Traveling is something that can shape who you are as a person. The different number of places you can travel to is vast. From South America, Northern Europe to southeast Asia. The world is an endless place with so many different things to experience.  

If you are ever considering traveling to Spain or Portugal, here are some of the things I saw and did that I would recommend. 

Portugal was the first place I visited over the summer. We started off in Lisbon. Lisbon was a beautiful city, and we were able to travel to various places surrounding it.

One of the places that we visited in Lisbon was Castelo Sao Jorge. Castelo Sao Jorge was a fortress built during the Moorish period to house military troops. The fortress allowed for a beautiful view of Lisbon from above. The Alfama district was a wonderful place to walk around. It is a very artsy neighborhood that leads up to Castelo Sao Jorge. Lisbon was a wonderful place to be based out of because of trains that go to various places.

Sintra is about an hour and a half away from Lisbon by train. In Sintra there is a palace called the Palace de Pena. It is a flamboyant palace that was painted red, yellow, and blue. It looks like it came out a fairytale. You can also take a tour of the inside of the palace that contains different rooms with old decorations. In the town of Sintra is another very cool place called Quinta da Regaleira. It is a castle with beautiful, lush grounds. There is a very cool well where you can walk down into a cave system. The views were absolutely stunning from every point in the grounds.

Another day trip you can travel to by train out of Lisbon is Cascais and Belem. You can hit both cities of Cascais and Belem in one day because Belem is a few stops before you get to Cascais. Belem isn’t a full day adventure, that is why it’s perfect for visiting on your way to Cascais. In Belem we had the famous Pasties de Belem which I highly recommend trying. Cascais is a perfect little beach town. Though the day we visited was cloudy, the beach was nice and well worth a visit!

From Lisbon we made our way by train to the beach town of Lagos. We were able to go onto a boat onto the Atlantic Ocean and see the beautiful cliffs that Lagos is known for. Lagos is a perfect place to go to if you want a nice vacation by the beach with lots of activities.

Our next stop was Seville, Spain. Seville was packed with things to do even if it was just exploring around. A flamenco show is a must while visiting. The amount of expression and talent the dancers had really pulled you in and was an unforgettable experience. If you’re a Star Wars fan…or even if you aren’t, the Plaza de Espana is a good thing to see while visiting Seville. The plaza is stunning and the parks around it is also beautiful. Real Alcazar was one of the coolest things that I saw while in Seville. The architecture was so cool. It’s hard to believe that they built all the detailed buildings so long ago. The gardens were huge, and you could definitely get lost while exploring them. The Cathedral de Sevilla is another thing to see right near Real Alcazar. If given the opportunity taking a Flamenco dance class is another cool experience while visiting Seville. Even just exploring around Seville was worth it. The buildings were so beautiful with so many different things to see around every corner.

Nerja, Spain was one of the most beautiful beach towns I have ever visited. The town its self was very charming and colorful but the view overlooking the beach is what made it so captivating. The overlook of the beach was filled with colorful umbrellas, turquoise blue water and clusters of rock surrounding it. The water is stunning but beware of the jelly fish floating around!

Granada was our second to last stop in Spain. Granada had a lot of things to do, more than what I was expecting. To get a beautiful view of the Alhambra, you must head to Mirador San Nicholas. It’s a small town with a great view of the fortress. There were a few street vendors and live music while looking at the view. Plaza San Gregorio is a cool place to go to if you have the time in Granada. The street is lined with Moroccan shops that sold an assortment of things from lanterns to leather goods.

The Royal Chapel where Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand are buried is another interesting thing to see while visiting the city.

The Alhambra was personally the coolest thing that I saw while in Grenada.  The whole grounds of the fortress were huge and there was so much to see. The views overlooking the city from the Alhambra were stunning.

The last stop in Spain was Madrid. The Royal Palace was one of the main attractions in Madrid. We took an hour and a half tour walking through the Palace. We weren’t allowed to take many pictures, but all of the rooms had different types of themes and they were very pretty.

Madrid was a very good place to go shopping. There were large amounts of stores just about everywhere in the center area of the city. The Mueso del Prado is a must see while in Madrid. The museum was massive. We only got to see a part of the museum when there was so much more to go and see. El Retiro Park was huge. It was a nice place to relax and enjoy time outdoors.

The Real Madrid Stadium was one of the cooler things we got to see in Madrid. I’m not a big football fan myself but seeing the stadium was really cool.

Overall if you’re ever planning on going to Spain or Portugal, I would highly recommend going. There are so many different things you can go see or do while in each of the countries.