5 Days in Portugal: A Food Lover’s Itinerary

Portugal doesn’t just feed you — it seduces you. From the crackle of a perfectly blistered pastel de nata pulled from a wood-fired oven to the smoky, soulful notes of a fado song drifting over a plate of bacalhau, this country treats eating as a full sensory experience. If you’re a food lover planning your first — or fifth — trip to Portugal, five days is just enough time to scratch the surface of one of Europe’s most underrated culinary destinations. This itinerary splits your time between Lisbon (three days) and Porto (two days), with a sweet detour to Sintra along the way. Pack your appetite, loosen your belt, and let’s get into it.

Day 1: Landing in Lisbon — Markets, Custard Tarts, and First Impressions

Your first morning in Lisbon sets the tone for everything that follows. Beat the jet lag and the queues by heading straight to Pastéis de Belém when the doors open at 8am. This legendary bakery has been producing the original pastel de nata since 1837, and arriving early means you’ll walk straight in, grab a marble counter seat, and watch the bakers dust warm tarts with cinnamon and powdered sugar right in front of you. Two tarts and a bica (a short, strong espresso) will set you back around €3.50 — arguably the best €3.50 you’ll spend on this trip. By 9:30am, the queue stretches around the block, so the early start genuinely pays off.

Spend your late morning exploring the nearby Jerónimos Monastery and walking along the riverfront before heading to the Time Out Market in Cais do Sodré for lunch. If you’re visiting in peak season (June through September), aim to arrive before noon or after 2pm — the midday rush turns the communal tables into a contact sport. The beauty of this market is that it lets you sample Lisbon’s best chefs under one roof without committing to a single restaurant. Try the grilled octopus from Alexandre Silva’s stall, grab a glass of vinho verde, and watch the city wake up around you. Budget around €15–€20 for a satisfying lunch with drinks.

If you want more context behind what you’re eating, this is a great moment to consider booking a guided food tour. Platforms like Viator and GetYourGuide both list highly rated Lisbon food walking tours that cover the Alfama and Mouraria districts, typically priced between €55 and €75 per person, and they’re worth every cent for the stories and off-menu recommendations you’ll carry with you for the rest of the trip.

Day 2: Going Deep on Bacalhau and Bairro Alto

Portugal has over 365 recipes for bacalhau (salt cod) — one for every day of the year, locals will proudly tell you. On day two, you’re going to meet one of the best. Head to Zé da Mouraria in the Mouraria neighbourhood for a lunch of bacalhau à Brás. This dish — shredded salt cod scrambled with eggs, thin crispy potato straws, black olives, and fresh parsley — is comfort food in its purest form. The restaurant is unpretentious, the portions are generous, and a full lunch with wine and dessert lands around €18–€22 per person. Arrive by 12:30pm to secure a table without a wait.

Spend your afternoon wandering the steep, sun-bleached lanes of Alfama, stopping at a miradouro (viewpoint) for a sweeping view over the terracotta rooftops. Before dinner, make a pit stop at A Ginjinha in the Rossio neighbourhood for a shot of ginjinha — a cherry liqueur served in a tiny chocolate cup or a small glass for around €1.50. It’s sweet, slightly syrupy, and totally addictive. The original shop near Praça Dom Pedro IV has been pouring shots from the same wooden barrel since 1840.

End your evening at Tasca do Chico in Bairro Alto for an intimate fado dinner. This tiny, beloved spot hosts live fado performances most evenings and serves traditional Lisbon dishes like carne de porco à alentejana (pork with clams). Reservations are essential — book at least two weeks in advance online. Dinner with wine runs around €35–€45 per person, and the experience of sitting three feet from a fado singer in a candlelit room is genuinely unforgettable.

Day 3: A Sweet Detour to Sintra

About 40 minutes by train from Lisbon’s Rossio station (€2.25 each way), Sintra is a fairy-tale hill town famous for its colourful palaces and dramatic Atlantic views. It’s also home to one essential pastry: the travesseiro. Made at Piriquita, the town’s most famous bakery since 1862, travesseiros are pillow-shaped pastries stuffed with almond and egg yolk cream, dusted with sugar, and served warm. They cost around €1.80 each and are impossible to eat just one. Pick up a few, grab a window seat, and take in the cobblestone streets before the tour buses arrive.

