Lisbon or Porto... which city is best for a couple?
Simon Calder answers your questions on Portugal, pets on the Eurostar, and August bank holiday flights
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Q Lisbon or Porto for October, for a couple. We’ve never visited either. Which do you recommend?
Ann I
A Either of these great Portuguese cities will prove rewarding. The key question is: how long can you stay? If you are restricted to 48 hours on the ground, then Porto is the clear winner. The excellent Metro will get you from the airport into the city in half an hour. The impressive gorge of the Douro River is straddled by six elegant bridges, including the two-deck Ponte de Dom Luis I, leading over to a hillside punctuated by port houses (whose aroma you can smell long before you get close). While walking is the best way to appreciate the layers of history and architecture, you can also travel on an antique tram out to the mouth of the river and the Atlantic. Portugal’s second city is effortlessly easy to navigate and enjoy, and conveniently also the cheapest big city in western Europe.
Ideally, though, you should spend five or six days away and combine Porto with Lisbon on an “open-jaw” itinerary (flying into one and back from the other). The capital repays a stay of at least three days. Its many-faceted appeal includes a glorious waterside setting and robustly three-dimensional terrain, as well as great cultural wealth. You should also take a side trip on the suburban railway along the north shore of the Tagus to Estoril – a resort retaining a 1960s vibe – and Cascais, a characterful fishing port.
Best of all, build in a couple of stops along the way between the two. Pause at the pretty town of Aveiro, an hour by rail south of Porto, to enjoy the canalside ambience. Then spend the afternoon exploring Coimbra, a beautiful university city 75 miles south of Porto and 125 miles north of Lisbon. It is rich in culture, history and gastronomy, all wrapped into a compact city.
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Q I heard that Richard Branson is planning to run trains from London to Paris in competition with Eurostar. If this is true, when might this be? Also, I know that he is a dog lover. Do you think he will consider allowing dogs on his trains through the Channel Tunnel?
Jonathan G
A Eurostar has held a monopoly on passenger rail traffic through the Channel Tunnel for more than 30 years. Richard Branson’s Virgin Group hopes to compete with trains through the Channel Tunnel, as does a Spanish initiative, Evolyn. Getlink, which owns the tunnel, and High Speed 1 – running the line from London to the tunnel entrance – are both keen on new business.
Mark Smith, the international rail guru known as The Man in Seat 61, told me: “I love Eurostar’s service but competition keeps everyone on their toes. We’ve got two credible contenders, both of whom are talking to suppliers to build the trains. It’s not going to happen tomorrow or even next year. There’s a long lead time for this; we’re talking 2029. If the new operators do come on stream then we’re going to see more capacity and we will see lower fares, almost certainly.”
Eurostar says: “Pets are not allowed on trains to and from London.” Guide dogs or assistance cats and dogs are allowed on board, and will even get a spare seat next to the passenger, free of charge. Passengers must book at least 24 hours ahead and meet all the legal criteria for taking a dog between the UK and the European Union. Eurostar also says: “If you require an emotional support animal to travel, please get in touch with us to discuss your requirements.”
Evidently, then, it is legally and operationally possible for passengers to take pets on trains through the Channel Tunnel. While Eurostar currently chooses not to allow “non-essential” animals on board, it is quite possible that a new competitor might decide to do so. Evolyn says it has “an ambition to reshape the travel experience”. While you wait and see, the best option for those who do not take an animal by car on a Eurotunnel shuttle or cross-Channel ferry is DFDS from Newhaven to Dieppe. Both ports have reasonable rail access for foot passengers.
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Q I am going to Malta the last week of August, ideally flying from Manchester. My outbound and inbound days are flexible, but I need to be there for sure on Friday 29 August. Ideally I would like to go on Monday 25 August and return on Saturday 30 August. But I realise the Monday is a bank holiday. Would you foresee any problems? If so, when do you suggest I travel?
Tracey F
A I actively try to fly from UK airports on public holidays, because they tend to be calmer and cheaper than other days. At Easter, for example, I am flying out to Croatia on Good Friday at a decent fare. The peak day in that week is Maundy Thursday. (Easter Sunday, incidentally, is probably the second best day of the year to fly, after Christmas Day, if you want to avoid the crowds.)
The outbound flight to Malta on August bank holiday Monday looks excellent value: £49 one-way from Manchester on Ryanair, flying at a civilised 5.10pm and arriving at 9.35pm – in time for a drink on arrival. You may be concerned that, in 2023, there was a failure of the Nats air traffic control system on the corresponding bank holiday. You would be extremely unlucky for a similar problem to manifest itself.
Coming back from the Mediterranean at the end of the summer peak is the tricky part. On that Saturday, 30 August, Ryanair wants £163 for a flight from Malta to Manchester. I would be tempted to wait until the next morning, when the price drops by £35, though unless you are staying with friends you will need another night in a hotel. If Birmingham works for you almost as well, then choose easyJet on the Saturday for £140. Should you really be watching the cash, the dawn flight on the Saturday to Glasgow looks the best bet at £58; school holidays are over in Scotland, so the fares are commensurately lower. But book soon – those fares are only going to increase.
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