Portugal: Lisbon, Porto and the Douro Valley

1. Day 1: Arrive in Lisbon

   Lisbon Airport to your hotel in central Lisbon

   • Drive about 30 min
   • Welcome dinner with live fado
   • Stay in Lisbon
   Day 1 details

   Fly into Lisbon's Humberto Delgado Airport (LIS), about 7 km north of the centre, where a driver meets you in the arrivals hall for the short ride to your hotel in the middle of the city. Check-in is from mid-afternoon, so if you land early, leave your bags and walk down to the river at Praça do Comércio or ride a yellow tram up into the old quarters. At 6 pm your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a briefing on the days ahead: how they are paced, which mornings start early to beat the queues, and what the streets are like underfoot, since Lisbon's polished limestone paving, the calçada, is slippery in the wet. Then we walk to a small restaurant in the old town for a welcome dinner with live fado, the city's own song, listed by UNESCO as intangible heritage in 2011. Plan to land by about 3 pm to reach the briefing comfortably.

   Included

   • Pick-up at Lisbon Airport (LIS)
   • Welcome briefing with your guide
   • Welcome dinner with live fado

   Free time: Free until the evening briefing

   

2. Day 2: Belém at opening, Alfama downhill

   Lisbon to Belém, then São Jorge Castle, Alfama and the Baixa

   • Drive about 45 min
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Lisbon
   Day 2 details

   We are at the Jerónimos Monastery in Belém when it opens, ahead of the tour coaches, to walk the two-storey cloister of carved Manueline limestone, begun in 1501 with money from the spice trade, and to see Vasco da Gama's tomb in the church. The monastery and the Belém Tower were listed together by UNESCO in 1983; we walk the river path past the Monument to the Discoveries for the view of the tower from the water's edge. A warm custard tart from the Belém bakery that has made them since 1837 comes next, then a sit-down lunch. In the afternoon our vehicle drops us at the top of the hill by São Jorge Castle, so the walk through Alfama runs downhill: the castle walls first, then the stairs and lanes of the oldest quarter, the Sé cathedral and the Baixa grid rebuilt after the 1755 earthquake. We finish at the São Pedro de Alcântara viewpoint in the late light, and the evening is yours.

   Included

   • Jerónimos Monastery at opening, with the cloister and the church
   • The Belém riverfront: the Monument to the Discoveries and the Belém Tower from outside
   • A custard tart in Belém
   • Sit-down lunch
   • São Jorge Castle
   • Guided walk down through Alfama to the Sé cathedral and the Baixa
   • The São Pedro de Alcântara viewpoint

   Easier option: Ride between the castle, the Sé and the Baixa in our vehicle instead of walking the Alfama stairs.

   More active option: Walk up to the castle from the Baixa instead of being dropped at the top, a steep 20 to 30 minutes on stairs and cobbles.

   Free time: Evening free

   Activity: Jerónimos is closed on Mondays, so this day never falls on a Monday. About 7 km on foot, mostly downhill.

   

3. Day 3: Sintra, Cabo da Roca and Cascais

   Lisbon to Sintra, then Cabo da Roca and Cascais, and back to Lisbon along the coast

   • Drive about 2 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Lisbon
   Day 3 details

   We leave at 8:30 for Sintra, about 40 minutes west, to be at Pena Palace for the first entry of the day. Tour vehicles cannot drive into Sintra's historic centre, so we ride the last stretch up the hill by local shuttle. Pena, built in the mid-19th century for King Ferdinand II on a rocky summit, is all yellow and red towers, with the Atlantic in view on a clear morning; the whole Sintra landscape has been on the UNESCO list since 1995. Next is Quinta da Regaleira, an early 20th-century estate of grottoes and tunnels whose Initiation Well spirals down about 27 metres. Lunch is a sit-down meal in Sintra town, with a queijada or travesseiro pastry to follow. In the afternoon we drive to Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point of mainland Europe, where cliffs drop about 140 metres to the sea, then down to Cascais, the fishing town that became a royal summer resort, for a walk around the bay and free time before the coast road back to Lisbon.

   Included

   • Pena Palace and its park at the first entry, with the shuttle up the hill
   • Quinta da Regaleira and the Initiation Well
   • Sit-down lunch in Sintra
   • Cabo da Roca
   • Walk and free time in Cascais

   Easier option: Skip the tunnels and stairs at Quinta da Regaleira and wait in a café in Sintra town, or stay in the vehicle at Cabo da Roca on a windy day.

