Let the two great cities of Lisbon and Porto frame your journey through Portugal. Begin among Lisbon’s azulejos, fado houses and Atlantic-facing neighbourhoods, then travel north through a country shaped by artistry, faith and tradition. Meet master ceramicists, musicians, winemakers and historians; decode the legacy of the Knights Templar with a leading expert; and slow the pace among the remarkable trees of Bussaco’s therapeutic forest. Led throughout by your hand-picked Signature Guide, the journey culminates in Porto and the Douro, where family wine estates, historic cellars and a traditional rabelo boat ride reveal centuries of port-making heritage.
Venture to the very heart of each destination on our Signature Collection, where every journey is shaped by our unrivalled local connections and insider expertise. Step beyond the ordinary with private invitations, rare encounters, and experiences few will ever share. So when someone says, “I’ve been there,” you’ll simply smile, knowing you’ve experienced it differently.
Signature Day: Experience our distinctive Signature Day, choosing between carefully selected optional activities including culinary traditions along the Mondego, Schist Village craftsmanship, Coimbra’s academic heritage, or a hands-on ceramics workshop.
Signature Stay: Unwind at Quinta das Lágrimas in Coimbra, an 18th-century palace where flourishing gardens preserve the history-shaping love story of Pedro and Inês.
Signature Guide: Let your hand-picked Signature Guide lead you to the country’s soul – sharing their home, heritage, and heart
Activity Areas
Culture
New Cultural Holidays
Region & Country & City
Europe: Lisbon, Porto, Portugal
Included in the Price
Elegant, hand-picked hotels and a Signature Stay in a revamped palace - All breakfasts, four lunches, and four dinners, capturing authentic Alentejano cuisine - Named Signature Guide with outstanding knowledge and guest satisfaction - Complimentary transfers on arrival and departure, ensuring a smooth journey, plus comfortable private transport throughout - Gratuities for local support staff so every detail of your journey feels effortless
Not Included In The Price
Request a single room if required, purchase travel insurance and arrange any visas and vaccinations.
Itinerary
Day 1 Settle into Lisbon’s rhythm | Gather for our welcome reception in a former monastery
Welcome to Lisbon, a city gilded by light where the scent of sweet pastries mingles with sea air. After you complimentary arrival transfer, settle into the Chiado Hotel & Spa, with time to relax before meeting your Signature Guide and fellow travellers.
As evening falls, gather for a welcome reception and dinner inside the former Monastery of Trindade. Founded in the 13th century and home to a restaurant since 1836, it provides a fitting introduction to the architecture, artistry and food traditions that have shaped the capital.
Day 2 Soak up the traditions of Lisbon | Create your own azulejo with a master artisan
Signature Experience: Join master artisans in a family-run atelier for a deep-dive into one of Portugal’s most enduring artistic traditions: azulejos. Guided by an expert, we learn the history and symbolism behind these iconic ceramic tiles, before hand-painting our own to be fired and returned later in the journey – a lasting memento of our time together.
After, we embark on a culinary adventure through the mazey lanes of the Alfama neighbourhood. Led by our Signature Guide, we stop at carefully selected establishments to taste classic dishes: caldo verde, pastéis de bacalhau, bifanas, pastries and regional liqueurs while hearing stories of the people and places behind them.
After free time, gather inside a 19th-century Neo-Arab palace for an intimate introduction to Lisbon’s fado tradition.
Day 3 Uncover Sintra’s symbolism | Meet a winemaker preserving Colares wines
Head to the fairytale mountain town of Sintra early this morning, allowing us to enter the iconic manor house Quinta da Regaleira before the main crowds arrive. Explore it with a private guide, who reveals the symbolism woven through its gardens and architecture.
Signature Experience: Continue to the Chalet and Garden of the Countess of Edla, one of the best-kept secrets in Sintra, created by Ferdinand II and his second wife. Here, we enjoy either a gardener-led insight into its remarkable collection of exotic plants or a private operatic performance by a music student, celebrating the artistic spirit that defines this romantic retreat.
Then, after a lunch at leisure, we head to the coastal wine region of Colares, where a unique microclimate is impacted by the Atlantic shores and Sintra’s hills. Here, we meet the winemaker at family-owned Viúva Gomes, established in 1808, for a tour and tasting.
Return to the hotel via Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe. After a quick stop at the hotel, we cross the Tagus River aboard a traditional public ferry (cacilheiros) for a seafood dinner in Cacilhas. Our return journey offers a memorable nighttime view of Lisbon’s illuminated waterfront.
