and driving through half of Spain to Portugal). Renting a car at Madrid airport also turned out to be 3 times cheaper than renting it at the airport in Lisbon or Porto.
Thus, it was decided to go through Spain and at the same time visit Andalusia. We rent a car (click on the link): select the city, dates and requirements for the car and compare prices. Basic requirements that you should pay attention to: mileage included, where the car is provided (for example, right at the airport, or someone will meet you and take you to the office), what insurance is included, automatic or manual transmission, number of people seated, number doors. Everything else is highly variable, especially the make of the selected car. It will almost never correspond to what was ordered)))
And we look at the best tickets to Madrid using this wonderful calendar (of course, the prices are the most pleasant; by the way, the weather in Seville in January is very comfortable):

So, the main points of our route:

1. We arrive in Madrid. We immediately take a car and go to a hotel located along the route of our trip. This is not the first time we have stayed in the Getafe area. In general, there are decent hotels in this area at very economical prices. This time we stop at Holiday Inn Express Madrid-Getafe and for 50 euros/night we get a decent room with breakfast, free parking and a Carrefour hypermarket around the corner. By the way, there is also a good shopping center called Getafe The Style Outlets, where only locals live. We there too either buy something essential like T-shirts or socks for every day, and definitely a SIM card in Orange with unlimited Internet throughout Spain and 2 GB in Europe (Mundo tariff).

Since this is Spain, it is necessary to purchase, firstly, baby supplies and food, and secondly, water and snacks. This is not the first time we have been traveling and we understand that with their siesta and real weekends (even hypermarkets are not open on Sunday and Monday or Saturday, it varies), it is easy to stay hungry.

2. We stop by Toledo. We have already been to this city and, to our misfortune, tried local marzipans and macaroons. And now we can’t eat them anywhere, anywhere in the world, except Toledo. So, of course, we stop by for some goodies.

Goodies are sold in the Old Town, in the Mazapan shop (link to Google maps). It’s also worth taking a walk in the Old Town - the Cathedral there is incredibly beautiful and of incredible size.

It is one of the largest in Spain. It houses many masterpieces - from paintings by El Greco, Caravaggio, Titian and other famous artists to outstanding examples of medieval jewelry.

3. Let's go to Cordoba and stay there for a couple of nights. We chose a hotel in the very center, from the windows of the room you could practically touch the walls of the Mezquita - Hotel Mezquita.

The hotel has simple rooms, but the lobby looks no more modest than the halls of the Hermitage or the Vatican Museum.

But along with the proximity to history - noisy celebrations under the windows until 3 am, the inability to get to the hotel (in a couple of places, and we were driving using Google navigator, we touched the walls of houses with both ears in a WV Polo car), it seems that we got into the camera and We are waiting for a fine. Accordingly, public paid expensive parking is a 10-15 minute walk from the hotel with suitcases.

Cordoba is an incredible city and we loved it. Here you must visit: the Mezquita, the Alcazar, the Roman Bridge (which has stood for 2100 years), the Old Town. We arrived on the eve of the Courtyard Festival, which takes place in May, so the whole city was charmingly decorated.

Not far from Cordoba (27 km) there is a very beautiful Spanish castle - Almodovar (Castillo de Almodovar del Rio). Follow the link for its location on Google Maps.

4. On the way to Seville we stop in a town Setenil de Las Bodegas. This is a town built in the mountains, or rather right in the rocks. There are several famous photos on the Internet where the roofs of houses are made of stones. That's where we went. The town is charming. It took us 2-3 hours to completely get around it (including the ascent and descent in the rocks). But, in principle, you can stay there for the night:

5. Rhonda- also passing through. Although it is worth staying overnight in this city. True, there are not a lot of budget hotels here. The city, hovering over an abyss in the mountains, was built at an altitude of 740 meters above sea level, and is very popular among tourists. The most famous and worthwhile attractions:

One of the oldest and largest bullfighting stadiums Plaza de Toros

Puente Nuevo- an 18th-century bridge 98 m high across the Guadalevin River, dividing the city into 2 parts, Old and New.