   More active option: In Cascais, walk the coastal path to the Boca do Inferno sea cliffs, about 2 km each way, and meet the vehicle there.

   Free time: Free time in Cascais and the evening free in Lisbon

   Activity: About 8 km on foot with steep paths and stairs in Pena's park and at Regaleira.

4. Day 4: Óbidos and Nazaré on the way to Porto

   Lisbon to Óbidos, then Nazaré and Porto

   • Drive about 4 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Porto
   Day 4 details

   Today we travel north to Porto by road, breaking just under four hours of driving into three legs. The first, about an hour, reaches Óbidos, a walled hill town that King Dinis gave to Queen Isabel as a wedding gift in 1282. Walk in through the tiled gate, follow the main street of whitewashed houses edged in blue and yellow, and try ginjinha, the local sour cherry liqueur, served in a small chocolate cup. If you have a head for heights, walk a stretch of the wall itself; it has no railing on the inner side. Forty minutes on, Nazaré sits on a wide beach. Lunch is grilled fish in the lower town, then the funicular, running since 1889, climbs to Sítio and the view down the coast. From the lighthouse fort above Praia do Norte you look over the beach known for winter waves, which can be huge between October and March. The last leg is about two and a quarter hours up the motorway to Porto, where we arrive in the early evening.

   Included

   • Guided walk in Óbidos
   • Ginjinha tasting in Óbidos
   • Sit-down seafood lunch in Nazaré
   • The Nazaré funicular to Sítio
   • The lighthouse fort over Praia do Norte

   Easier option: Skip the road day and take the Alfa Pendular train from Lisbon to Porto, about 3 hours. Ask when you book: we include the ticket and meet you at Porto Campanhã station.

   More active option: Walk a stretch of the Óbidos town wall, and in Nazaré walk down the path from Sítio to the beach instead of taking the funicular back.

   Free time: Evening free in Porto

   Activity: The longest drive of the trip, just under 4 hours in three legs of about 1 hour, 40 minutes and 2 hours 15 minutes.

   

5. Day 5: Porto's old town and the port lodges

   São Bento to the Ribeira, then across the Dom Luís I Bridge to Vila Nova de Gaia

   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Porto
   Day 5 details

   Porto's historic centre, listed by UNESCO in 1996, is steep, so we start at the top and walk down. São Bento station's entrance hall is lined with about 20,000 blue-and-white tiles by Jorge Colaço showing battles, royal arrivals and country life. From the cathedral terrace you look over the roofs of the Ribeira to the port lodges across the river, then we drop through the lanes to the Palácio da Bolsa, the 19th-century stock exchange, for its guided tour and the gilded Arab Room. Lunch is a sit-down meal of northern dishes near the river. In the afternoon we walk across the upper deck of the Dom Luís I Bridge, opened in 1886, for the view straight down the Douro, and on into Vila Nova de Gaia, where port has been aged in riverside lodges for centuries. A cellar tour shows the casks and how ruby, tawny and white port differ, and a tasting follows. The evening is free in the Ribeira or back in the centre.

   Included

   • Guided walk: São Bento station, the Sé cathedral terrace and the Ribeira
   • Palácio da Bolsa guided tour
   • Sit-down lunch near the river
   • The upper deck of the Dom Luís I Bridge
   • Port lodge cellar tour and tasting in Vila Nova de Gaia

   Easier option: Our vehicle picks you up in the Ribeira and drives you across to Gaia instead of the bridge walk.

   Free time: Evening free

   Activity: About 6 km on foot, mostly downhill, with one long flat crossing of the bridge's upper deck.

   

6. Day 6: Porto at your own pace

   Livraria Lello, the Clérigos Tower and the Bolhão market, then a free afternoon

   • Breakfast
   • Stay in Porto
   Day 6 details

   A slower day. We are at Livraria Lello for its first timed entry of the morning, before the queue reaches round the corner: the bookshop, in this building since 1906, is known for its carved wood and red forked staircase, and the ticket, which we buy, counts towards a book if you choose one. Nearby, the Clérigos Tower gives one of the best views in the city to anyone who climbs its more than 200 steps, and the church below has none. We end the guided morning at the Bolhão market, restored and reopened in 2022, among stalls of cheese, fish, flowers and cured ham, where you can pick your own lunch. The afternoon is free. Ride the old tram along the river to Foz do Douro, where the river meets the Atlantic, visit the Serralves museum and gardens, or sit in a café over the Ribeira. Your guide is around to suggest restaurants for the evening and to book a table for anyone who wants company.

