Places included in our tour:

BAIXA (DOWNTOWN) Places: Park Edward VII, Avenida da Liberdade, Squares of Rossio and Restauradores, St. Dominic's Church (18th century), Ginjinha, Baixa Pombalina (Pombaline Downtown), Praça do Comércio.

CASTELO DE SÃO JORGE: One of Lisbon’s most distinctive monuments, being situated on the city’s highest hill.

The castle itself was founded in the 10th and 11th centuries, when Lisbon was an important Moorish port. In 1147, the first king of Portugal, Dom Afonso Henriques, captured both the castle and the city from the Moors. The castle enjoyed its most important period between the 13th and 14th centuries. It was also here, in the 16th century that the king Dom Manuel I received Vasco da Gama after his sea voyage to India and that the first Portuguese theatre play, written by Gil Vicente, was performed to mark the birth of the king Dom João III.

It is generally agreed to afford the best view over the city and the River Tagus. Inside the walls, you will find an archeological museum and the Tower of Ulisses, the city’s legendary founder.

QUARTER BELÉM (UNESCO): Belem Tower (16th century), Monument of Discoveries (20th century), Traditional Milk Custard Tarts of Belém Pastéis de Belém (19th century)

MONASTERY OF JERÓNIMOS (UNESCO): Built in the 16th century, an impressive example of Manueline architecture. It was King Manuel I who ordered the construction of the Monastery and its endowment to the Order of the Friars of Saint Jerome. The sheer magnificence of the building reflects the universal vision of its founder and the scale of the wealth available to the Crown. This was the starting point of the Portuguese discoveries.

Inside the church, a masterpiece of the Manueline style, with beautiful transept vaults supported by palm tree column, an ambitious approach by the Portuguese architect. On entry, there are the tombs of the poet Luís de Camões, author of the epic masterpiece "Os Lusíadas." As well as the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama, commander of the armada that set sail for India in 1497, completing the first such naval voyage in history. You can also find in the lateral chapels and in the chancel, tombs of Portuguese Kings during the Golden Age of the discoveries.

QUARTER BAIRRO ALTO (photo stop): Viewpoint São Pedro de Alcântara.

Hotel | Lisbon

In the morning, we visit the Historical Centre of Sintra, with visit to the traditional narrow streets full of flowers and local craft shops, viewpoints, with compulsory stop at the traditional sweets and Ginjinha (cherry liqueur).

We start with cultural tour with NATIONAL PALACE OF SINTRA, unique example of medieval palaces in Portugal. From the earliest dynasties, Sintra was a favorite spot for the Portuguese kings. Its interior tell not one, but several stories of Portugal. The decor has great value, combining furniture, paintings and tiles. Outside we see the two large conical kitchen chimneys with 108 feet high, a symbol of Sintra.

Continue to PENA ROYAL PALACE, in the top10 of the most beautiful palaces in the world! A real enchanted palace. One of the most beautiful examples of the romantic revival of the 19th century. Built on the site of a former convent of friars from the Order of St. Jerome. A fantasy from King Fernando of Saxe Coburg-Gotha. A palace with a complexity of styles: neo-Gothic, neo-Manueline, neo-Islamic and neo-Renaissance.

WINERY SANTA MARIA: Located at the foot of the Sintra hills and very close to the sea, COLARES village is extremely pleasant and long sought as a place of summer. Colares is also a demarcated wine region, which produces the much appreciated and nowadays increasingly rare Colares wine, which can be tasted in the local “adega”, housed in a beautiful building in the town center.

LISBON FADO SHOW + FOLKLORE SHOW + DINNER WITH DRINKS | PRICE FOR OPTIONAL TOUR 50EUR/PERSON + 15EUR/PERSON FOR TRANSPORTATION | By night, the traditional neighborhoods fall under the spell of Fado, the melancholic style of Portuguese folk music. In 2011, UNESCO granted Fado World Heritage status, as an urban Lisbon song symbolic of the city and the country. 

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Visit a CORK FACTORY, where you can discover the process of transforming raw cork into the products that are sold all over Portugal. Portugal is the world's leading manufacturer of cork and represents 53% of world production. In spite of corks being the most familiar object, many other things are made of cork, especially in areas where it grows as Alentejo, where 72% of the total production is concentrated.

Take a guided walking city in the city of EVORA (UNESCO) with our tour guide: 

Historic center with medieval white streets, Royal Palace (exterior only visit. The interior is used for temporary exhibitions), City Garden, St. Francis Church and Chapel of Bones, Geraldo Square, Gothic cathedral of the XIII century, Roman temple from the first century AD, Real Jesuit University.

Altenjo is the top red wine region of Portugal, famous for its dry, strong and intense wines. Choose one of the following wineries:

WINERY CARTUXA: Located in the old refectory of the former retreat of the Jesuit Brothers who taught at Evora University in the 16th and 17th centuries. Nowadays, the winery is owned by the Eugenio de Almeida family, undergoing several improvements over the years, preserving its rich architectural and historic integrity. Pera Manca is its most famous and awarded wine.

