Algarve? No thanks

flight Catania - Rome - Lisbon. various hotels. package offered by Millennium Tour.

We arrive in Lisbon in the evening, a short stroll, and put off the real tour until the following morning. 18 October: we begin with a visit to the Belem Tower and the monument to Christopher Columbus, then we enter the Jeronimos Monastery. It's already 3 pm when we set off, heading for Obidos, a charming little tourist town, rich in local crafts, overlooked by a well-kept castle and its walls. Shopping distracts us from our schedule. We leave Obidos at 6:30 pm for Alcobaca, where we find the famous monastery, a World Heritage Site, closed (we postpone the visit to the following days); we therefore decide to move on to Nazare to enjoy the sunset and have dinner. 19 October: at 11 we're in Braga, a small and very pleasant town rich in history and things to see. The day started too late, we dedicate only 2 hours to Braga, then we head towards Guimaraes, where we arrive at 2 pm.

Before visiting the city centre we go up to the Sagrada to admire the Castle. We follow the example of the Portuguese and sit down to lunch in a characteristic little square; few tourists around, you breathe a surreal calm. At 4 we get back in the car, destination Porto, where we manage to find parking (at a high price) at 5:30 pm. The city doesn't impress us, its beauties aren't comparable to what we've already seen in the rest of the country; only its Se (Cathedral) with the azulejos and the splendid view over the historic centre will remain imprinted in our memories. 20 October. 10 am. We're already in Coimbra, a city famous for its university, the oldest in Portugal, founded in 1290. At 1:30 pm we're in Batalha, in the rain... In less than an hour we visit the monastery of the same name, then we return to Alcobaca to complete the visit begun a few days earlier.

At 5:30 pm we're in Fatima 21 October. In the morning we visit the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima. At 11 we're already in Tomar, the city of the Templars, where we'll visit the convent-castle-fortress. At 1 pm the visit ends. We have lunch and head to Evora, where the best hotel of the holiday awaits us just outside the city walls, with a splendid outdoor pool. A beautiful city, a beautiful sanctuary, but we'll certainly remember Evora for the "chapel of bones". 22 October, 11 am. We're in Sintra. Impossible to park in the centre, so we give up visiting the famous well too, and head for the fabulous castles. We begin by visiting the Arab castle dos Mouros, then we move on to the Pena Palace. We leave Sintra at 2 pm. At 4:30 pm we're at Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point of the European continent.

On the way to Lisbon we stop at the beaches of Cascais, to watch boys surfing, with live music from a guitarist full of "saudade". 23 October. Day dedicated to Lisbon. I take the chance to visit the Oceanarium.