Welcome to Porto and the start of your beautiful Portugese Delight.
On arrival clear customs and then proceed to the arrival area where your driver will meet you and transfer the group to The Editory Boulevard Aliados, your home for the next few nights.
Check in, relax and then explore your surrounds before meeting for a welcome drink this evening and for those in the mood, a casual dinner.
This morning you will get to know Porto and its culture through the lens. The reflections of the Douro River, the history, art and architecture of this City, deserve to be kept beyond memory. Discover a Porto that sublimely mixes various styles from baroque to neoclassical. Accompanied by a professional photographer and through his lens, see the landscapes of the Douro, the magnificent Ponte D. Luís, Foz and the friendly people of the North.
The growing interest in Livraria Lello was catapulted on to the world stage with its recurrent nomination as “the most beautiful bookstore in the world”, and its connection to the creation of Harry Potter. It is an incredible space, and you will fall in love with this fabulous bookstore and the totally unique and amazing interior architecture.
Lunch is at leisure and then late this afternoon it is time to visit Graham’s!
Graham’s has been featured in the ‘Top 50 World’s Best Vineyards’ ranking that highlights the best wine tourism experiences around the world! Graham’s Port wine cellars were built in 1890 in Vila Nova de Gaia. The maritime climate is ideal for aging Graham’s Port wines and it has an extraordinary vintage port wine cellar that has become a popular destination for many Port wine lovers. Enjoy an unforgettable experience at Graham’s with a guided tour by one of the experts and a selection of Port wine tastings.
This evening your welcome dinner Enoteca 17.56! Frock up and let’s celebrate the start of the exquisite tour.
Overnight Accommodation: The Editory Boulevard Aliados
Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 3: Monday 09: Culinary Backstreets & Portugese Filigree…
Enjoy breakfast and then time to truly connect with the local food, people and culture!
This morning join a specialist in local gastronomy, with an in-depth knowledge of the city’s history and cuisine – a true local guide with a passion for providing privileged access to Portuguese culinary traditions. Your morning starts at the door of Mercado do Bolhão, where you will become familiar with the characteristics of traditional Portuguese food. You’ll meet unique suppliers and learn about the ingredients that fill Porto’s restaurants and home kitchens. You’ll explore the downtown and the historic centre of Porto, visiting some of the city’s traditional grocery stores. You will have the opportunity to visit and taste some of the most genuine and traditional Portuguese snacks…
Enjoy some of your own time to explore Porto, before meeting up for your very own hands-on Filigree workshop.
Filigree is an ancient art, an ornamental work made of very fine wires and small metal balls, welded together to form a design. Portuguese filigree mostly represents nature, religion and love. After a workshop in a local jewellery workshop learning this art form, you put what you’ve learned into practice by creating your own filigree piece.
Dinner is at leisure this evening.
Overnight Accommodation: The Editory Boulevard Aliados
Included Meals: Breakfast, Foodie Tastings
Day 4: Tuesday 10: To the Douro Valley, and Cooking with a Countess…
This morning after breakfast, it is time to check out and drive to the Douro Valley.
On the way you stop at the private residence of a Countess. Delve into the interesting and rich life history of her family, and their estate. In the old kitchens, using the wood stove and old iron pots, you will learn to cook an authentic local menu under her guidance before enjoying lunch in one of the elegant dining rooms or outside on the patio. Time to sit back and enjoy the dishes you helped prepare, in the beautiful surrounds of this private home.
Once you have enjoyed this amazing experience, it is time to check into The Vintage House, your gorgeous home for situated on the Douro River. Explore, sit by the pool or enjoy a cocktail as the rest of the day is at leisure to enjoy your beautiful surrounds.
Overnight Accommodation: The Vintage House
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 5: Wednesday 11: A Vintage Boat Ride and a Divine Lunch…
Today is a chill day. Enjoy sailing while relaxing aboard a vintage boat and enjoying the tranquility and landscape of the Douro River….sigh.
This is a day to remember with a special lunch at one of the most emblematic Douro wine estates before boating back to your gorgeous hotel. Soak up the beauty of your surrounds on this totally relaxed experience.
Dinner is at leisure this evening….if you have any space for it!
Overnight Accommodation: The Vintage House
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 6: Thursday 12: To Lisbon via Coimbra and Some Exclusive Delights…
This morning it is time to say farewell to Douro and hello to Lisbon. On the way you will stop in Coimbra and you are going to explore it in detail – through its food and its ancient university.
Considered the birthplace of the country’s most cherished traditions, Coimbra was the scene of the forbidden love between D. Pedro and Inês de Castro. Its streets still hide the love stories of the thousands of students who passed through there, and between the sound of guitars and their black covers, we arrive at one of the oldest Universities in the world.
The University of Coimbra, still in operation, has a unique tangible and intangible heritage, a fundamental part of the history of European and world scientific culture. After this historic lesson, we continue to learn about Coimbra, heading to the Paço das Escolas and multiple solemn spaces that allow us to travel to the former King’s chambers, where graduates held their Doctoral exams.
