Portugal is known for excellent wines and delicious regional cuisine that uses a lot of natural resources and produce. All meals have strong links to the land and sea, often prepared following old recipes.

We can try a variety of traditional specialities during the trip and the local leader can always recommend good restaurants. Portugal has some of the best fish in the world. Salt cod is a staple here, eaten all kinds of ways, from baked with cream and potatoes to grilled with salad.

The Douro and Alentejo regions are also well-known for an endless number of meat dishes, which include roasted goat with rice and potatoes, porco preto (black pork cooked confit-style), posta mirandesa (veal steak) and cozido à portuguesa (boiled meat, sausages and cabbage). Finally, we can’t leave Portugal without trying pastel de nata, the quintessential Portuguese custard tart originating in Lisbon.

Please note, vegetarian meals are available on request although options may be limited.

Raise a glass as you tour the historic port wine cellars beneath the lodges of Vila Nova de Gaia. Lantern-lit corridors and oak vats reveal how ruby, tawny, and vintage styles mature to complexity. Conclude with a guided sample of regional wines that express schist soils and sun-soaked Douro terraces.

Hear how the world’s first demarcated wine region was established in 1756 in the Douro, forging trade links that filled these riverfront warehouses. Stories of rabelos, British merchants, and ageing in oak balseiros illuminate a craft perfected over centuries on the banks of the Douro.

Visit an atmospheric quinta to visit an 18th-century winery set high above the meeting of the Douro and Tedo rivers. Enjoy a regional lunch overlooking terraced vineyards, followed by a guided tasting of estate wines that showcase the valley’s mineral-rich schist slopes.

Walk among dry-stone terraces and olive groves while learning how hand-harvesting and field blends shape Douro DOC reds and ports. The setting brings together river and vineyard views with a sense of heritage that has defined winemaking families here for generations.

Explore Coimbra’s hilltop quarter as you join a guided tour from the cathedral lanes to the grand courtyards of the University of Coimbra. Stroll past academic halls and sunlit cloisters, and take in sweeping views over the Mondego River.

Hear about royal origins and student traditions, from black capes to serenades of fado de Coimbra. Your guide introduces the baroque artistry of the Biblioteca Joanina (exterior/subject to access) and the Romanesque Sé Velha, placing Coimbra at the heart of Portuguese learning since 1290.

Step inside the Mosteiro da Batalha to experience Portugal’s pinnacle of late Gothic and early Manueline design. Wander the vast nave, luminous cloisters, and the haunting Unfinished Chapels where open sky crowns intricate stonework.

Learn how this monument was raised to honor Portugal’s victory at Aljubarrota in 1385, a turning point that secured independence. From traceried arches to maritime motifs, your visit reveals craftsmanship that blends Flemish influence with distinctive Portuguese Manueline stonework.

Walk the riverfront of Belém on an expert-led orientation walk that frames Lisbon’s Age of Exploration. Admire the honey-gold limestone of Jerónimos Monastery and the fortress-like Belém Tower, icons of Portugal’s seafaring prowess along the Tagus.

Hear tales of Vasco da Gama, ornate Manueline carvings, and voyages that reshaped global maps. Between monuments and gardens, your guide points out azulejo details and favorite pastry shops, evoking the spirit of the Age of Discoveries along this elegant waterfront district.

Wander Lisbon’s viewpoints and alleys on a guided walking tour from the terraces of Graca to the labyrinth of Alfama. Pause at miradouros for sweeping river vistas before descending through lanes strung with laundry and tiled doorways.

Unpack layers of Roman, Moorish, and maritime heritage in this city of Seven Hills. Hear how fado echoes from taverns near the cathedral and finish amid the bustle of Rossio Square, where cafés, calcada pavements, and lively street life capture Lisbon’s rhythm.

Taste Portugal’s warm hospitality at a convivial welcome dinner along the Ribeira waterfront. Dishes might include smoky caldo verde, grilled Atlantic fish, or bacalhau baked with potatoes, paired with Douro wines chosen to complement regional flavors.

Your leader introduces neighborhood stories as river lights flicker on traditional barcos rabelos. It’s a relaxed moment to sample regional dishes, raise a glass with fellow travelers, and absorb Porto’s granite beauty and azulejo glow at the water’s edge.

Cruise the valley as you cruise the Douro River past steep, stone-walled terraces and whitewashed quintas. From the waterline, the geometry of vines and arches of iron bridges create superb angles for photographers to pause for photos and reflection.

Glide through the UNESCO-listed wine landscape where rabelos once ferried casks to Gaia. Commentary illuminates viticulture on schist slopes and the river’s engineering. This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour, subject to river conditions and local availability.

Ride a beloved icon as you ride a historic Lisbon tram through tight bends and sunlit squares. The rattling yellow Remodelado cars climb steep lanes toward scenic terraces, offering breezy snapshots over tiled rooftops and the Tagus.

Feel the timber interiors sway and hear the bell as you crest city of Seven Hills viewpoints en route to Baixa or Graca. This nostalgic experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour, with routes subject to daily scheduling and crowd levels.

Discover Porto’s character on a city stroll as you join a guided walking tour through the UNESCO-listed historic centre. Wander past granite townhouses and azulejo-clad facades in Ribeira, see the hilltop Clérigos Tower and the cathedral precinct, and explore storied squares that reveal the soul of this Atlantic city.

Step inside São Bento Station to admire vast blue-and-white tile panels depicting royal parades, rural harvests, and battles. Your guide weaves Porto’s maritime trade, medieval lanes, and café culture into a vivid portrait of a city shaped by the Douro River and Atlantic light.