A few weeks back, I visited Portugal with the same group of girls that I went to France with last year. We went right as Memorial Day weekend approached and the weather was perfect. It was also not crowded, which was lovely. We spent time in Comporta, Porto, Duoro Valley wine country, and Lisbon, with a day trip to Sintra. I’m going to focus Comporta and Porto in this post, but you can read about Duoro Valley here, and my final post on Lisbon and Sintra. I’ll detail out what we loved in each area of our trip!

Comporta

When we landed in Lisbon, we rented a car and drove south just over an hour to Comporta. The village, located in the district of Setúbal, is small by every measure. It has fewer than 1,500 full-time residents and is just about 50 square miles in size, most of which is made up of coastline. It is a charming seaside destination, perfect for relaxing, which is what we were there for.

We stayed at the well-located AlmaLusa, which is the only hotel in the tiny town center of Comporta, although there are several other amazing hotels on the beach. It is a small boutique hotel and brand new, having just opened last year.

One of our favorite spots was Almo Café for lunch. We arrived and walked over there for an alfresco lunch, and it was just what we needed after a long overnight trip. We also enjoyed the local Alentejo wines.

Comporta had some great indoor markets that we explored, along with the cutest shops!

Loved the indoor markets – lots of shops lined up one after another

We ate dinner at Comporta Café which was a long, laid-back affair, starting with happy hour and followed by local cheese and appetizers, fresh seafood and steaming pots of herb-scented rice. Rice is one of the foods that marks this area. There were intermittent breakout dance parties and an homage to the most gorgeous sunset I’ve ever seen!

This sunset was truly a spiritual moment

We didn’t stay long in Comporta — just two days and a night. The town is so tiny that you really don’t need longer unless you are making a full beach vacation of it. But we had cities to see, so we were on our way!

Porto

The second leg of our trip was in Porto. We got there in our rental car that we picked up when we landed in Lisbon, making the decision to drive through the country vs relying on trains. We were happy to have the car and it ended up being the right choice for us.

Porto is the second-largest city in Portugal and has such a vibrant energy and culture. Overlooking the River Douro with its famous Port Wine lodges, the city certainly has all the views. We did tons of walking here — the cobbled and very hilly streets gave us quite a workout! Porto is known for its beautiful ceramic tiled buildings which are charming.

The most gorgeous blue-tiled buildings EVERYWHERE

When we arrived, we had the hotel set us up for a customized walking tour — we love doing that because you can knock out a lot of sightseeing in a short time.

Breaking for Portugal’s famous custard tarts, *Pastéis de Nata*.

We thought this place was interesting, but overrated.

São Bento is known as one of the most beautiful train stations in the world.

A MUST-recommend is visiting Vila Nova de Gaia — which is hub of the port wine industry and across the Duoro River. We walked over but you can also take a short Uber ride. Vila Nova de Gaia is peppered with cellars offering tours and tastings. But the best part of it, to us, were the expansive views back across the Douro. We at lunch outside at Orangerie at the Yeatman which was at the highest point of Gaia — the views were nothing short of stunning!

Crossing the Duoro River to Vila Nova de Gaia

We spent two nights and two days in Porto. We were going nonstop, but it was the perfect amount of time.

While there, we stayed at Casa da Companhia which was right in the center of town and a dream! It is a discreet 40-room spot located on Rua das Flores, a trendy, pedestrian-only street in the city center. From here, we were able to walk everywhere we needed to go, including dinners.