Arab baths (Baños Árabes)- a monument of the Moorish period in Ronda, which never belonged to the Moors. This is a Romanesque structure that imitated Arabic architecture.

6. Seville- here we stay for 2 days. Although the city is already large, touristy and even dirty. We check into the Pasarela Hotel across the street from the charming Plaza de España. Parking is free, breakfast is included. And on the square you can walk on warm Spanish evenings:

Also worth visiting in Seville:

Seville Cathedral and Alcazar. The famous Game of Thrones was filmed in the Alcázar de Sevilla. And on the dates of our stay in the city, they just started showing the new season. Twice we tried to get into the Alcazar gardens, but the queues were unbearable. I really regret that we didn’t get there:

Seville Cathedral- also among the largest in Europe. Here you can climb the bell tower (observation platform at an altitude of 114 meters):

A structure made of concrete and wood that stands out from its general surroundings, the Metropol Parasol ( Metropol Parasol) or Seville Mushrooms. At the bottom of this structure is a museum containing Roman and Moorish remains discovered during the construction of the site. And on the top (4th floor) there is a panoramic platform with a view of the whole of Seville:

Pilate's House (Casa de Pilatos)— the palace is a copy of the palace of Pontius Pilate. A very interesting place with a magnificent collection of Moorish mosaics in the interior. We spent probably 1.5 hours there:

7. Huelva) is a historical city almost on the very border with Portugal. It is notable for the fact that it was from here that Christopher Columbus went to America. This is where the Columbus Museum is located. (Muelle de las Carabelas) with a huge park, a monastery, and all kinds of entertainment. But on Mondays the museum is closed, we were only able to photograph the prototypes of the legendary sailing ships from afar. I was surprised how small they really are:

Well, that’s all, we’re driving across the long bridge into Portugal. The measured Spanish rhythm of life is replaced by a bustle similar to Russian. The roads are much worse, so there are tolls. Fuel is 25% more expensive than in Spain (30 euro cents). But supermarkets are almost always open and nutritional establishments are also open. This is the cry of the soul of a hungry independent tourist in Spain.

The south of Portugal is, first of all, incredibly beautiful beaches. We traveled the entire coast, and most of all we liked Portimão and Lagos for vacation. Both in terms of access to beautiful pictures and service in these cities

8. Portimao - we lived here for a couple of days and rode along the coast. There are many hotels and apartments along the beach. There are more interesting ones, but what is on booking.com is mediocre in terms of service (very reminiscent of Soviet sanatoriums), but at a reasonable price. We lived in an apartment on the first line, with windows overlooking the ocean, with parking for 5,000 rubles for two days. These sentences are most often spoken by Moldovans, or Russians, or Ukrainians. A lot of Russian speech. The locals are friendly and welcoming. And these are the pictures from the window:

The beaches are wide, the ocean is cool in May, but you can swim. There are a large number of sports grounds and, in principle, sports people. Again, very much in contrast to Spain, which is hooked on almost 24-hour fast food.

These areas are more expensive, but there are many delicious restaurants here. Russian speakers serve again. It’s almost like being at home, only the portions of the dishes are such that you couldn’t eat them alone:

9. We walk around Lagos and neighboring beaches. Clean, tidy city:

Beaches nearby:

10. Then we go to Lisbon - the city that everyone falls in love with. The Old Town is interesting here, where you can walk for hours, zigzagging around each block on foot. There are a lot of tourists here. There are many hotels to suit every taste, color and budget. We lived right next to the 25th of April Bridge - in this area parking is easier and it is easier to travel further to the north of Portugal.

Lisbon is worth staying for 3-4 days. We didn't visit much. We just walked around the city, despite the rain.

With children, you should definitely visit the Lisbon Aquarium in the Parc des Nations. There are also a lot of excellent reviews about the Lisbon Zoo, but we didn’t have time to go there.

11. Let's go to Sintra. This city is also a must visit. It is also a must to stay there for 2-3 days. Our mistake - we were passing through.