While in Sintra, also try the queijadas — small cheese tarts with a dense, sweet filling — available at the same bakery. Sintra rewards slow walkers and curious eaters, so give yourself the full day before catching a late afternoon train back to Lisbon. This day functions as a natural palate cleanser between your Lisbon and Porto chapters.

Day 4: Arriving in Porto — The Mercado, the Francesinha, and the Douro

Take the morning Alfa Pendular train from Lisbon’s Santa Apolónia station to Porto’s Campanhã (about €25–€35 and just over two hours). Once you’ve dropped your bags, head directly to the newly renovated Mercado do Bolhão in the heart of the city. This 19th-century iron-and-granite market reopened in 2022 after a careful restoration, and it’s one of the most beautiful covered markets in the country. Pick up local cheeses, chouriço, and a bunch of fresh herbs just to inhale the scent. Chat with the vendors — many have been selling here for generations — and let the market shape your understanding of what Porto actually eats.

For lunch, there’s really only one answer: the francesinha. Porto’s answer to the croque monsieur is a towering, gloriously excessive sandwich layered with cured ham, sausage, and steak, smothered in melted cheese and a piquant beer-and-tomato sauce. The best version in the city is widely agreed to come from Café Santiago on Rua Passos Manuel. Arrive before 12:30pm to avoid a long wait. A full francesinha with fries and a beer costs around €13–€15 and will comfortably carry you through the rest of the afternoon. Consider this your one mandatory Porto meal — it belongs on every food lover’s list.

Spend your afternoon on a port wine tasting at Taylor Fladgate in Vila Nova de Gaia, across the Douro river from Porto’s historic centre. The lodge sits on a hillside with extraordinary views, and their tasting flights start at around €15. The guides walk you through the difference between tawny and ruby ports with genuine enthusiasm, and you’ll leave with a much deeper appreciation for why this fortified wine made the region famous.

Day 5: Matosinhos, Grilled Sardines, and Going Home Full

Your final morning belongs to the sea. Take the Metro’s A Line from central Porto to Matosinhos (about €1.70), a coastal fishing town that is quietly considered one of the best places in Portugal to eat grilled fish. If your trip falls on a Sunday, the Mercado de Matosinhos is in full swing — a sprawling outdoor market where you can buy fresh fish straight from the boats, local vegetables, and handmade ceramics.

For lunch, settle into one of the many seafood restaurants lining Rua Heróis de França and order grilled sardines, a dish so simple it seems almost foolish. A portion typically costs €8–€12 and arrives dressed with nothing more than olive oil, coarse salt, and a wedge of lemon. Eaten with crusty bread and a glass of ice-cold Sagres, it might be the most perfect meal of the entire trip.

• Best time for Matosinhos: Sunday morning for the market, arrive by 11am
• Grilled sardine season peaks June through August — outside this window, ask for cherne (wreckfish) or robalo (sea bass)
• GetYourGuide lists a well-regarded Porto seafood and wine tour that includes Matosinhos, priced around €65 per person
• Allow 30 minutes on the Metro each way and factor in return travel to Porto for your flight or onward train

Practical Tips for Your Portugal Food Trip

• Always carry cash — many tasca-style restaurants and market vendors are cash only
• Lunch is the main meal in Portugal; restaurant menus often offer a prato do dia (dish of the day) for €9–€13 including bread, drink, and dessert
• Tipping is appreciated but not compulsory — rounding up or leaving €1–€2 per person is perfectly appropriate
• Book fado dinners and popular restaurants at least two weeks ahead in summer
• Vinho verde (young, slightly sparkling white wine) pairs beautifully with almost everything on this itinerary and costs around €3–€5 a glass
• Both Viator and GetYourGuide offer cancellation-friendly food tour bookings — worth reserving early and confirming closer to your trip

Five days in Portugal will leave you simultaneously full and hungry for more — full from the custard tarts, the bacalhau, the francesinhas, and the sardines, and hungry to book a return trip the moment your plane lifts off. Portugal rewards curious, unhurried eaters who are willing to follow the smell of charcoal and the sound of fado down a narrow cobblestone street. Whether you follow this itinerary to the letter or use it as a loose framework for your own wandering, one thing is certain: you will eat extraordinarily well. Ready to start planning? Browse our full collection of Portugal food travel guides on FoodTourTrails.com, and don’t forget to share your own discoveries in the comments below.