4 Days in Portugal: First-Timer Itinerary
Four days is where Portugal actually becomes a two-city trip: Lisbon and Sintra first, then the Alfa Pendular north to Porto for a genuine, if brief, taste of the Ribeira. Everything runs on euros, and the train alone covers about 332km in roughly 2h35. Shorter trip? See 2 or 3 days . Going longer? Check 5 , 6 , or 7 days .
Book these before you go
- Hotel in Alfama or Baixa: compare rates on Booking.com
- Pena Palace timed entry: check availability on GetYourGuide
- Hotel in Porto’s Ribeira: compare rates on Booking.com
| Day | Focus | Train | Rough Day Cost (EUR) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Alfama, the miradouros, a fado dinner | none | 45-60 |
| Day 2 | Belem, Jeronimos Monastery, Baixa and Chiado | none | 50-65 |
| Day 3 | Sintra: Pena Palace, Quinta da Regaleira | CP Sintra line, ~40 min | 55-70 |
| Day 4 | Lisbon to Porto, the Ribeira, Dom Luis I Bridge | Alfa Pendular, ~2h35-2h50 | 65-80 |
Day 1: Lisbon Arrival And Alfama
- Land at Humberto Delgado Airport (LIS), still Lisbon’s only working airport (a second one near Alcochete won’t realistically open before the mid-2030s). The metro’s red line runs into the center for a couple of euros
- Drop your bags and head straight into Alfama, Lisbon’s oldest hillside quarter, narrow lanes and no logical grid, just wander and let the hills do the work
- Catch sunset from Miradouro das Portas do Sol or Miradouro de Santa Luzia, both free
- Tram 28 photographs beautifully but is also Lisbon’s most reliable pickpocket run. Board at the Martim Moniz terminus for a seat, or take bus 737 instead
- Dinner with a live fado show in Alfama or Bairro Alto, UNESCO-listed intangible heritage, not a tourist gimmick
- Tap water is safe to drink here, no need to budget for bottled water on top of everything else
Day 2: Belem And Central Lisbon
- Morning at the Jeronimos Monastery, around EUR 18, UNESCO-listed. Its free-Sunday-morning window applies to Portugal residents with a citizen card, not visiting tourists
- Belem Tower next door runs around EUR 8, or the Belem Bundle for about EUR 21 covers both plus an audio guide
- The Pasteis de Belem queue moves fast, the original custard tart since 1837, around EUR 1.50 each. Every other bakery’s version is fine, it’s just legally not allowed to use the Belem name
- Afternoon in Baixa and Chiado, evening in Bairro Alto
Is Jeronimos Monastery really free on Sundays? Not for you, most likely. The free window before 2pm on Sundays and holidays applies specifically to Portugal residents showing a citizen card or NIF number, not to short-stay foreign visitors. Buy the ticket online instead and skip the walk-up line entirely.
Day 3: Sintra Day Trip
- The CP Sintra line runs from Rossio station, cheap and frequent, about 40 minutes each way
- Pena Palace requires a mandatory pre-booked timed ticket through parquesdesintra.pt , around EUR 20 combined with the park or EUR 14 park-only. Book the earliest slot you can get and arrive before the tour buses do
- Quinta da Regaleira, around EUR 15 self-guided, for the Initiation Well and its spiral staircase
- This is one of Portugal’s single most bottlenecked sights in peak season, plan around the crowds rather than pretending it’s a quiet countryside outing
Do you really need to book Pena Palace tickets in advance? Yes, genuinely. The on-site ticket office runs out in peak season, and the printed time is the palace entry slot, not the park gate time, so budget another 30 minutes walking uphill. Skipping this step is the single most common way a Sintra day goes wrong.
Day 4: Lisbon To Porto
- The Alfa Pendular covers Lisbon to Porto in roughly 2h35 to 2h50, 15 to 19 departures a day, current one-way tourist-class fare runs around EUR 35.70 following CP’s January 2026 fare increase. Book on cp.pt , and watch for CP’s occasional flash “Promo+” sales, they’ve sold this same route for as little as EUR 7.50 on advance-purchase windows
- Arrive at Porto Campanha, then a short connecting hop or a walk down to the Ribeira, Porto’s UNESCO-listed medieval riverfront
- Cross or just admire the Dom Luis I Bridge, then wander the Porto Cathedral grounds for the view back over the rooftops
- Dinner should be a francesinha, Porto’s towering ham-sausage-cheese sandwich drowned in a spicy beer sauce, around EUR 15-17 at a proper sit-down spot
- For more on the city beyond this loop, our Porto guide covers Guimaraes, Braga, and Aveiro as their own day trips
Four days only gets you a first taste of Porto, one evening isn’t enough for the port lodges or Livraria Lello, both belong to a longer trip. If Porto’s the city that hooks you, that’s the honest signal to come back for 5 days or more.