PANORAMA OF PORTUGAL – EASTER – MAY & JUNE 2025

Meeting at the airport and direct flight to the Portuguese capital, the seven-hilled Lisbon (Lisboa). With its eyes turned to America and its back to Europe, Lisbon, built along the north bank of the Tagus River (Rio Tejus), is a modern metropolis of particular beauty that maintains the atmosphere of the former colonial superpower. With many palaces, monasteries, castles, but also ultra-modern buildings, as well as beautiful avenues, squares and streets crossed by the characteristic picturesque trams. Lisbon is one of the most interesting and much-sung cities in the world. The city with the shadow of its great poet Fernando Pessoa. Transfer and check-in at the hotel. Walk and first acquaintance with the city. Overnight.

Our tour today is dedicated to the city and its monuments. Leaving our hotel, we will cross the lush "Avenida da Liberdade" (Liberty Avenue) which is adorned with some of the most interesting buildings of Portuguese architecture. We will continue with the streets of the Lower Town (Baixa). Then, we visit the National Museum of Royal Carriages which has a unique collection of carriages of the royal family from the late 15th to the 19th century, unique in luxury and richness. This collection is considered the most remarkable of its kind in the world and allows the visitor to experience both the evolution of technology in their construction and the influence of art in their decoration. We continue our journey and head to the Belem area. Our first stop is on the banks of the Tagus. We will see the Belém Tower (Torre de Belém), also known as the Tower of Saint Vincent, the Monument of the Discoveries (Padrão dos Descobrimentos), as well as the map on the floor in front of the Monument of the Discoveries that depicts the sea routes of Portuguese seafarers during the 15th and 16th centuries. Our last stop is the Jerónimos Monastery (Mosteiro dos Jerόnimos), the emblematic Monastery of Lisbon, the most important monument to the power and wealth of colonial Portugal that was completed with the money from the pepper tax! The monastery began to be built in 1501 and its construction was completed a century later. Here, Vasco da Gama spent his last night praying, before his great journey to India. It is the top example of the uniquely Portuguese Manueline decorative style. In the church of the Monastery, Santa Maria de Belem (Our Lady of Bethlehem), are the tombs of King Manuel I, Vasco da Gama, the poets Luís de Camões and Fernando Pessoa. Together with the Belem Tower, they belong to the UNESCO list of world cultural heritage monuments. Our tour ends here today. We suggest you stay in the area, explore it and enjoy it after tasting the famous sweets, the pasteis de Belem, in the most famous and historic pastry shop located there. In the afternoon, visit the castle (Castelo de Sao Jorge) and wander the alleys of Alfama. Take a ride on the famous tram 28. For the evening we suggest you enjoy the typical Portuguese songs fados, made famous all over the world by Amalia Rodrigues.

Morning departure for a particularly enjoyable excursion to the outskirts of Lisbon. Crossing the streets of cosmopolitan Estoril with its luxurious mansions and the famous casino, we make a brief visit to neighboring Cascais, once a fishing village that the royal family chose in the 19th century for a summer residence and today is a popular tourist resort. Our next stop, romantic Sintra, which is among the treasures of the Unesco World Heritage. The city is full of palaces. Its symbol is the Palacio National de Sintra (the National Palace of Sintra), from where we can pour into the city and enjoy it. We will continue with a visit to Cabo da Roca, the cape that is the westernmost point of Portugal and continental Europe. The Portuguese poet Luis de Camoes describes it as "the place where the land ends and the sea begins". Return to Lisbon. If you wish, you can disembark at the Park of Nations (Parque das Nacoes). Here, you will see the modern face of Lisbon. The area was redeveloped on the occasion of the 1998 World Expo (EXPO), dedicated to the Oceans. There are ultra-modern buildings, conference and exhibition spaces, museums, hotels, art and performance spaces, the impressive 145-meter-high Vasco da Gama Tower, the tallest building in the city, the Vasco da Gama Bridge, one of the largest in the world, and the famous aquarium (Oceanario de Lisboa). Take your walks, visit the aquarium, take the cable car and enjoy the area from above. Return by Metro to the hotel (Oriente Metro stop with the impressive Calatrava roof). Overnight stay.

