Tour Overview
Portugal, a country of poets, is blessed by the sun and sea breeze. Portugal is a country that likes to share its great cuisine as well as a good chat. Portugal is a country brimming with history and heritage. Portugal is a country of innovation and creativity. Portugal is a calm and peaceful country that knows how to welcome visitors and does it exceedingly well. Portugal is a country of universal vocation that is given over to discovering the best that life has to offer: simple and beautiful things, like an open smile and genuine friendliness. Portugal is a country that is also yours, now and for always.Day by Day Itinerary
Day 1: Arrive Lisbon, PortugalToday when you arrive in Lisbon you will be met by an iExplore Representative and driven to your hotel. Located in Alto de Santo Amaro, one of Lisbon’s quietest residential areas, the Pestana Palace is pleased to receive its guests in a stylish 19th century building, former residence of counts and marquises now reborn after a long and careful restoration. Classified as a National Monument and located only 10 kms from Lisbon International Airport, the hotel boasts unparalleled views over the River Tagus. Each of its 177 classically designed rooms and 17 suites are fully equipped with cable TV, air-conditioning, mini-bar and in-room safe. Non-smoking rooms are available. Overlooking the hotel’s magnificent private park, the Valle Flor Restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. During the milder months of the year you can enjoy al fresco dining in the garden restaurant. The bar adjacent to the palace restaurant offers a light menu and live music on weekday evenings. The serene atmosphere of the gardens is ideal for relaxing, while the health club offers a wide choice of activities for keeping fit, either in the gym or in the indoor or outdoor swimming pools. In the afternoon, leave for a city sightseeing tour featuring the Marquis de Pombal Square, Avenue of Liberty, the D. Pedro IV Square more commonly known as Rossio (downtown), Commerce Square, the cathedral built during the 12th century on order of the first King of Portugal, D. Afonso Henriques. Walk down the Alfama Quarter to wander the old Jewish Quarter of Lisbon, and continue along the river to the monumental Belem Quarter to visit the Royal Coaches Museum and the Hieronymus Monastery, the most remarkable monastic construction of the 16th century, built on the order of King D. Manuel I to commemorate the discovery of the maritime way to India by Vasco da Gama- a UNESCO World heritage Site. Before returning to your hotel stop for a photo opportunity at the Belem Tower, built in the shape of a caravel, in the middle of the river, to serve as a fortress to defend its mouth and to honor the departure place of the Portuguese ships off on maritime discoveries. The evening is at leisure.
Hotel Pestana Palace Day 2: Lisbon- Queluz- Sintra- Estoril
After breakfast at the hotel, depart from Lisbon driving west to the small town of Queluz for a visit to the beautiful 18th century Queluz Palace and Gardens, a rococo palace fully refurbished which served as the official Royal Residence after a fire at the Ajuda Palace. Continue on then to Sintra for a visit to this marvelous small town in the surroundings of Lisbon, and to its National Palace, a royal residence with origins in the 14th century but later enlarged in the 15th and 16th centuries. It is considered a National Monument. You will have some time for lunch on your own in Sintra. Then proceed to Colares and to Cape Roca, the most western point of the European Continent- a photo stop, Cascais- a former fisherman’s village nowadays a tourist resort. Return to Lisbon via Estoril and the coastal road.
Breakfast
Hotel Pestana Palace Day 3: Lisbon- Evora
Enjoy breakfast at the hotel before leaving Lisbon by the Vasco da Gama Bridge heading south through Alentejo’s cork oak forests and plains towards Arraiolos. Visit Arraiolos including the historic center with its marvelous Misericordia Church, and the ruins of the castle with the well-preserved S. Salvador Church. Proceed then to Evora where you will have time to enjoy lunch (not included). The museum city of Evora, whose origins date back to the times of the Roman Empire, reached its golden age during the 15th century when it became the residence of the Portuguese Kings. Noble families wishing to live near the court ordered the construction of palaces and brought with them architects, painters, sculptors and other artists who embellished the town and transformed Evora into a unique town. Check into your hotel, the Hotel Convento do Espinheiro: Opened in June 2005, this luxurious 5-star hotel is part of the prestigious Starwood chain of luxury hotels. Converted from a 15th century building, the Convento do Espinheiro is conveniently located just 2 km from the center of Evora- a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986. The hotel has an extensive range of on-site facilities including an upmarket restaurant, piano bar, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, tennis courts, a modern spa and 8 hectares of gardens. In the afternoon leave for a city tour of Evora featuring the Romano Gothic Cathedral, the Roman Temple, the historic city center, St. Francis Church and its Bones Chapel. Enjoy some free time in Evora for shopping or to taste the marvelous Alentejo cuisine.