On the way to Cape Roca we pass very windy beaches and real Atlantic dunes:

Cape Roca is a significant place - the westernmost point of Europe. But from the picture, in our easternmost Russian places it’s exactly the same, only the transport and souvenir infrastructure is worse.

We hung out for 2-3 hours in Massona Monteiro's Quinta da Regaleira palace park. An interesting palace in the neo-Gothic style, a Catholic chapel and a huge park with fountains, grottoes, and lakes were built here. All sorts of riddles and Masonic symbols are scattered throughout the park.

I now have the famous photo of the well. Here you need to go through the grotto and climb through this well from “Hell to Heaven”. But for some reason, Russian guides lead Russians from top to bottom, interfering with the oncoming flow:

The famous Pena Palace, which we didn’t have time to visit because we took a walk in the Masonic Park:

Also worth a visit Moors Castle Castelo dos Mouros, built in the 9th century.

12. Let's go to Aveiro), where we stop for the night. And in the morning we walk around a very interesting city with mosaic houses:

This is the Portuguese Venice, where you can also ride gondolas. But after lunch, because in the morning there is no water in the canals.

The place to stay is the excellent Hotel Aveiro Palace with views of the canal and gondolas and a wonderful interior in a cozy English style:

When staying in Aveiro, you can’t help but stop in Praia da Costa Nova- this is a place with these cute striped houses. Initially, fishermen painted their houses this way. Later, this corporate style was supported by all the houses in the town:

And we are leaving Portugal. Few? Yes. But it’s enough to get to know the country.

What I collected about Portugal, but was not able to visit, I am attaching links to Google maps to make it easier to include these points in your routes:

- Évora - the city is interesting for its architecture. Here are the Catholic Cathedral and the preserved columns of the Roman Temple. There is also a Chapel of Bones, the interior walls of which are covered with human bones and skulls. In principle, you can route from Madrid to Lisbon through Évora.

Towns Estoril And Cascais-located 25 km from Lisbon. The party scene doesn't stop here: nice sandy beaches, cafes, restaurants (there are Michelin-starred ones), casinos, shopping. We drove past them. Nice towns. This is the Portuguese Riviera - many wealthy Europeans have villas and mansions here.

Also not far from Sintra (30 km) and simply a must visit - the city of Mafra and Mafra National Palace. This is a monastery, the largest palace and altar of the Portuguese kings. Next to the palace there is a nature reserve and a royal garden. They are also worth a visit.

Ericeira International Nature Reserve with the ten best beaches for this sport. They say Ericeira is second only to Malibu.

Monastery of Santa Maria da Vitoria ( Mosteiro da Batalha) is a Dominican monastery in the Gothic style, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The village of Monsanto - where residents have been living in houses built in boulders for the last centuries. The walls or roofs are made of stones. About the same as in Setenil in Spain. We really wanted to capture this point on our route. But they didn’t fit into the standard two-week vacation.

- Porto- does not require my description. Many people say that this city is much more interesting than Lisbon. I think we will definitely get there again.

- or stone house, which is present in all ratings of the most unusual houses. It was built from two boulders in 1974. It is located in the north of Portugal, you need to go there specifically, because there is nothing interesting nearby. The house is two-story, with stone furniture inside. The residents abandoned it because the idea of living in solitude did not justify itself - curious tourists were constantly breaking into the house.

And we cross the border with Spain, running into a queue at a gas station with fuel 25% cheaper. And to closed cafes and shops. There's nowhere to even buy coffee. Eh, Portugal relaxed.

13. We arrive at Salamanca. This is the highest capital of the Spanish provinces, located at an altitude of 1128 meters above sea level. It is surrounded by a fortress wall, erected in the 11th-14th centuries on the site of Roman and Arab fortifications. The length of the wall is 2.5 km. And inside the Old Town with the Cathedral, churches, cozy restaurants and cafes

15. Let's go to Madrid, spend the night and fly home the next day. This time we rented a hotel in the city center. And they realized that this was stupidity. Questionable service, dirty rooms, parties and noise under the windows all night, expensive parking (35 euros per day, barely found for 18 euros) a 10-minute walk with suitcases and a stroller from the hotel. I don't like Madrid. We are already old for him and are not ready to party like young people do. For us, this is exclusively the starting or ending point of our route.

