2 Week Itinerary to Southern Spain and Portugal
Day 1: Home > Barcelona
Day 2: Barcelona
Day 3: Barcelona
Day 4: Barcelona > Peniscola > Valencia
Day 5: Valencia > Granada
Day 6: Granada
Day 7: Granada
Day 8: Granada > Tarifa
Day 9: Tarifa > Seville > Montemor-o-Novo
Day 10: Montemor-o-Novo
Day 11: Montemor-o-Novo
Day 12: Lisbon
Day 13: Lisbon
Day 14: Lisbon > Home
Day 1: Home > Barcelona
Upon arrival go straight to your Airbnb via Uber. We waited until we left Barcelona to rent a car, because you really don’t need one while you’re there. We stayed at this lovely Airbnb in Gracia, a chic and conveniently located part of Barcelona.
Day 2: Barcelona
La Sagrada Familia
Day 3: Barcelona
FC Barcelona Futbal Match
To eat:
– Taller de Tapas (http://www.tallerdetapas.com/): There are several scattered around Barcelona, are specialized in making tapas, the food is of very good quality and not too expensive (depends on how many tapas you eat, Clear!)
– Ciudad Condal (Rambla de Catalunya 18, near Gran Via) also specialize in tapas, is one of the typical places, you can not book a table and usually have to wait, have a terrace and is well priced.
– La Paradeta Born (Carrer Comercial 7 08009) specialize in fish / seafood, sell it to weight and a fish and then cook it in front of you, it’s a casual place. This very well priced but sometimes you have to wait a while to come.
– Cuines Santa Caterina (http://www.cuinessantacaterina.com/): This restaurant is in a traditional market in the center of Barcelona, the food is good because they use fresh products of the same market.
– El Jardin de l’Abadessa (http://www.jardiabadessa.com/): A restaurant in uptown Barcelona, in a residential neighborhood, has a very nice garden and is very famous, perfect for a romantic dinner 😉
To go out:
– In the Olympic Port area there are different clubs that also have a restaurant and are right in front of the beach, like Soho or the CDLC (http://www.cdlcbarcelona.com/). Here the audience is mostly abroad (unlike the Mirablau has a lot of local public) and you need to go get fixed.
– Another classic of Barcelona nightlife is the local Elephant (http://www.elephantbcn.com/eng/) is in the upper area of Barcelona and the garden they have is spectacular, the decor is beautiful and the cocktails are delicious! ! It is a bit pricey though then you realize that there are big car at the door (porch, etc) need to go quite managed to enter, it is a chic place.
– Luz de Gas (http://www.luzdegas.com/) is one of the most renowned clubs in the night Barcelonesa. Usually it is people known Catalan burgesia (as Laporta, the FCB) and music are all-time classics. It is a good option if you want to get drunk dancing until late.
– The Aribau Street also is full of bars and nightclubs, it is crowded at night although the truth is not what will the atmosphere lately, it was previously always full of young people and music of the area is mostly commercial music. The bar area is above Diagonal Street (attention, below is the gay neighborhood hehe)
To take a walk:
– The Born: It is the old fishing district of Barcelona, with narrow streets, full of shops and bars / restaurants also sites cocktails), it is a perfect neighborhood to stroll during the day and wander through its streets, restaurants and bars area are usually very good. There are also shops that are great for shopping.
– The area of Paseo de Gracia: It has several buildings of the architect Gaudi and is basically a large avenue with designer shops and beautiful houses.
– The Parc Guell: also is the work of Gaudi, has a beautiful architecture and how this in a montanya in the upper area of Barcelona has a stunning view of the city. If a nice day I recommend you go for a walk, it’s really nice and there are also picnic areas 😉
– Promenade Barcelona: It is a very nice to walk if you area good day because it is a promenade along the coast for a few kilometers to the port.
– The Sagrada Familia, the Gothic Quarter (with the cathedral and the ancient walled city of medieval Barcelona), the Raval (mostly immigrant area but charming), Gracia (formerly was a village with expansion of the city was annexed and still maintains its village character, is especially hippies area but has many nice restaurants and bars).
One of my favourite spots is called Mirablau in Tibidabo (5km) out of Barcelona and you can enjoy this view over Barcelona and have a nice drink.
Day 4: Barcelona > Peniscola > Valencia
Today you rent your car and start the drive, with your next sleeping destination being Valencia, stopping at cities along the way.
There are lots of coastal cities you can stop at, but we chose Peniscola for it’s funny name and the fact that they filmed Game of Thrones there. It ended up being one of the cutest little cities we stopped in. Treat it as a rest stop – a quick lounge on the beach, walk through the old, pastel-hued walls, and keep driving to Valencia!
We stayed at this easily accessible, cute Airbnb. Valencia isn’t a huge city and feels quite safe, so you can explore it by foot. In the past year it’s become known as the “City of Running” for it’s city-wide promenade that weaves throughout the city. You’ll find tons, and tons of people running any day of the week.
Day 5: Valencia > Grenada
Grenada has a very busy epi-center, so be wary of driving in the roundabouts, they’re aggressive. We stayed in the old town where the beautiful old blanco buildings are, in this Airbnb – which ended up being our favorite of the trip! Once you approach the Airbnb be careful not to follow Google Maps, it will lead you down a very narrow street where we nearly lost a rear view mirror, and had to slowly inch out of. It was a very typical Euro experience, but totally avoidable if you just follow the main, larger paths…very slowly.
Day 6: Granada
There’s a weekly market, if you’re lucky you’ll catch it.
Alhambra is spectacular.
Taberna La Tana is a must go. We ate here everyday after going once because we loved the tomato and bread tapas that come with the amazing wine selection.
Day 7: Granada
Attend a flamenco show, they are more authentic here than in other Spanish cities. It was a strange but enlightening experience, and we sat next to an interesting couple that we made friends with.
Day 8: Granada > Tarifa
You could sub Tarifa for Seville, depending on your preference for water sports. Tarifa is largely a town based around kitesurfing culture. The beach is beautiful but also quite windy!
Day 9: Tarifa > Portugal: Algarve Coast > Montemor-o-Novo
This is a long drive, but worth it if you can find time to stop at the Algarve Coast, which reminded us a bit of a sleepy beach town in California. The rock structures on the coast are magnificent and we just sat on the beach all day, then continued our drive to Portuguese wine country.
As you enter Portuguese wine country you’ll find lots of cork trees.
Make your way to the l’And Vineyard and Resort. It was a truly amazing experience.
Day 10: Montemor-o-Novo
Relax, you’re in wine country! The hotel can recommend wineries to go to.
Day 11: Montemor-o-Novo > Lisbon
We checked into a hotel in Lisbon after trying (and failing) at staying at Airbnb. The Airbnb unfortunately had cardboard for bedding, so we quickly cancelled it and found ourselves a mediocre last minute hotel. We still loved Lisbon but can’t recommend a great place to stay…until next time.
Day 12: Lisbon
Take a day trip to Sintra and Caiscais coastal towns and the Pena Moorish Palaces. This was the last day we had the car, and dropped it off at the end of the day, then kept exploring Lisbon by foot.
Day 13: Lisbon
We walked from our hotel all the way to the infamous “Pasteis de Belem” – serving the most delicious pastel de nata — also known as Portuguese custard tart, it’s an egg tart pastry dusted with cinnamon. We tried a few other pastel de nata while in town, but the best came from the the pastry shop Pasteis de Belem. We had to wait in line, and yes there were tourists everywhere which we usually don’t like, but it was worth it! We both ate 3 after a very long walk.