First, taste the best flavours of Coimbra in traditional places, full of history, in the city’s typical taverns, where you will taste the local gastronomy. We will walk through downtown Coimbra while discovering its history, along the way we will enter different taverns, meet the locals, taste the flavours and learn about its gastronomy and history…
Then something so special. Enjoy an exclusive visit, accompanied by an expert guide in the History of the University of Coimbra. You will have exclusive access to private spaces at the University that are not accessible to the general public, such as the Sacristy of Capela de S. Miguel; the Upper Chapel Choir; the Yellow Room, the Senate Room or the Rector’s Private Chapel.
The Joanina Library will also be exclusively reserved. A masterpiece of the Baroque it was built under the patronage of D João V. Built in order to exalt the monarch and the wealth of the empire, namely from Brazil, this library is, in addition to a splendid combination of exotic materials, a true vault of books. Inside, a succession of three communicating rooms awaits you, which leads the visitor’s gaze to the portrait of the patron, D. João V, by the Savoyard painter Domenico Duprà. Equipped with copies of the rarest bibliographical collections, the Joanina Library presents a collection of collections from the 16th and 19th centuries.
This personalised visit provides exclusive access to historical documents from the University archive.
Then to Lisbon and time to check in and relax. Dinner is at leisure this evening.
Overnight Accommodation: Tivoli Avenida Liberdade Lisbon
Included Meals: Breakfast, Foodie Tour
Day 7: Friday 13: The Most Iconic Products, the Most Historic Stores, a Tram Trip and More…
Today it’s time for some retail therapy to kick off a fabulous day.
Lisbon, the first capital of a global empire, is a hidden gem for the purchase of traditional and refined products in a great European capital full of flavours and description. Quietly take your time to shop at some of the best stores in the country. A professional personal shopper awaits you.
For those looking for tradition, the refinement of generational knowledge and good taste here is a sample of the stores that could make the final cut!
Leitão e Irmão Joalherias
The main workshops at Casa Leitão were built at the end of the 19th century in the courtyard of a small palace in Bairro Alto. There, great silversmiths who until then worked in very small workshops all over Lisbon settled there. Modern manufacturing methods and working conditions were a decisive contribution to the manufacture of exceptional parts.
In the late 1970s, the jewellery workshops, originally located on the first floor of the Chiado store, were integrated into the Bairro Alto workshop.
Currently, by appointment, visits to the workshop accompanied by the Master Jeweler of Casa Leitão are allowed, explaining how it works and the manufacturing techniques.
Vista Alegre
Dedicated to table art and decoration, this brand has been part of Portuguese culture since 1824. An ambassador of refinement and savoir-faire, she represents Portugal throughout the world and has accompanied the times in an exemplary way.
Arcádia Casa do Chocolate
Famous for its traditional bonbons, liqueur almonds and hot chocolate, this prestigious artisan confectionery factory, founded in Porto in 1933, specialises in making art from cocoa.
Cutipol
If there are some Portuguese brands that fulfil the national pride quota, Cutipol is one of them. Founded in 1964, the brand opened its first store in Chiado in 1997 and later a Cookshop , a space dedicated to the art of cooking, with quality instruments and objects that respect pure and linear forms.
Luvaria Ulisses
There is no one who doesn’t love this antique glove with its neoclassical façade and decoration that has remained intact since its foundation in 1925. A miniature store that continues to surprise for its extraordinarily small space but full of charm, for the gloves whose colours enchant every season and for the personalised service. It occupies the place of the only national glove, with its own handcrafted manufacture.
Then board your private cable car to explore the city in a totally local way! The most Lisbon way to visit the Portuguese Capital is to do so on one of the city’s most characteristic means of transport. We have reserved a traditional tram (cable car) for you, which will take you to see the main points of this city bathed by the Tagus. The sound of the bells and the old lines along which they move allow you to see Lisbon in a unique way.
Post tram, it is time to chill and enjoy a relaxing lunch at @ SUD Lisboa Terrazza before heading out to explore more. Maybe return to some of those stores, or perhaps find some new ones! The choice is yours….
Overnight Accommodation: Tivoli Avenida Liberdade Lisbon
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 8: Saturday 14: A day at Leisure to Make Your own Memories then it’s time for Fado…
So many options today to experience this beautiful city! We have options available or maybe you have your own ideas. Whatever you choose to do it will be amazing…
This evening time to experience the culture of Fado.
Tonight you will discover Alfama, the oldest and most typical neighbourhood in Lisbon: you will experience the streets, the layout of the houses from times gone by, the clothes spread out in the windows and fish grilling in the open air.
It seems that the heart of the city still pulsates with all the vitality of its origins. Fado was born here, in the 19th century, where today there are many fado houses on every corner. Classified by Unesco as Intangible Heritage, Fado found itself catapulted into the international panorama of world music.