In total, the entire route was 2365 km, 13 days of travel, visited 22 cities and plunged into 2 such different countries.

I think we will combine the north of Portugal (from Porto and everything north) with a trip to the north of Spain. Also worth a separate trip is Andalusia: Malaga, Cadiz, Granada and Almeria, with a visit to Gibraltar and possibly a trip to Morocco by ferry. By the way, do you know that there are Spanish cities in Morocco? The EU territory in Africa is Melilla and Ceuta. I really want to visit.

Lots of links about Spain

We flew to Madrid from St. Petersburg. Tickets for a direct flight with Iberia airline cost us only 7,800 rubles per person. We took it 3 weeks before departure. This is a very good option, we were very lucky here.

We had 3 full days in Madrid. We stayed at the JQC Rooms hostel, in the heart of Madrid, a 3-minute walk from Puerto del Sol Square. Behind 35 euros per day we had at our disposal a double room with a small balcony, refrigerator, microwave and fan. Showers and toilets were shared on the floor. Agree, very good.

In general, housing prices in Madrid were a pleasant surprise.
We arrived at 6 am, and check-in, as often happens, was only at 2 pm. Having contacted the hostel owners in advance, we found out that we could leave our suitcases at any time and calmly wait for check-in. That's what we did: we left our things and went for a walk.
In the first hours of our stay, Madrid shocked us. There was a lot of garbage all around, alcohol bottles, shoes stuck to the dirty asphalt, and there were a lot of absolutely inappropriate people around.
In the photo the main avenue of the city is Gran Via :)

Everything that was happening around hinted that the city had clearly had a good time at night. As we found out later, this chaos was the consequence of... a major annual gay pride parade :) However, this could be guessed by the rainbow flags hanging on every corner and male persons of clearly gay orientation walking arm in arm.

In general, tolerant Europe in all its glory. Yes, we admit that it was a little awkward for us to walk around THIS kind of Madrid.

If we forget about these first hours, then on the whole the city made a positive impression. Around 10-11 am the streets were put in order, and all the heroes of the occasion went to bed.

Madrid finally appeared in all its glory.

Before settling in, we had time to thoroughly explore the center of Madrid: we visited Plaza Mayor, walked to the Royal Palace, and wandered through the colorful streets.

Madrid grabs you and doesn't want to let go. Despite the fact that there are not many interesting sights here and there is nothing special to do for a long time, walking around the city is very pleasant and interesting.

In 3 days we visited all the most famous sights of Madrid, except museums.

Royal Palace

Cibeles Palace

Retiro Park

And feeding the fish.

Mayor Square evening

Cable car

Botanical Garden

Almudena Palace

Spanish classics of the genre: paella and sangria

Spanish classics of the genre No. 2: tapas and sangria :)

Based on the results of our wanderings around Madrid, we have compiled, in our opinion, the optimal route around the city, which includes all the most interesting sights.

We said goodbye to Madrid, but did not say goodbye to Spain, because in 10 days Barcelona, with which we were already very familiar, was waiting for us.

Lisbon

On the third day, a night bus to Lisbon was waiting for us. Night flights have one clear advantage - you don't have to overpay for an extra night in a hotel. Two problems are solved at once: accommodation and travel. The bus ticket cost 35 euros, FixBus airline. Departure is at 23:35, and at 6:55 local time we arrive in Lisbon at Oriente station (the difference with Madrid is 1 hour). For us, this was the longest journey by bus (8 hours), which flew by very quickly. Fortunately, FlixBus has very comfortable seats and we slept almost the entire way.

In Lisbon we booked the Summer Flowers Guest House for 60 euros per day. This is a little expensive for Lisbon, but in our case there was practically nothing to choose from. Our accommodation was essentially a mini-hostel, with 7 double rooms, 3 showers, 2 toilets and one kitchen with all the utensils. Everything was very clean, the toilets and showers were cleaned every day.

