A good tip for you is Lisbon where, if you’re lucky, you can eat outside in short sleeves. A New Year’s supper, with seafood, fireworks and the huge Christmas tree will all heighten your experience. The tree is made of scaffolding and is generously illuminated. It used to be over 70 metres tall when it stood in the old market square, down by the river. Now it will show off its height over the “avenida” in Parque Eduardo VII but will be a great deal shorter.
Lisbon, and even the rest of Portugal, still has reasonable prices for food and drink, especially if you avoid the tourist areas in the centre and go, either by bus or funicular, to the pub areas in the Barrio Alto or Alfama.
There are two train trips you shouldn’t miss out on; one to Cascais by the sea and the other to the Royals’ summer retreat high up at Sintra.