Dazzling Portugal Highlights: Lisbon, Douro Valley, Porto Tour

Portugal’s capital city of Lisbon  is entrenched in history, dating back 800 years. Its streets are lined with multi-colored houses and dissected by cobblestone alleyways. Among the backdrop of castle-like cathedrals, vivid tile mosaics, and curving roadways, voguish character emanates from stylish bars and cafés. Your private transfer will meet you at Lisbon Portela Airport and will chaperone you to a stately hotel in the breathtaking city.

The alluring cityscape scenes will lure you from your cozy accommodation to Lisbon’s cobbled streets for a guided half-day walking tour of Alfama, Castelo, and Baixa. These historic districts spotlight the framework of the city’s honored heritage. The steep streets of Alfama share postcard-perfect panoramas of the Tagus River. The crown jewel of Castelo is the medieval São Jorge Castle that rests atop a luxuriant hill for all eyes to gaze upon. In the evening, the sweet melodies of Fado, a decades-old Portuguese musical tradition, will accompany you during a sumptuous candlelit dinner.

Today will begin with a taste of Alentejo’s countryside wines at one of the best wine producers of the region. Deep red hues and honeyed aromas will dazzle your senses as every sip proves to be of world-class caliber. Spectacles of rolling green hills will set the scene as you learn about their meticulous production. This afternoon, your guide will escort you to the bewitchingly beautiful city of Évora. Remnants of ancient Rome can be found in the city center and are marked by the mesmerizing Temple of Évora. Behind you, white-washed houses sweep along the hillside where the colossal Gothic Cathedral of Évora is poised.

With no specific activities planned for the day, you may explore Lisbon to your heart's content. You may wish to take this opportunity to indulge in the city’s delectable cuisine, whether that be on a guided gastronomic tour or a self-discovery stroll. Cod is a culinary staple in Portugal; it is carefully curated into an assortment of traditional dishes that pronounce Portuguese heritage. Within buzzing top-tier restaurants and spirited food markets, the appetizing fragrances of Bacalhau à Brás, a salted Portuguese Codfish with eggs and potato, pour from the sizzling skillets on which they are prepared.

Today, you will discover the Douro Valley and bucolic vistas that dominate Portugal’s countryside en route to your first stop in Óbidos. The charming little town is a slice of Portuguese paradise. Planters bursting with bright magenta bougainvilleas and delicate pink honeysuckle sit below the windows of white painted houses, intricately crafted Manueline Porticoes, discerning rounded churches entrance façades. After a short peruse through the town, you will continue to a peaceful part of the Douro Valley, Pinhão.

Hemmed in the lush hillsides that comprise the Douro Valley, Pinhão is a picturesque town that makes for a pretty base to explore the greater valley. The valley itself is home to a series of immaculately well-kept vineyards that are responsible for some of the world’s greatest port harvests. Whether you have found a comfortable spot at a stellar estate, where you may indulge in the candied flavors of the finest ports, or have settled in for an hour-long river cruise, the illuminated landscape will seduce you throughout.

You will wake up with first light as it twinkles off the beautiful blue ribbon of the serpentine river that runs across Pinhão. After breakfast, you will begin your journey to Porto, stopping at Amarante en route. Two distinct natural wonders shape the city: the towering evergreen summit of Serra do Marão and the immense navy water of Tâmega River, Douro’s longest tributary. Scrupulous stone-structured houses line the river banks and constitute much of what you see. The iconic São Gonçalo bridge will eventually materialize in front of you with a Harry Potter-esque church just beyond its length.

Porto is a portal into Portugal’s visionary creative space. It blends old-world tradition with new-wave thinking. São Bento Station, for example, is a feat of architectural genius that captures French Beaux-Arts flawlessly. The artistry depicts Portugal’s past through a spectacular 20,000 azulejo display, which is a distinct style of colorful glazed tiles that are used in Portuguese and Spanish architecture. Ahead of you lies the Baroque Clérigos Church, which is a window into the city’s spiritual customs that boasts 360-degree vistas from its soaring bell tower. Beyond the São Gonçalo church, Porto’s famous Lello Bookshop evokes a magical inspiration.

Your ninth day in Portugal will bring you closer to the natural highlights than ever before as you explore the country's only protected area of Peneda-Gerês National Park. By hiking along untouched and unspoiled trails, you will, for a moment, lose touch with the concrete world. You and your chaperone will meander toward a mesmeric waterfall where endemic wildlife may peek at you from behind the thicket. Here, you can capture the stunning scenes, medieval castles, archaic monasteries, and ethnic villages among the greenery.

Your departure time will be later this evening, giving you one last day to delight in the remaining highlights of Porto at your leisure. From the landscaped gardens and modern structure of the Museu de Arte Contemporânea to the industrial space-age looking Casa da Música, celebrated architects have left their signature stamps on the city and breathed 21st-Century life into the eccentric cityscape. Besides the sites, you may savor the distinguished flavors of Portugal at Porto’s Michelin-starred restaurants before transferring to Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport for your flight home.