The guest house was located almost in the city center, 700 meters from Martim Moniz Square, near the Intendente metro station.
Once again we were convinced that having a kitchen, even a shared one, is a huge plus. The problem with breakfast is being solved (this is greatly lacking in a regular hostel, without a kitchen or breakfast included). And in general, if you are aiming for a budget holiday, then you can prepare your own food, excluding meals in establishments - and this is a very large expense item.

We allocated 5 days to Lisbon and at first we were a little afraid that there would be nothing to do here for so long. But it turned out that there is something to see in Lisbon and the surrounding area. Yes, the programs for each day were not so intense, we allowed ourselves to sleep longer, and spent a couple of evenings at home, but we were not bored.

On the first day, we traditionally walked around the center, without any goals, to scout out the situation, so to speak.

We went to a restaurant where we had one of the most popular dishes of Portuguese cuisine for two - octopus.

We visited the Sao Pedro observation deck.

Commerce Square

Lisbon Cathedral

Lisbon architecture

The next day we went to one of the main attractions of Lisbon - St. George's Castle.

In this city there are observation decks on almost every corner, but the best is still here. In fact, the entire castle (or rather, all that remains of it) is one large observation deck :)

And peacocks walk among tourists here.

We then headed to Martim Moniz Square, where Tram 28, perhaps the most popular attraction in the Portuguese capital, begins. As expected, there was a long line waiting for us near the stop. It moved for quite a long time, because everyone wanted to take seats, and there are no more than 20 of them on the tram. We stood for about 50 minutes and, as it seems to us, this is not the limit of possible expectations.

Tram 28 is, overall, a good attraction for tourists, but you shouldn’t expect any unusual emotions from this event.

It is much better to go this route on foot. Please note that the tram route is not a circular route and the final stop is outside the city center. Therefore, you will have to return back either again on the same tram (buying another ticket), or on foot, as we did, walking around the non-tourist areas of Lisbon.

Cascais

On the third day we went to Cascais - one of the most popular resorts in Portugal, washed by the Atlantic Ocean. Let us remember that our trip took place in July and therefore we could not miss the opportunity to swim in the ocean, although it was quite cool. The water temperature in the ocean in mid-July was +18.

From Lisbon to Cascais - 40 minutes by train.

Cascais is a small and very cozy town.

Lunch (or dinner?) in Cascais - fried sardinians.

In addition to several beaches, Cascais has one very popular natural attraction - the Devil's Throat (Boca do Inferno).

Of course, we visited her too; she took with her a check of port wine.

We devoted the fourth day to the Belem district, which is 6 km from the city center. Several interesting sights are concentrated here: the Monument to the Discoverers, the Belem Tower and the Jeronimos Monastery. The last two usually have long queues.

First we climbed the Monument to the Discoverers, which offers a magnificent view of the Tagus River, the 25th of April Bridge and Lisbon itself.

Then we spent about an hour to get to the Belem Tower. They decided not to go to Jeronimos.

But in vain. We will give you valuable advice: if you are saving time, you don’t have to go inside the Belem Tower. All its beauty can be appreciated from the outside; there is nothing interesting inside.

The observation deck located at the top is much inferior to the Discoverers Monument in all respects. But due to its great popularity, there are constantly queues at the Belem Tower, which take a lot of time.

The next day we climbed to another observation deck, located not far from our hostel.

Then we went down to Commerce Square. The final of the 2018 FIFA World Cup took place on this very day. A large screen was installed on Commerce Square, on which fans watched every match. A huge number of them gathered for the final, including Croatian and French, of whom, to our surprise, a huge number gathered in Lisbon. We decided not to pass by such a celebration and watched the entire match together with everyone else.

That day we had dinner at a “family” restaurant, as they are often called here. They are “family” because this restaurant is exclusively a family business. As a result, they are quite small (often 3-4 tables). Located in non-tourist areas. Most of the visitors are local residents. There is no permanent menu; it is written by hand every day and hung near the entrance. And this menu is presented with only a few dishes, for example, only fish or seafood. The cook is the husband, the waitress is the wife or daughter, and so on. So we went to a similar restaurant, wandering somewhere not far from the house. And we really liked it! First of all, it's very tasty. Secondly, it is much cheaper. For comparison: I ordered this Seabass the day before for 13 euros, on the embankment, not far from Commerce Square.