WINERY RAVASQUEIRA: Owned by José de Mello family for many generations, the estates occupies a property with oaks and cork oaks. Endowed with excellent geological and climatic conditions to produce the best wines that Alentejo can offer, it produces distinctive quality wines. The estate also offers a wide range of other activities associated with cork, olive oil, honey and cattle breeding and Lusitano horses of quality. The winery has already produced two wines that were gold awarded by the magazine “wine spectator”.

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Choose one of the following wineries:

WINERY JOSE MARIA DA FONSECA: Built in the 19th century, was restored in 1923 by the Swiss architect, Ernesto Korrodi. Explore its three anciant cellars, where the famous Periquita wine ages, and finally the Teares Velhos cellar, where the oldest Muscatel of Setubal is ageing, some of which authentic relics, having more than 100 years.

WINERY BACALHÔA: Even though it occupies an estate from the 16th century, it created a new dynamism through a strong focus on the most modern techniques of viticulture and enology in the 80s. In 1998, José Berardo became the major shareholder and continued the company's mission, namely investing in planting new vineyards in the modernization of wineries and acquiring new properties.

Hotel | Lisbon

The visit to the Winery includes: 

- Visit the gardens of the 19th century, as well as the vineyards of Quinta do Sanguinhal 

- Visit to an old distillery fully recovered with 300m2 which formerly produced brandies and grape marc spirit.

- Visit to an old mill with five presses, dated from 1871

- Visit the aging cellar with 36 barrels.

ÓBIDOS is a charming and picturesque medieval village, with white washed houses decorated with flowers. Captured from the Moors by the first king of Portugal, D. Afonso Henriques, in 1148, though already occupied before the Romans reached the Iberian Peninsula, the village became prosperous from the time it was chosen by the royal family, when the King Dinis offered it as wedding gift to his wife Isabel, in the 14th century. Full of flowers, many medieval monuments and beautiful panoramic views are found here, relax yet in a medieval bar while enjoying the famous local liqueur Ginjinha.

MONASTERY OF ALCOBAÇA (UNESCO): Monastery or Royal Abbey of Santa Maria, founded by the Order of Cistercians in 1153. Building began in 1178 on land donated by Dom Afonso Henriques, the first King of Portugal to the Order of Cistercians, in fulfilment of a vow made after the Christian reconquest of Santarém. Testify the magnificent gothic tombs of the two lovers King Pedro and Ines de Castro.

MONASTERY OF BATALHA (UNESCO): Built in 1386 to keep a vow by Portuguese King Dom João I to the Virgin Mary that he would build it if Portugal defeated Castile at the Battle of Aljubarrota on 14th August 1385. The Monastery of Batalha, a masterpiece of Portuguese Gothic, is a magnificent piece of architecture that combines various influences from its lengthy period of construction, which lasted several reigns. Outstanding in the interior are the Founders' Chapel with its fine stained-glass windows, the cloisters, the Unfinished Chapels with their Manueline and Flemish Gothic features and the Chapter House.

FÁTIMA: The apparitions of Fatima have developed immensely the local town into one of the largest centers of Marian cult in the world. The major manifestations of devotees are hold at May 13 and 13 October (the Procession of candles takes places on the day 12, and the Farewell procession takes place on the day 13, thus ending the celebrations). Visit the shrine of our Lady of Fatima: This Marian pilgrimage center evokes the apparitions of our Lady to three Shepherd children Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta, occurred in 1917 and recognized in 1930. The site was a country ground called Cova da Iria and belonged to Lucia parents, who later donated it to the sanctuary. It was here that the first appearance took place. The sanctuary includes the Basilica, the square of the prayers, and the chapel of the apparitions, the Church of the Holy Trinity, and the pyre where people burn candles asking for blessings.

Hotel | Fátima

COIMBRA (UNESCO): Capital of Beira Litoral, of Roman origin Aeminium, was also the former capital of the Portuguese Kingdom. One of the most beautiful cities of Portugal, preservs several historical monuments, medieval churches and the most important library in Portugal! Coimbra, situated on the bank River Mondego, in the geographical center of Portugal, has plenty of charm in its academic streets, narrow, with small courtyards, arches and floral eaves, cafes, galleries and bookstores. Take a guided walking tour in its historic centre, as this is the best way to explore the old town. We start at the University of Coimbra (1290), to the Old Cathedral (1162), New Cathedral (1598), Academic Neighborhood, Almedina, Igreja de São Tiago, Igreja de Santa Cruz (1131). Free time for shopping and regional sweets.

WINERY ALIANÇA UNDERGROUND MUSEUM: The winery was founded in 1927 in the demarcated region of Bairrada.

The company began exporting immediately to Brazil, Africa and Europe, and today, more than 50 percent of the Alliance's production is for export. Today it has properties in almost all regions of Portugal, as the Alentejo, Dao, Douro, Bairrada and borders, exploring about 600 hectares (ha) of vineyards.

Alliance wines such as Quinta dos Quatro Ventos, Quinta da Garrida, Quinta da Terrugem and Quinta das Baceladas, have received several national and international awards and the company was considered in 2005 by Wine Spectator of the 20 best companies in the sector worldwide.

