First Class Portugal with one Historic and one Schist Village

Arrival in Lisbon where you are met at the airport and transferred to your hotel. Overnight Lisboa.

Breakfast. A full day to explore the sights of the city at leisure, including a walk through the historical Alfama district, the Rossio and a visit to the famous tower of Belem. Tonight enjoy a Fado dinner and show. Overnight Lisboa.

Breakfast. This morning you will be met at your hotel by your Private driver to commence your private tour of Portugal. Your first day of travel takes you to the UNESCO World Heritage listed city of Sintra for a sightseeing stop. The tall conical chimneys of the Palacio Nacional de Sintra and the fabulous Palacio da Pena are unmistakable landmarks. Continue on your journey north through Mafra to reach Obidos, Portugal’s whitewashed town surrounding a castle. Overnight at the beautiful castle, now a Pousada.

Breakfast. Today you head north to Alcobaça and Batalha for panoramic tour of Batalha and on to the pilgrim’s city of Fatima. The Neo-Baroque basilica, flanked by statues of saints, has a 65m tower and an esplanade twice the size of St Peter’s square in Rome. Free time to visit the sanctuary before returning to the road and heading north to the university city of Coimbra. Portugal’s original university was established in Coimbra in 1308. Overnight Coimbra.

Breakfast. Morning visit of Coimbra. Coimbra, Portugal’s third largest city, tumbles down a steep riverbank by the Mondego River. The city offers a fine museum – Museu Machado de Castro and a regal university quarter, plus mansions, monasteries and churches, including the most imposing Romanesque church in the country.

Your journey continues to Piodão, and you will have a magnificent opportunity to enjoy the breathless view almost above the clouds. As the mountain range remains, Piodão appears amazingly in front of you. It is considered a “Historical Village of Portugal”. The typical houses of schist and slate, with modern windows painted blue, gracefully descend the slope of the mountain, forming an amazing amphitheater in the middle of the steep mountain.

The architectural ensemble and his own disposition, so characteristic, is the greatest attribute of Piodão, pointing out places of interest as the Mother Church of the seventeenth century or the Piodão Museum Center, where we find the customs, traditions and way of life of these ancient places.

As you continue your travel, you will have time to take pictures in Foz D´Égua, a site with a splendid natural beauty, including a dam that creates a water mirror in a magnificent place for summer bathes.

The framework of the two existing bridges, the proximity of two shale mills and a set of stone blocks carved by the stream of the brooks allows this beautiful riverbank to be appreciated by many people. Continuation for visit of vast Bussaco Forest with optional lunch stop at the famous Palace Hotel do Bussaco. On the road to Viseu for overnight.

Breakfast. Head north to Lamego for a brief visit of the town & Port wine tasting. An attractive town within the demarcated port area, Lamego also produces wines, including Raposeira, Portugal’s premier sparkling wine. Head to nearby Pinhao via the beautiful town of Regua. Surrounded by vineyards, the town of Pinhao has many lodges and even the train station has azulejos depicting the wine harvest. Overnight.

Breakfast. Today you will travel along the Douro river to arrive in Porto where you must farewell your chauffeur as you are dropped off at your hotel. The present city of Porto occupies the site of the Roman town of Portus, sprawling down the long, steep north bank of the Douro, 6km from the sea. Afternoon at leisure. We recommend you cross over Dom Luis Bridge, over the river for a local port tasting. Overnight Porto.

Breakfast. Farewell the city as you are transferred to the airport for your flight out of Porto.