In a family restaurant (whose name we never found out) they brought me the same portion for 6 or 7 euros, with exactly the same presentation. We ordered two of these dishes and asked for wine in addition. They brought us a 0.5 liter jug of white wine for only 3 euros. There are a lot of similar restaurants in Lisbon, you just need to pay attention.

A couple more observation decks in Lisbon.

We tried the local alcoholic drink - jinja.

During the remaining time, we visited the modern area of the city - Parque des Nations (the second name of the Expo-98 area), where we were able to see one important landmark of Lisbon - the Vasco da Gama Bridge, which was the longest in Europe (17.2 km) until the completion of the Crimean Bridge . In addition to the bridge, there are several other interesting attractions: the Vasco da Gama skyscraper tower, the Vasco da Gama Shopping Center, the Oceanarium and the Cable Car, the cabins of which offer excellent views of the aforementioned bridge and the Tagus River.

In short, there is a lot to do here, but we had very little time left and we did not stay here for long. It's a pity. Don't repeat our mistakes.

In the morning we went to Sintra. It is worth clarifying here that most tourists visit Sintra from Lisbon in one day. Having thoroughly studied the issue, we decided that the option of galloping around, hastily exploring local attractions was not suitable for us. As a result, we booked the Portuguese Hostel here for 2 nights 45 euros per day with breakfast included (albeit modest).

Our room

Common areas

Sintra, in a broad sense, is not just a satellite city of Lisbon.

This is a fairly large national park that includes the aforementioned Cascais. There are several incredibly beautiful castles and palaces, the famous Cape Roca, and several picturesque beaches on the Atlantic Ocean. As it turned out, even in two days you can’t see everything.

Having arrived in Sintra and checked into a hostel, we went to the bus that took tourists to the Pena Palace - perhaps the most popular attraction in Sintra. Everything, as always, was not so simple. There was a large queue at the stop, in which we had to stand for about 40 minutes. The road to the palace, which is a steep serpentine road, took another 15-20 minutes. And now, finally, we are there.

Pena is a huge complex that includes both the Palace itself and a large park with many interesting objects. The place is simply amazing. Perhaps one of the best we have seen in Europe.

Next to the Pena Palace there is another building - the Castle of the Moors. And, in principle, you can have time to see both objects if you start early in the morning.

On the second day we went to Cape Roca - the westernmost point of Eurasia.

Near Cape Roca there is Ursa Beach, which for some reason not all tourists know about. But it is considered one of the most beautiful beaches not only in Portugal, but throughout Europe.

The peculiarity of the beach is that a rather difficult rocky road, almost 2 km long, leads to it. The last section of the path, which runs through the gorge, is especially difficult. But, believe me, what you see is worth it!

The next day from Sintra we returned to Lisbon, only to go to Porto. There are no direct trains from Sintra to the “second capital” of Portugal. But we conveniently connected our route: from Sintra the train arrived at Oriente station - from there it departed for Porto. The journey to Porto takes 3 hours.

We stayed in Porto for 3 nights. Here we rented a small hostel, very similar in type to the one in Lisbon. It was called StayIN Oporto Musica Guest Apartment. It was one large spacious room (most likely an apartment) with 5 or 6 bedrooms with 3 or 4 toilets and showers, a kitchen and a living room. We practically never crossed paths with our roommates. They gave everything for this number 40 euros.

We found the check-in system very interesting, which completely eliminates personal commonalities with the owner. A day before check-in, we were sent an email with the full address + code for the front door + code for the mini-safe that hung inside, next to the room. This safe contained the key to the door, and money for accommodation had to be put there as well. Not a check-in, but a whole quest :)

A rather intense program awaited us in Porto for 2.5 days.

Cruise under the bridges on the Douro River.