   Included

   • Livraria Lello at the first timed entry
   • The Clérigos Tower and church
   • The Bolhão market with your guide

   Optional experiences

   • The Serralves museum and gardens
   • The tram along the river to Foz do Douro

   Easier option: Skip the tower climb and wait in the Clérigos church or a café below.

   More active option: Walk the riverside promenade from the Ribeira to Foz do Douro and the Atlantic, about 5 km and flat, and take the tram back.

   Free time: Afternoon and evening free

7. Day 7: Amarante and a quinta lunch in the Douro

   Porto to Amarante, then Peso da Régua and Pinhão

   • Drive about 2.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Douro Valley
   Day 7 details

   We leave Porto at 9:30 and drive about 50 minutes east to Amarante on the Tâmega River. Cross the granite São Gonçalo bridge to the church and monastery of São Gonçalo, then sit down for coffee and one of the town's egg-yolk convent sweets. From Amarante the motorway tunnels under the Serra do Marão and drops to Peso da Régua, and the last half hour follows the N222 along the Douro to Pinhão, past the terraces of the Alto Douro Wine Region, first demarcated in 1756 and listed by UNESCO in 2001. Lunch is at a family quinta: a walk through the vineyard and the granite treading tanks, a tasting of Douro wines and port, and a long table lunch with the estate's wine. In the harvest, from about mid-September to early October, you may see the grapes come in. We check in to our hotel in the valley for two nights in the late afternoon, and the evening is free.

   Included

   • Amarante and the São Gonçalo bridge, with coffee and a convent sweet
   • The N222 river road from Peso da Régua to Pinhão
   • Quinta visit with a vineyard walk, a tasting of Douro wines and port, and lunch

   Free time: Evening free

   Activity: Easy walking; the quinta paths can be steep and uneven between the terraces.

   

8. Day 8: On the river and above it

   Pinhão by boat, then the Casal de Loivos viewpoint

   • Drive about 1 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Douro Valley
   Day 8 details

   The river is calm and the light soft in the morning, so we start on the water: a boat trip of about an hour from the quay at Pinhão, along the Douro between terraced slopes and white quinta houses. Back on land, Pinhão's small railway station is decorated with tile panels of Douro landscapes and the harvest. Then our vehicle climbs the narrow road to the Casal de Loivos viewpoint, high above a long bend of the river, for the view that many photographs of the valley are taken from. Lunch is a sit-down meal in the valley, and the afternoon is free: swim, read, walk between the vines, or visit a second quinta for a tasting at your own cost. In the evening we meet for a farewell dinner of Douro food and wine. In winter some boat operators sail less often, and we confirm the boat for each departure.

   Included

   • Douro River boat trip from Pinhão, about 1 hour
   • Pinhão railway station and its tile panels
   • The Casal de Loivos viewpoint
   • Sit-down lunch in the valley
   • Farewell dinner

   Optional experiences

   • A second quinta tasting in the afternoon, at your own cost

   Easier option: Stay at the hotel after the viewpoint and rejoin the group for dinner.

   More active option: Walk back down from Casal de Loivos to Pinhão through the vineyards, about an hour on a steep track.

   Free time: Afternoon free

9. Day 9: Douro Valley to Porto Airport

   Pinhão to Porto Airport, or central Porto

   • Drive about 2 h
   • Breakfast
   Day 9 details

   After breakfast we leave the valley at about 9 am and drive about two hours west to Porto Airport (OPO), back along the river to Peso da Régua, then on the motorway through the Marão tunnel and down towards the coast. You reach the airport by about 11 am, in time for flights from about 2 pm. If you are staying on in Porto, we drop you in the city centre instead, about 20 minutes further, and your guide can suggest a hotel near the Ribeira for extra nights. If you want more of Portugal, Madeira is a short flight from Porto, and our eight-day Madeira walking trip starts and ends at Madeira Airport. Your guide checks your flight details the evening before and sees the group to the terminal. Earlier flights need a separate transfer, which we can arrange at cost.

   Included

   • Drop-off at Porto Airport (OPO) or in central Porto

   Activity: Book a flight leaving after about 2 pm.

Wildlife and weather: Summer brings heat over 40°C in the Douro and crowds in Lisbon and Sintra, so we start early and rest at midday. Spring is green and mild, the Douro harvest runs from about mid-September to early October, and winter is mild but wetter, with shorter days and fewer boat sailings.

• Lisbon3 nights
• Porto3 nights
• Douro Valley2 nights