Founded before Rome, shaped by the Moors, rebuilt after the catastrophic earthquake of 1755, and launched into global history by the navigators of the 15th and 16th centuries, Lisbon carries its past lightly — in the tiled facades of its buildings, the melancholy of its fado music, and the warmth of its people.
Over six nights, based at the Corpo Santo Hotel in the historic Cais do Sodré district, we spend three days exploring the city with an expert local guide who has picked all her favourite restaurants. We venture out on three day trips: to the medieval and Romanticist palaces of Sintra in the wooded hills to the northwest; south across the Tagus to the Moorish fortress of Palmela, the dramatic clifftop sanctuary of Cabo Espichel, and the fishing village of Sesimbra. On our last full day, we travel west along the coast to the Adega Regional de Colares winery and the elegant resort towns of Cascais and Estoril, where the Casino was a gathering point for exiled royalty and spies during the Second World War and inspired Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale.
Accommodation
We will be staying at the Corpo Santo Hotel, an independently run 5 star boutique hotel, set in the historic Cais do Sodré district, steps from the Tagus River and a short walk from Praça do Comércio, Rossio, and Avenida da Liberdade. The hotel has a spa and gym and a preserved section of the 14th-century city wall on view in the lounge area.
A Note on Museums
Several of Lisbon’s major museums, including the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, the Museu Nacional do Azulejo and parts of the Gulbenkian, are currently undergoing renovation. All three are expected to reopen well before May 2027, but we are monitoring the situation closely and will confirm final arrangements nearer the time.
ITINERARY
Thursday 20th May – Lisbon
Depart EasyJet Gatwick to Lisbon. Times TBC.
We transfer to the Corpo Santo Hotel for a light lunch. We are joined by our guide for the week, Teresa Mendes, for an introductory walk through the Chiado district, Lisbon’s most elegant neighbourhood, finishing in the Pombaline Baixa, rebuilt in a rational grid of elegant streets after the 1755 earthquake; the great Rossio square; and the connecting layers of the city’s history from Moorish to modern. Dinner in the Comerció Square at the popular Can the Can.
Friday 21st May – Alfama and Fado
This morning we take a short drive uphill to visit Alfama, Lisbon’s oldest neighbourhood, built on the hillside below the castle. Much of Alfama survived the earthquake of 1755 that destroyed the rest of the city. We go on to the Se Cathedral, with views from the miradouro viewpoints across Lisbon and the Tagus river. After lunch, we visit the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, Portugal’s national art collection and one of the finest museums in the country. Its treasures range from Portuguese Renaissance altarpieces to Japanese screens brought back by 16th-century explorers; among them Hieronymus Bosch’s extraordinary Temptations of St Anthony, one of the most remarkable paintings in Europe. This evening we visit a fado club for music and dinner.
Saturday 22nd May – Sintra
Today we drive to Sintra, with a first stop at the Palacio Nacional de Sintra, the best-preserved medieval royal palace in Portugal. Built for King João I in the early 15th century and extended by King Manuel I, who added a wing and lined the rooms with Moorish-influenced azulejo tiles, the palace has been in near-continuous royal use for more than 500 years. Its two conical kitchen chimneys, each 33m high, have marked the Sintra skyline for six centuries.
We then visit Monserrate Palace, built in 1858 for Sir Francis Cook, a wealthy English textile merchant who was one of the richest men in Britain and later granted the title of Viscount of Monserrate by the Portuguese crown. Cook commissioned architects James Thomas Knowles, father and son, to design a palace combining Gothic, Indian and Moorish influences, set within botanical gardens planted with more than 3,000 species from around the world.
Lunch is at Nortada, a family-run seafood restaurant established in 1979 and recommended by the Michelin Guide, situated on the Atlantic coast at Praia Grande. Back to Lisbon to relax before dinner.