Morning departure for Coimbra. Our first visit is Obidos, a beautiful castle town and a place of creation for famous artists. Due to its beauty, it was always given as a wedding gift to the queen of each time. Our next stop is Nazare, one of the most famous tourist resorts on the Costa da Prata, with long sandy beaches, the large and once threatening waves of the Atlantic and the delicious food in its numerous restaurants. We continue our journey, crossing the historic area of ​​Batalha, known for the great historical victory of the Portuguese against the Castilians in 1385 at the Battle of Aljubarrota. We pass by the Monastery of Santa Maria da Vitoria, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and continue for our last stop of the day in Fatima. In Fatima, three little shepherd children, on May 13, 1917, said they had a vision. The Virgin Mary appeared to them. She announced that she would appear in the same place every 13th of the month, until October, and gave them three prophecies. Although many anti-clericals consider the Miracle of Fatima to be an attempt by the Catholic Church to regain its lost political power, in the mid-1920s, dictator Salazar encouraged the pilgrimage. Today, millions of believers flock to Fatima, bringing great income to the region. We will visit the Basilica of Fatima, the Chapel of the Apparitions, as well as the modern Basilica of the Holy Trinity, the work of the eminent Greek architect Alexandros Tombazis. We continue our journey and arrive in Quimbra. A city built on one side of the much-sung Montego River. Our first stop will be on the opposite bank of the city, in the courtyard of the Santa Clara-a-Nova Monastery in order to enjoy the view of Quimbra and its University. There we will talk about the patron saint of the city, Saint Isabella, but we will also refer to the tragic story of Ines de Castro, who has become a source of inspiration for artists for many centuries from then to the present day. We continue, crossing the river and ascending with our coach to the highest point, the Alcação hill where the University is located, one of the oldest in continuous operation in the world. We will wander around its grounds and then descend, through cobblestone alleys and steps, to the historic center of the city. We will reach the church of the former monastery of Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz-Holy Cross) where the first two Portuguese kings are buried. The city has a strong color of student presence and the sounds of an art form of fado sung only by men. Transfer and check-in at the hotel in Quimbra. Overnight.

Morning walk in Coimbra and then we depart for the Serra do Bussaco National Park, which is classified as a National Monument of the country. Since the early 17th century, Carmelite monks had built a monastery here, while the Pope forbade women from entering. The monks planted trees and other plants that Portuguese explorers brought. In the 19th century, the British and Portuguese fought a famous battle against Napoleon's troops, who thus did not reach Coimbra. Shortly afterwards, the monastery was closed. Charles, the last king of the country, ordered a hunting lodge to be built here. He did not have time to visit it as he was assassinated. Eventually, it became a luxurious five-star hotel. After admiring the beauty of the park, we head to Aveiro. A city that, thanks to its picturesque canals, arched bridges and traditional "moliceiros" boats, became widely known as the "Venice of Portugal". Boarding the coach and heading to the final destination of the day, picturesque Porto. Check-in at the hotel and overnight.

Porto, the second largest city in Portugal after Lisbon, is built amphitheatrically, on the right bank of the Douro River and extends along the entire coast to the mouth of the river into the ocean. It has been included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1996 and is a city that steals the impressions! We will explore the city with our coach, starting from its historic center and continuing towards the river. We will talk about its bridges, the history of the city, we will enjoy the picturesque houses, the special riverboats, the ''barcos rabelos'' and then we will visit the Palácio da Bolsa. This was built by the city's merchants in 1842, to host their trade association and the commercial court, it evolved into a stock exchange (Bolsa) and today it is available for celebrations, ceremonies and guided tours. In the afternoon you can enjoy a walk on the opposite bank of the river or take the cable car to enjoy the sunset. Optionally and with the help of the captain you can enjoy a boat trip on the Douro River and visit a winery to taste the famous homonymous wine (Vinho Porto). Return to the hotel. Overnight.

Today is a surprise! We will leave Portugal for a few hours and cross into neighboring Spain, in order to visit Santiago de Compostela, the city for which thousands of pilgrims and pilgrims from all over the world make the journey to get to know it or to worship in this great Catholic pilgrimage, but also so different from the Portuguese Virgin of Fatima. After crossing green areas and beautiful villages of Northern Portugal, enjoying the special espigueiros (espigueiros), granaries of the 18th and 19th centuries, we will arrive in Saint James of Compostela. We will not have walked the Way of Saint James (the Camino de Santiago), but we will have the opportunity to walk for a few hours a pilgrimage city that exudes joy and optimism! At noon we will have lunch at a local restaurant in Santiago de Compostela. Return to Portugal again, with stops in Santa Luzia (Santa Luzia), a church on a hill with an excellent view of the ocean and another one for a walk and coffee in the picturesque and traditional Viana do Castelo (Viana do Castelo). We end up with the most beautiful impressions again in Porto. Overnight.

Today we will get to know two distinct capitals of the country in the northern province of Minho. The province that produces the famous local sparkling wine, Vinho Verde (green wine). We will start from the most amazing religious sanctuary in Portugal, Bom Jesus do Monte (Good Jesus of the Mountain), 6 km. East of Braga. We will enjoy the wonderful nature, the panoramic view, but above all, the unique monumental granite staircase with the chapels of the Crucifixion of Christ. We will continue with Braga (Braga), the religious capital of Portugal and its Cathedral. A spacious city, with wide streets and many fountains. Our tour today will conclude with a visit to Guimarães, the "cradle" of the Portuguese Nation and the first capital of the country. We will take a walk, identifying the tower in which (they say) Don Afonso Henriques, the first king of Portugal, was born, the church where he was baptized, the castle-palace of the Duke of Braganza and the historic center of the city. Transfer to the airport for our return flight to Athens.

Early morning arrival at Athens airport. We will definitely be dreaming of our next trip to this amazing country!