Visit the University of Coimbra with a Local Specialist and see the Joanina Library, known for its painted ceilings and shelves of historic books. Walk through the surrounding old streets and squares of this university city.

Founded in the 13th century, the university is among Europe’s oldest. Its ceremonial spaces and library express the importance of scholarship in Portuguese cultural life, while Coimbra’s streets show how the institution has long shaped the city around it.

Explore Évora with a Local Specialist and visit its cathedral, Roman temple and Chapel of Bones. Together, these landmarks reveal distinct layers of history within the Alentejo city’s UNESCO-listed historic centre.

The cathedral combines Romanesque and Gothic features, while the temple recalls Évora’s importance in Roman Lusitania. At the Chapel of Bones, human remains line the interior in a striking meditation on mortality, offering a different perspective on the city’s religious heritage.

Meet your Travel Director and fellow travellers over a welcome dinner in Lisbon, and get your bearings on an orientation drive past some of the capital’s best-known sights.

Lisbon spreads across seven hills above the Tagus River. Its tiled facades, broad avenues and neighbourhood viewpoints offer a first impression of a city shaped by maritime trade and centuries of cultural exchange.

Explore Belém with a Local Specialist, seeing the Monument to the Discoveries and Belém Tower beside the Tagus. Visit the Hieronymite Monastery, whose carved stonework makes it one of Portugal’s defining monuments.

Belém’s waterfront recalls the voyages that made Lisbon a centre of global seafaring. The UNESCO-listed monastery was built during that era; its elaborate Manueline architecture draws on maritime imagery as well as late Gothic forms.

Visit a family-run stud ranch near Panoias-Ourique to learn about the Lusitano horse, a Portuguese breed closely associated with classical riding traditions. Hear the family story behind the ranch before sharing a home-cooked lunch with hosts Tiago and Vera.

This locally hosted Be My Guest experience offers a personal introduction to life in the Alentejo, a region of wide pastures and longstanding agricultural traditions. The meal and conversation are as central to the visit as the horses.

Discover the seaside town of Lagos on the Algarve coast, where an old harbour and historic streets speak to Portugal’s maritime past. Explore a place closely associated with Prince Henry the Navigator and the country’s 15th-century voyages.

Lagos was an important port during the Age of Discovery. Its setting brings that history into focus: the town stands between the Atlantic shoreline and the sheltered waters from which Portuguese ships once set out.

Discover Castelo de Vide, a hilltop town of whitewashed houses and narrow cobbled lanes in the northern Alentejo. See its historic Jewish Quarter and take in the compact streetscape that gives the town its distinctive character.

The quarter preserves traces of a Jewish community that formed part of Portugal’s medieval history. Castelo de Vide’s traditional buildings and elevated setting make this a rewarding introduction to the smaller towns beyond the country’s major cities.

Explore Viseu’s historic centre and see its hilltop cathedral, known locally as the Sé. Discover a city with a rich artistic and architectural heritage, set on a plateau near the vineyards of the Dão wine region.

Although its origins are older, the cathedral has 12th-century roots and reflects successive periods of building. Its commanding position gives a sense of how Viseu developed around this prominent religious landmark.

Take in the terraced vineyards of the Douro Valley as you travel through the landscape where Port wine is produced. Hillsides planted in long, stepped rows reveal the scale of viticulture along the river.

Generations of growers shaped these steep slopes to cultivate grapes in challenging terrain. The resulting scenery is both agricultural and cultural: a visible record of the work behind one of Portugal’s most recognisable wines.

Explore the gardens of Palácio de Mateus, admiring their formal design beside one of northern Portugal’s best-known Baroque residences. See the palace architecture familiar from the label of Mateus Rosé.

Near Vila Real, the estate pairs ornate stonework with carefully arranged garden spaces. The visit offers a close look at aristocratic landscape design, distinct from the vineyard scenery for which the surrounding Douro region is famous.

View Guimarães Castle and the Palace of the Dukes before walking through the medieval squares of central Guimarães. The town’s historic core provides a setting for understanding its close association with Portugal’s beginnings.

The castle has origins in the 10th century, and Guimarães is linked to Afonso Henriques, Portugal’s first king. Its stone buildings and public squares retain the scale and atmosphere of a northern Portuguese medieval town.

Tour Porto with a Local Specialist, seeing its riverside lanes, bridges and notable city landmarks, including the Gothic Church of St Francis. Visit the Stock Exchange Palace and step into its richly decorated Arabian Hall.

Porto’s streets descend towards the Douro past Baroque churches and facades faced with azulejo tiles. Inside the former stock exchange, the Arabian Hall’s decoration draws inspiration from Granada’s Alhambra, reflecting the ambitions of Porto’s 19th-century merchant community.

Visit a local Port cellar to learn about Porto’s centuries-old wine tradition and taste Port wine. Gain insight into how grapes grown upriver in the Douro Valley become the fortified wine associated with the city.

Port’s story connects steep vineyard terraces with the riverside trade that brought the wine to international markets. A cellar tasting puts that history in the glass, giving you a chance to recognise the character of a defining Portuguese product.