Port wine tasting in Vila Nova de Gaia.

A trip to the ocean on an old tram.

And, of course, numerous walks along the ancient streets, which here have a special flavor.

You can't go anywhere without sangria :)

Porto or Lisbon?

Porto, oddly enough, is not like Lisbon. Of course, sometimes common features are visible, in architecture, for example, but in general the cities are very different in spirit. Porto is smaller than Lisbon, it is more colorful and peaceful. Lisbon has the spirit of the country's capital, it is more lively, noisy and diverse. Porto is cheaper than Lisbon.

It’s very difficult to say which city you liked better. You shouldn’t choose between them, go to both at once, fortunately there are only 300 km between the cities :)

Portugal - what is it like?

Let’s sum up the overall results of our trip to Portugal.

Portugal is a very unique country. It seemed to us that it was very similar to Spain, but no. Common features are visible only in the language and a little in the cuisine. We have traveled to Prague, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Madrid, Paris, Riga, Munich, Rome, Montenegro and Croatia. We did not find anything similar in Portugal. If you think that you are tired of Europe and have seen everything there, then feel free to go to Portugal.

Portugal is not a tourist country. By European standards, of course. There are tourists here and even queues for popular attractions, suitable infrastructure is also available, and many locals speak English. But, having visited the two largest and most popular Portuguese cities among tourists, we did not notice such a stir. There is no feeling that everything is tied to tourists. There is no typical European “rip-off”. The Portuguese either do not know how or do not want to make money from tourists and surround themselves with them. Everywhere you can feel, first of all, the local spirit.

Portugal is not a beach holiday. A bunch of historical attractions and, moreover, the ocean nearby are an excellent opportunity to combine a cultural program with a beach holiday. Many people may think so. But, in the case of Portugal, this is a misconception. It will not be possible to combine these two types of holiday as well as, for example, in Montenegro or Barcelona. As has been mentioned many times above, there is no ocean or beaches either in Porto or Lisbon. They are located a few kilometers from the city. The water in these waters warms up to +18+19 at best. The ocean is very often choppy and large (and cold!) waves are formed. In short, the ocean is more of an aesthetic spectacle. You can swim here, but it won’t give you the same pleasure as in the warm sea. Yes, there is also the Algarve province - the south of Portugal and the main resort area, which, unfortunately, we were not able to get to. Here the water is one or two degrees warmer. But it’s 250 km from Lisbon by bus or train... Perhaps by renting a car you’ll be able to competently combine all aspects of your holiday?:)

Barcelona

Our journey is not over yet. We flew from Porto with RyanAir to Barcelona. Tickets cost 35 euros per piece (I had to pay about 7 euros extra for each ticket for priority boarding, so as not to check my hand luggage in the luggage, since there was a laptop and other valuables).

In Barcelona, for the first time, we seriously encountered the problem of housing. 3 weeks before the required dates there was nothing even close to suitable. No apartments, no hotels or hostels. Either Barcelona is so popular among tourists that normal options here are quickly sold out, or housing has become much more expensive in recent years. 2 years ago we managed to rent a double room with a private shower for about 50 euros per night. This time I had to take the option of living with the owner. That is, in the apartment the owner lived in one room, we lived in another, and a couple of tourists lived in the third. Accordingly, the toilet, bathroom and kitchen are for common use. And this option cost us 62 euros per day!

In other respects, the location of the apartment was very good. On Paral-lel Avenue, between the Port of Barcelona and Plaza España.
Since Barcelona was already well known to us, we did not have any global plans for it. In 2 days we wandered around our favorite places.

We went to the beach

We visited the Citadel Park, which we skipped last time.

Once again we were convinced that no matter how you look at it, Barcelona is one of the best cities in Europe (of those we have visited), which we want to return to again and again.

How much does our trip cost?

Surely many people are interested in the question. How much does a 15-day trip to Spain and Portugal cost?

We traveled together, so we will consider it that way.

