We did a lot of outdoor exploring in Montréal, enjoying both the city’s streets and green spaces. The only indoor attraction that we visited that required a ticket for entry was the Basilique Notre-Dame. The gorgeous Gothic Revival cathedral dominates Plaza d’Armes. Designed by James O’Donnell in 1823, the architect was so enamored with his own work that he converted to Catholicism so that he could be buried there. After enjoying the exterior of the church, we waited on a short line for tickets and went inside. While the outside of the cathedral was beautiful, the inside was absolutely breath-taking. …

Known as “The Mountain”, Parc du Mont-Royal sits high above Montréal, offering an easy escape into nature from the city below. Parc du Mont-Royal is Montréal’s version of NYC’s Central Park and was, in fact, designed by the same landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted. The 200+ hectare park is a haven for outdoor activity year round, from biking and boating in the warmer months to ice skating and snow shoeing in the colder ones. You can get to the park through a combination of the Metro (Mont-Royal station) and the bus (#11), but we opted to walk. We really enjoyed …

Our trip to Montréal was different from most of our trips, both because we went without the kids and because our itinerary wasn’t fully planned out. Typically I have all of our activities booked or at least planned ahead of time and we figure out our dining at the last minute. But this trip was the opposite. Because this trip was just my husband and I and we were celebrating our anniversary, we had dinner reservations at nice restaurants for two of our three nights, but our days were wide open for just wandering around the city, exploring its main …

We had two full days in Lisbon and left our schedule wide open to follow our mood and interests. Though spontaneous, the first day ended up being a little more structured, with visits to the aquarium (Oceanário de Lisboa) and castle (Castelo de São Jorge). The second day we did a little more wandering around the city, checking out its sights without any ticketed entries. We took the E15 tram to Belém, a district in Lisbon that lies along the river on the west side of the city. Though a bit on the outskirts of the city, Belem is a …

After a fun morning at Oceanário de Lisboa, we ate lunch in Parque das Nacoes and then took an uber to Castelo de São Jorge. Perched high in the hills of Lisbon, the site was settled in the 7th century BC, while the castle itself was built by the Moors in the 11th century. In 1147 the castle was captured by Christian Crusaders and over the next few centuries it served as both a defensive structure and a royal residence. In the late 14th century the castle was dedicated to Saint George, the patron saint of England, when King Alfonso …

With the exception of travel days and a free day in Porto, our trip until this point had been pretty well scheduled in advance. But we left our Lisbon days wide open to just go with the flow. Not surprisingly, when we gave the kids their choice of activities on the first day, they unanimously – and enthusiastically – selected the aquarium. When Lisbon won the bid to host the 1998 World’s Fair, they took a run-down neighborhood and created a massive exhibition grounds featuring a variety of pavilions. The theme of Expo 98 was “The Oceans, A Heritage for the …

After the Benagil Cave boat tour, Antonio from South Explorers met us on the beach and we started the second part of the tour – walking the Algar Seco Boardwalk along the cliffs of Carvoeiro. We headed up the steps from the beach and up the hill. There was a great little scenic viewpoint off to the side that looked back down over the beach and city. The wooden boardwalk starts at Forte de Nossa Senhora da Encarnação and ends at the Algar Seco rock formation. It is a short walk (only about 600 meters) but well worth it. The …

When we decided to try to squeeze the Algarve into our trip, it was for one main reason: to see Benagil Cave. The most famous coastal cave in the Algarve, Benagil’s stunning image is on every website, travel book or brochure about the region. For me, it was a can’t-miss site in Portugal and I was willing to add days to our trip and rearrange our travel route to see it. During our two nights in the Algarve, we stayed in Lagos. While we loved the hotel and the town, Lagos is not especially close to Benagil. Our options seemed …