Sunday, 23rd May – Museu Nacional do Azulejo and the Gulbenkian
This morning we visit the tile museum, the Museu Nacional do Azulejo, housed in a 16th-century convent. It traces the history of the Portuguese decorative tile across five centuries, from the earliest geometric patterns to the great panoramic panels of the 18th century. After lunch, we continue to the Gulbenkian, home to a remarkable private collection containing Egyptian antiquities, Islamic manuscripts, Flemish Old Masters and impressionist masterpieces with works by Renoir, Degas and Monet amongst others. The collection also exhibits an impressive Lalique glass collection, gathered by the Armenian oil magnate Calouste Gulbenkian and left to Portugal on his death in 1955. Dinner close to the hotel.
Monday, 24th May – Palmela
We leave Lisbon and cross the Tagus, driving south to the hilltop fortress of Palmela. Erected at a strategic point between the Tagus and Sado estuaries, the castle was founded by the Romans and its first fortifications built by the Moors in the 8th and 9th centuries. It later became the headquarters of the Military Order of Santiago in the 15th century.
We continue to Cape Espichel on the western tip of the Sesimbra peninsula with its 18th-century sanctuary, the Santuário de Nossa Senhora and for a short walk along the cliff. On to the fishing village of Sesimbra for lunch at O Velho e o Mar, overlooking the bay.
Back to Lisbon for a light dinner close to the hotel.
Tuesday, 25th May – a winery and Estoril
For our last full day, we head to the Adega Regional de Colares, about 45 minutes from Lisbon. Founded in 1931, this cooperative winery is one of the most historically remarkable in Europe: its vines grow on original ungrafted rootstock, their deep roots protected by the region’s sandy soils from the phylloxera epidemic of the 19th century. We take the coast road to the royal summer resort of Cascais and take a walk around its harbour, and the 16th-century Citadel. Lunch by the sea before continuing by coach the short distance to Estoril. During the Second World War, the Casino Estoril was a gathering point for spies, dispossessed royals and wartime adventurers, and became the inspiration for Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale.
We return to the hotel for our farewell dinner.
Wednesday 26th May – Belém and home
We spend our last morning in Belém, Lisbon’s monumental riverside quarter. We visit the Jerónimos Monastery, one of the great expressions of Manueline Gothic, its cloister covered from floor to vault in carved stonework of extraordinary intricacy. We go on to the Tower of Belém nearby before stopping at the Fabrica de Pasteis de Bélem, where the famous custard tarts have been made using the same secret recipe since 1837. We finish with a farewell lunch on the Tagus waterfront in Belem before transferring to the airport for our afternoon flight back to Gatwick.
PRICES AND HOW TO BOOK:
Price: £2,995 per person including accommodation, breakfast, all lunches and dinners with wine, all entrance fees and the tour rep, all transport but excluding outward and return flights.
Single Supplement: £650. Balance due on 20th February2027.
Flight details
London Gatwick to Lisbon - EJU8513 Departure 10:05 Thu 20th May Arrival 13:00
Lisbon to London Gatwick - EJU8514 Departure 16:00 Wed 26th May Arrival 18:40
Call 01225 427311 or please email Katherine at reservations@theoldie.co.uk
WALKING & MOBILITY
Our tours have been created to show you as much as possible of your chosen destination, and often the best way to do this is on foot. In order to enjoy these holidays you need to be reasonably fit, able to stroll at a normal pace for at least 40 minutes, to go up and down a staircase without assistance and to stand – perhaps in a queue – for 10 or 15 minutes at a time. Should you have any concerns whatsoever, please speak to Katherine on 01225 427311.
TRAVELLERS WITH DISABILITIES
Although we are pleased to welcome clients with disabilities, their participation will depend on the nature of the disability and in some cases it will be necessary to be accompanied by an able-bodied companion. In order to ensure the comfort and enjoyment of all participants on any tour we must ask you to declare full details of your disability, especially if this affects your mobility, so that we can consider your personal circumstances.