Housing and travel costs (planes, trains, buses):

Air tickets St. Petersburg - Madrid 108 euros x2
Housing in Madrid 70 euros for 2 nights
Bus Madrid - Lisbon 35 euros o x2
Accommodation in Lisbon - 295 euros for 5 nights + 10 euro city tax
Accommodation in Sintra - 90 euros for 2 nights
Trains Lisbon - Porto 19 euros x2
Accommodation in Porto - 120 euros for 3 nights
Air tickets Porto - Barcelona 35 euros x2
Accommodation in Barcelona 125 euros for 2 nights
Air tickets Barcelona - Moscow 129 euros x2

In 15 days for city transport, food and other pleasures of life we spent about more 1000 euros.
Total 2360 euros. The euro exchange rate at that time fluctuated around 72-73 rubles per euro. Thus, the total cost of our trip was approximately 170,000 rubles.

Number of days: 26
Country: Spain, Portugal
Period: from August 4, 2014 to August 29, 2014

This ready-made route through Spain and Portugal was dictated by the desire to see northern Spain, the architecture of castles and cathedrals, many of which are protected, visit the castle of Henry IV in Navarre, taste Spanish wine and traditional dishes, see a stunning change of landscapes and visit different climatic conditions. zones in one short journey from Zaragoza to Pamplona. Meet pilgrims on the famous Way of Santiago, visit Catalonia, Navarre, Galicia, Castile, and the Basque Country. Go to a concert of Spanish guitarists and see flamenco.

And we chose Portugal for a beach holiday and admiring the designs on traditional Portuguese tiles - azulejos. This is the journey our dream turned into:

August 4 – flight from Moscow to Barcelona. We arrive in Barcelona late in the evening and check into a hotel.

August 8 – we pick up the car at Barcelona Sants station, which we had previously booked back in Russia. We get comfortable in it and go to the Montserrat monastery. We walk around the monastery and along its hiking trails. After the monastery, on the same day we arrive in Zaragoza. We leave the car in the free parking lot. We check into the hotel.

August 10 – we leave the hotel. We are going to Pamplona, on the way we explore two cities: Tudela and Olite. In the evening we check into a hotel in Pamplona.

August 11 – we leave the hotel, put our suitcases in the car and walk around Pamplona, mainly in the old town. After exploring the city we go to Santander.

August 13 - we leave Santander for Burgos. We check into a hotel in Burgos and walk around Burgos.

August 14 – we leave Burgos for the Canyon de Seille. Halfway through the journey we stop in Leon for a few hours to explore the city. After Leon we reach the Parador in the Canyon de Seille, where we sleep soundly until the morning.

August 15 – we leave Parador, explore the beauty of the canyon by car, and stop in a small town for lunch. After hiking and driving through the canyon, we go to Santiago de Compostela. We check into the hotel.

August 18 – we return the car in Vigo and go by train to the city of Sintra (Portugal) via Porto and Lisbon. We check into pre-booked rooms through the airbnb service.

August 21 – from Sintra we go by bus to Praia das Maçãs beach. We check into a pre-booked house next to the ocean.

August 21-25 – relax on the Praia das Maçãs beach. We go to the ocean, buy fresh fish at the market, visit other beaches and Cape Roca (Cabo da Roca)

August 27 – we take a train from Madrid for a one-day walk around Toledo. We walk around the city and return to Madrid in the evening.

August 28 — we continue our walk around Madrid. In the evening we pack our bags and take the night bus to Barcelona.

August 29 – morning in Barcelona. We get to the airport and fly to Moscow via Frankfurt am Main. In Frankfurt we have a 6 hour layover. During this time we explore the old part of the city and walk along the Main. We return to the airport and arrive in Moscow.

At first our route seemed very easy to us. We thought that we had taken everything into account: the distance between cities, the complexity of the road, the size of the cities. However, it was unexpected and nerve-wracking, after the silence of the roads, to enter the noisy, busy, often very narrow streets of the big cities of Pamplona, Santander, Vigo... And, of course, we were exhausted by serpentines. But in the end, the route turned out to be interesting; captured various provinces of Spain and part of Portugal. For the first acquaintance with these countries, a lot of information and impressions have accumulated.

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