Day 4 Decode the Knights Templar | Follow their legacy into Coimbra
Signature Experience: Travel to Tomar, a city deeply connected to the legendary Knights Templar, elite soldiers who took strict monastic vows. Here, we join historian João Fiandeiro – a leading expert in the order – to explore the Convent of Christ, once the Portuguese headquarters of the Knights Templar. Decode its architecture and symbols before a gentle stroll through Mata Nacional dos Sete Montes, once the private gardens of the Grand Masters of the Knights Templar.
After a lunch inspired by the Templars’ medieval age, we step into their world with an exclusive longbow archery experience. Joined by a historical interpreter, we gain a hands-on insight into the martial traditions of the period.
Continue our journey via the former Templar outpost of Dornes, exploring the unique pentagonal tower, to Coimbra, famous for being home to one of the oldest operating universities in the world.
Here, we check into our Signature Stay, Quinta das Lágrimas, an 18th-century palace that has played host to kings and emperors. Following a welcome drink, a private presentation introduces the estate’s connection to Pedro and Inês de Castro, whose forbidden union shaped the history of Portugal.
Day 5 Choose your Signature Day | Experience Coimbra your way, through crafts, flavours or stories
Today is your Signature Day, inviting you to experience Coimbra and its surrounding region in greater depth. You could:
Taste the culinary traditions of the Mondego River, meeting a Carolino rice grower and traditional salt worker before cooking alongside a local chef and sharing a seafood rice lunch (9am-6pm)
Journey into Portugal’s Schist Villages, walking between stone-built communities, gathering your own piece of schist and transforming it into a handmade beeswax candle before visiting Lousã Castle (9am-1pm)
Step inside Coimbra’s academic traditions with a former university student, hearing the stories behind its black cloaks, rituals and medieval quarter before cruising the Mondego with regional wine and produce (9am-1pm)
Create alongside Coimbra’s ceramic artists inside an 18th-century former pottery, learning techniques rooted in the city’s decorative traditions before crafting your own piece to take home (2pm-4pm)
Regroup for dinner at Cordel Maneirista, introduced by the chef and finished with its award-winning dessert.
Day 6 Slow down in Bussaco | Walk among remarkable trees and forest history
Enter Bussaco National Forest, recognised as the first certified Therapeutic Forest in the Iberian Peninsula, for a gentle experience centred on nature and wellbeing.
Follow the Trail of Remarkable Trees through a botanical collection shaped in part by Carmelite monks, pausing at Fonte Fria, the Valley of the Ferns, sections of the Via Sacra and the Wellington Olive Tree, where the Duke of Wellington is said to have tethered his horse before the Battle of Bussaco in 1810.
Finish near Bussaco Palace, one of the forest’s most spectacular viewpoints, for a picnic of Bairrada suckling pig accompanied by local sparkling wine. Full and relaxed, we continue to the historic port city of Porto.
Day 7 Enter the Douro wine country | Sail aboard a traditional rabelo
Signature Experience: Travel into the UNESCO-listed Douro Valley to spend time at Quinta das Quartas, one of Portugal’s last great independent port houses. Join a member of the Poças family or estate team to walk the vineyards, visit the winery and cellars, and understand how schist soils, generations of knowledge and the landscape shape their wines. A guided tasting of carefully selected wines accompanied by stories and traditions of the estate is followed by lunch.
Later, take to the Douro aboard a traditional rabelo, the wooden boats once used to carry barrels of port downstream to Vila Nova de Gaia, seeing the valley from the river that sustained its wine trade.
Day 8 Trace Porto’s trading story | Follow port wine from cellar to glass
Embark on a walking exploration of Porto, discovering the story of the merchants, explorers and entrepreneurs who transformed this medieval trading port into one of Europe’s great centres of commerce. Stops include the iconic Pérola do Bolhão, where we join a family member or long-term member of staff to discover how products arriving from across the Portuguese empire helped shape the city’s identity.
After time for lunch, cross the Dom Luís I Bridge to the Poças cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia, continuing our Douro Valley story from yesterday. Discover how vintage port is aged and blended before concluding with a selected tasting.
This evening, gather beside the Douro for a farewell dinner at Cais-me Bem restaurant to dine on contemporary Portuguese cuisine.
Day 9 Bid a fond farewell to Portugal
Over a final breakfast in Porto, take time to reflect on the journey: Lisbon’s painted tiles and fado, the symbolism of Sintra, Templar history, Coimbra’s living traditions, Bussaco’s therapeutic forest and the Douro vineyards.
Your complimentary departure transfer is arranged for you, allowing the final morning to remain unhurried.
This chapter may close here, but Portugal’s stories of craft, food, wine and history have a way of continuing long after the journey itself.
Alternatively, extend your stay and continue your journey of discovery. Speak with your Signature Collection travel expert to explore the possibilities.