Visit the Convent of Christ with a Local Specialist in Tomar, exploring the UNESCO-listed complex that grew from a 12th-century Templar stronghold. See details including its celebrated Manueline Window.

The complex traces the transition from the Knights Templar to the Order of Christ, which later played a part in Portugal’s maritime expansion. Its layered architecture makes that long history tangible, from fortified medieval origins to richly carved decoration.

Visit the sanctuary at Fátima, a major Catholic pilgrimage destination. Spend time at the sacred site associated with the reported apparitions of the Virgin Mary to three young shepherds, with the opportunity to see the basilica or pay homage at the Chapel of the Apparitions.

Millions of pilgrims have come to Fátima since the events reported in 1917. The broad sanctuary grounds offer space to observe a living tradition of devotion and reflection.

Explore the Monastery of Batalha with a Local Specialist, with included entry to its cloisters and chapels. Study the finely worked stone and soaring Gothic forms of this UNESCO World Heritage site.

Commissioned to commemorate Portugal’s victory at the Battle of Aljubarrota in 1385, the monastery became a lasting expression of national independence. Its architecture reveals the craftsmanship and royal ambition behind one of the country’s most important medieval monuments.

Walk the cobbled streets of Óbidos, a medieval walled town of whitewashed houses and traditional azulejo tiles. Explore its compact historic centre and see how the town’s fortifications frame the streets within.

Óbidos preserves a distinctive small-town setting, with old stonework and painted facades adding detail at every turn. A local specialty is ginja, a cherry liqueur that travellers may choose to try independently.

Dine at the family-run Vale da Capucha vineyard near Lisbon, enjoying locally sourced flavours and organic wine in a setting devoted to responsible production. This included dinner is a hosted wine-country experience rather than a routine hotel meal.

The award-winning vineyard produces organic and biodynamic wines. Meeting the people and produce behind the meal connects Portugal’s food culture with farming choices; the visit supports the UN Sustainable Development Goal for Responsible Consumption and Production.

Explore the coastal towns of Estoril and Cascais on an optional excursion through the area often called Lisbon’s Golden Triangle. The outing also includes a visit to one of the region’s royal palaces; the specific palace is not named in the itinerary.

Estoril and Cascais have long been associated with seaside leisure, while the palace visit adds a perspective on Portugal’s royal heritage. This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Enjoy a traditional Portuguese dinner accompanied by Fado on an optional evening in Lisbon. Listen to singers bring the music’s expressive melodies and storytelling into an intimate dining setting.

Fado is closely associated with Lisbon and is recognised by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage. Its themes often touch on longing, love and everyday life, giving this evening a cultural focus beyond the meal. This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Visit the medieval village of Monsaraz on an optional excursion from Évora. Explore a compact hilltop settlement whose stone lanes and traditional buildings retain the character of the Alentejo’s fortified towns.

Monsaraz occupies a commanding position near the Spanish border, reflecting a past in which defence shaped the region’s settlements. Its elevated setting also offers a different view of the Alentejo landscape. This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Trafalgar

• 4 Dinner (D)
• 10 Breakfast (B)
• 1 Lunch (L)

• Deluxe coach travel
• Selected hotel dinners plus a locally hosted meal
• 4-star stays

• Lisbon: With your Local Specialist, visit the Belém Quarter to see the modern Monument to the Discoveries and the medieval Belém Tower.
• Lisbon: Visit the Hieronymite Monastery, a former monastery of the Order of Saint Jerome and exquisite example of Manueline architecture.
• The Algarve: Explore the history of the Algarve in depth.
• Évora: Explore this UNESCO World Heritage Site with your Local Specialist and see the famous Roman Temple. Witness the fascinating cathedral and its mix of Romanesque and Gothic architecture.
• Castelo de Vide: See the traditional cobblestone streets and whitewashed homes of Castelo de Vide.
• Casa de Mateus: Admire the Baroque architecture of Mateus Palace and its gardens.
• Douro Valley: Marvel at the extensive terraced vineyards as you travel through the Douro Valley.
• Guimaraes: See Guimarães Castle and the Palace of Dukes before walking through the medieval squares of central Guimarães. 
• Porto: Savor the flavors of Portugal’s centuries-old Port heritage and gain insights into its local production at a tasting in a Port cellar.
• Porto: See the Clérigos Tower, Avenida dos Aliados and the Palácio da Bolsa former stock exchange. 
• Coimbra: With a Local Specialist, visit the University and witness the triumphal arches, painted ceilings, and walls of ancient tomes in the Joanina Library.
• Tomar: Dominating the town is the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Templar Castle and the Convent of Christ. During your visit with a Local Specialist, see the Manueline Window and follow the story of the mysterious Knights Templar.
• Fátima: Join the faithful at one of the world’s holiest sites and pay homage at the Chapel of the Apparitions or see the basilica.
• Batalha: Join a Local Specialist to see the Monastery of Batalha, with included entry to the cloisters and chapels.
• Nazaré: Enjoy time at leisure on Portugal’s Costa de Prata.
• Obidos: Stroll along the cobblestone streets and view the traditional azulejos of medieval Óbidos, perhaps stopping in a local shop to try the regional cherry liqueur, Ginja.