BAIRRADA WINES: Bairrada is rich in the production of white and red wines made up of traditional grape varieties, such as the abundant Baga, and international ones imported to Portuguese soils, such as the Cabernet Sauvignon. Although wine production existed since the 10th Century, it was only in the 19th Century that Bairrada became a quality wine producing region. 

Situated in the coastal strip between the ocean and the Serra do Buçaco, the Bairrada region is influenced by the Atlantic Ocean, with abundant rainfall and mild temperatures. This cool and moist climate produces grapes with high acidity and low alcohol content, ideal for making sparkling wines. It was in this region, in 1890, that this type of wine was produced for the first time in Portugal, especially the “Dry” variety, which is the perfect accompaniment for suckling pig, the speciality of the region’s cuisine.

Porto is the capital of the North and the second largest city in the country; its hard-working inhabitants are noted for their commercial enterprise, always standing firm against outside impositions and foreign invaders, which explains why Porto has become known as the «unvanquished» city.

In this Porto Day tour we will visit the most important sites of this old city.

Take a guided tour the Port Wine Old Cellars with a special tasting of these wines.

Admire the typical granite houses and monuments, with all the rhythms of city life, its movement and intense retailing, the main square of Av. Aliados, the highest tower in the city of Clerigos, the church of Sao Francisco all furnished with gold leaf, the world famous bookstore Livraria Lello, the ultra modern Casa da Musica building, the Atlantic fortress of Castelo do Queijo, the old Cathedral, the Palacio da Bolsa (Chamber of Commerce), Ribeira (Riverside), and a river cruise under the city’s six bridges, from where you can enjoy an entirely different view of the city. 

Take a guided tour the Port Wine Old Cellars with a special tasting of these wines.

PORTO FADO SHOW + FOLKLORE SHOW + DINNER WITH DRINKS | PRICE FOR OPTIONAL TOUR 45EUR/PERSON + 10EUR/PERSON FOR TRANSPORTATION | By night, the traditional neighborhoods fall under the spell of Fado, the melancholic style of Portuguese folk music. In 2011, UNESCO granted Fado World Heritage status. 

Hotel | Porto

WINERY QUINTA DA AVELEDA, the only winery in Portugal producing Kosher Table Wine – “Grinalda”.

With an Atlantic influence, at altitudes ranging from 656ft to 1312ft, the 506 acres of vines at Aveleda are at the heart of the Vinho Verde Demarcated Region, where local grape varieties are grown like: Loureiro, Fernão Pires, Alvarinho, Arinto and Trajadura. Aside from its important architectural heritage, marked by the perfect harmony between functional and natural elements, the Quinta da Aveleda estate is also famous for its parks and gardens, where rare species of trees flourish, some of which have been around for over a hundred years. Aveleda was awarded the international Best of Wine Tourism 2011 award, in the “Architecture, Parks and Gardens” category.

We continue to the charming village of AMARANTE, impressing with two imposing natural features: the great Serra do Marão rising above the city in a series of majestic landscapes and the Tamega River, the longest tributary of the River Douro, beginning in Galicia and flowing through the heart of Amarante, embellishing the picturesque houses on its banks. In the city stands out the former Convent of Saint Gonzalo, founded by King John III in 1540. This monastery is a pilgrimage destination for all the single ladies who are eager to know your charming price in the near future.

WINERY PACHECA: Quinta da Pacheca, one of the most famous properties in Douro, stands out for having been the first to bottle wine under its own brand. On April 17, 1738 the winery already belonged to D. Mariana Pacheco Pereira. In 1903 it was bought by José Freire de Serpa Pimentel, and after 100 years it still belongs to the same family. The property is located in the Lower Douro region, with a total length of 51 hectares of vineyards and a single winery. The main wines are: Pacheca, Grande Reserva Touriga Nacional and Vinha da Rita.

QUINTA DO VALLADO: Established in 1716, is one of the oldest and most famous “Quintas” in the Douro Valley. It once belonged to the legendary Dona Antónia Adelaide Ferreira, and still belongs to the family of her descendants. it lies on both banks of the Corgo river, a tributary to the Douro river, rightnear to it’s mouth, close to the town of Peso da Régua.

Hotel | Douro Valley

WINERY HOUSE SANTAR: former palace of the family Cunhas de Santar is today the Agricultural Society of Santar, with their wines Casa de Santar. Estate of the 17th and 18th, belonging to the Countess of Santar and her family, surrounded by beautiful gardens with trees, shrubs, flowers and classical statues. The cellars are perfectly framed in the architectural complex of the cellar.

 

On the porch of the tasting room, whenever time permits, taste wines from different eras, in the company of deer that wander peacefully through the park. There is a harmony in the landscape, vineyards among lush pine forests and groves. From the high quality grape varieties, result white wines and red wines of Casa de Santar, as well as the Late Harvest wines.

In 2007 the Agricultural Society of Santar SA, with its wines Casa de Santar, was recognized with the Producer of the Year prize awarded by Wine Magazine.

Return to Lisbon.

Hotel | Lisbon