It is through these very peculiar streets that we arrive at the Palácio dos Condes de Linhares (an old family of the descendants of D. Fernando I), which today houses a fado house with a refined and elegant atmosphere. Here, some well-known names like Ana Moura, Mafalda Arnauth or Raquel Tavares sing. The cuisine maintains a focus on the traditional Portuguese gastronomy.
Overnight Accommodation: Tivoli Avenida Liberdade Lisbon
Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 9: Sunday 15: To Cascais & Sintra, with a Picnic in the Gardens of a Royal Palace…
This morning you will be collected by your guide and driver to spend a magical day exploring Cascais & Sintra!
The fishing village of Cascais has reinvented itself into a refined seaside resort and one of the most sophisticated summer destinations. Located a few kilometres from the mouth of the Tagus, it is situated between the sunny bay of Cascais and the majestic Serra de Sintra with an atmosphere brimming with elegance.
The historic town of Sintra, a World Heritage Site, delights from the moment you arrive. You will visit the historic centre and then go up to Palácio da Pena, the result of the creativity of D. Fernando II, the greatest exponent of 19th century romanticism in Portugal. It is a journey through time that takes you to the time of D. Carlos I and Queen D. Amélia, who lived here.
Discover one of the most beautiful architectural and landscape creations of Romanticism in Portugal, on a tour of this magnificent Palace, in the historic village of Sintra. Enjoy the combined beauty of Gothic, Indian and Moorish influences in this imposing monument.
Also visit the fantastic gardens where you will find species from all over the world and admirably organised by geographical areas. The lawn in front of the Palace invites you to sit down. And it is here you will enjoy a delicious and traditional picnic – in the grounds of this beautiful palace.
Then our final visit to a masterpiece of romanticism!
A retreat for writers, Monserrate Palace attracted countless foreign travellers, mainly English, who praised its beauty in travel stories and engravings. In 1846, after many owners, that Francis Cook, a wealthy 19th century English industrialist and great art collector, visited the place and was fascinated. Out of that passion was born a masterpiece of Romanticism: the Park and Palace of Monserrate – a palace that combines Gothic, Indian influences and Moorish suggestions.
Francis Cook realised his dream, transforming Monserrate into what we know today, with its lush gardens and a palace that is a true ode to romantic architecture.
At the end of a fabulous day it is time to return to Lisbon, and your last night in this beautiful city.
Overnight Accommodation: Tivoli Avenida Liberdade Lisbon
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 10: Monday 16: Goodbye Lisbon. Hello Country Life…
This morning time to check out and depart Lisbon for the beauty of the Portuguese countryside.
Setúbal is a short distance from Lisbon, on the other side of the Tagus River, and is an enchanted place. The beaches, the mountains, its famous and award-winning wines are just a little of what we are going to see. Serra da Arrábida is one of the most beautiful and significant natural areas of Mediterranean influence.
As we approach Serra da Arrábida, you will immediately realise that we are in a place of spectacular landscapes. In Portinho da Arrábida, there is a corner of the sea that seems to have come out of a painting.
Food awakens your senses through sight, taste, smell and touch and on this guided tour of the oyster farms, this is guaranteed.
You’ll get in the ocean and try the freshest oysters straight from the sea, learning first-hand how to open an oyster like a pro. Watch the workers in action cultivate the most perfect oysters and, if you wish, you can join them to farm your own oysters. The best experience is to taste its fresh, creamy flavour straight from the source…
To complete the experience in Setúbal, enjoy a visit to the market to discover the taste of the local delicacy “chocofrito” (strips of cuttlefish wrapped in a tempura-like batter – yum).
A foodie lover’s dream come true!
Then a visit to a local hand made tile artisan. Here you will learn about the traditional process of tile production from its clay base to glazing to painting. and even have a go at creating your own hand painted tile – a memory to take away from this amazing day.
You then head to your gorgeous Relais & Chateaux property, check in and enjoy an evening at leisure!
Overnight Accommodation: Herdade da Malhadinha Nova Country House & Spa
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Today is lazy day….enjoy a beautiful, leisurely morning at this superb establishment and then lunch today is a gorgeous, gourmet picnic.
In a corner of the property, overlooking the vineyards… indulge in a divine regional picnic, accompanied by one of the house wines. Afterwards, time to take advantage of the peace and quiet and take a nap in the shade of a holm oak tree, complete with a blanket, pillow and mosquito net! Sublime!
The rest of the day is yours to soak up the good life and just enjoy a blissed out day of whatever you choose to do….
Enjoy a leisurely breakfast and then time to get into the kitchen with the team at Herdade da Malhadinha, to create something gorgeous for lunch. Learn their secrets, cook something diving and then wash it down with local wines.
Later this afternoon, Herdade da Malhadinha Nova invites you to get to know the world of wine and gastronomy through a journey of their wine and agricultural products, produced organically at the Estate. Delicious!
We can enjoy an optional casual dinner together on this final night to talk about the beautiful country you have been exploring over the last 12 days and then it is time to discover the stars! In an area protected from the light pollution of large cities, with the help of an astronomer and a telescope you will see the rings of Saturn and the craters of the moon, plus the velvet skies lit up with a million stars!