Breakfast
Hotel Convento do Espinheiro Day 4: Evora- Monsaraz- Portel- Beja- Mertola- Tavira
Depart from Evora this morning continuing south to Reguengos de Monsaraz and up hill to the medieval town for a walking tour of Monsaraz. Monsaraz is a delightful walled town originally fortified by the Knights Templar when the Moors were the enemy. Later, its proximity to the Spanish border combined with its elevation made it of great strategic importance. Once the threat from Spain had passed, Monsaraz became less influential, which helped it become the relaxed, peaceful village that it is today.
For lunch today (not included) you can stop in Reguengos de Monsaraz during a visit to the Esporao Wine Farm, or at Hotel Refugio da Vila in Portel, famous for its cooking classes. Continue on then to Mertola- a small town dominating the Guadiana River Valley whose castle served as defense of the border and of its river port. Called Myrtilis Julia during the Roman period and later occupied by Visigoths and the Moors. Here we will visit the city’s museum. Afterwards, we will proceed along the Guadiana River to Castro Marim and Tavira. Check into the Pousada de Tavira Convento da Graca, an historic luxury hotel in Tavira that blends to perfection classic lines and warm atmosphere, with modern amenities.
Breakfast
Pousada de Tavira- Convento da Graca Day 5: Tavira- Faro- Lagos- Cape St. Vincent
After breakfast at your hotel depart for a full day Algarve tour, beginning with a short trip to Faro- the capital of Algarve. The roots of Faro are ancient but not well documented. Certainly Greeks and Romans used it as a trading post before it became a flourishing Moorish town. Largely devastated by the 1755 earthquake, the city now has an architectural hodge-podge of styles and eras. We will visit the old town and the cathedral. We will continue along the coast to Lagos, which is believed to have been founded by the Carthaginians, then taken by the Romans in the 5th century BC. The Moors conquered the city in the 8th century until it finally fell to the Portuguese. A walk through the city’s winding streets will lead you to Igreja de Santo Antonio, on the outside a somber looking church, but inside an extraordinarily beautiful example of gilded carving. The nave has an impressive painted wooden barrel-vault and baroque paintings on the walls. You will also have some free time to enjoy lunch (not included) before we continue to Cape St. Vincent and Sagres, where Henry the Navigator built a nautical school. Then we will return to the hotel in Tavira.
Breakfast
Pousada de Tavira- Convento da Graca Day 6: Tavira- Seville, Spain- Tavira
This morning after breakfast at your hotel you will leave Tavira towards Vila Real Santo Antonio and on across the Spanish border to Seville, one of the most beautiful cities in Spain. Enjoy a private guided tour of the city as you visit the Parque de Maria Luisa and the Plaza de Espana. The Plaza is marked by a long semicircular series of arches bearing ceramic crests of all the provinces of Spain. The park itself is dotted with buildings left over from the Spanish-American exhibition of 1929. One of these now houses the Museo Arqueologico. Artifacts from the Moorish Palace of medina Azahara are on display here. Next, the Barrio de Santa Cruz, the former Jewish Quarter turned fashionable neighborhood. The walls are so white, the flowers so bright and the iron everywhere so intricately wrought that you expect a senorita in full flounce to come around the corner at any time, castanets clicking. Amid the chic shops and restaurants of this barrio, you can also see many traditional Andalusian homes. Now, you have the chance to visit to the Cathedral and Giralda Tower. It is the third largest Christian Church in the world and the largest Gothic one, and was built between 1402 and 1506 on the site of a former mosque. Hidden in its somber shadows are many
relics and treasures, including paintings by Murillo, Zurbarab and Goya; a cross said to be made from the first gold Columbus brought back to Spain from America, and a funerary monument claimed to hold the explorer’s remains. Exiting through the Puerta de Oriente you are at the base of Seville’s trademark Giralda, a slender, rectangular tower rising 305 feet. Erected between 1184 and 1196, it is the remaining minaret of the mosque, which was destroyed a century later. You’ll have some free time in the afternoon for shopping or to independently explore the Jewish Quarter- perhaps by a horse carriage- the best way to enjoy and appreciate the charm of Seville. Return to Ayamonte and cross the Portuguese border to Tavira.
Breakfast
Pousada de Tavira- Convento da Graca Day 7: Tavira- Setubal- Lisbon
Today you will leave Algarve traveling through the Alentejo to Alcacer do Sal and Setubal. Enjoy a panoramic visit of the city before continuing on to Pousada de Sao Filipe, set on a hilltop dominating Setubal, for lunch on your own at Pousada’s Restaurant. After lunch we will continue the sightseeing tour to the Arrabida Mountain, a National Park just south of Lisbon. The steep hills, with a wide variety of flowers and trees, with the blue ocean for contrast, are stunning. Then we are on to Azaitao, perhaps visiting the old Jose Maria de Fonseca Wine Cellars and tasting some of the winery’s production. You will return to Lisbon via the 25th of April Bridge.
Breakfast
Hotel Pestana Palace Day 8: Depart Lisbon
Today you will be driven to the airport in Lisbon for your flight home.
Breakfast
