Escorted Lisbon Holidays and Guided Tours
Lisbon sits on the north bank of the Tagus, where the river widens into something closer to a sea. The city is spread over seven hills, which is why it has so many viewpoints and so many steep cobbled lanes. Tiled facades, yellow trams, long lunches by the water: it repays being taken slowly.
We travel here as part of a longer Portuguese itinerary, pairing the capital with Porto and the Douro. The two cities are so unalike that seeing both tells you a great deal more about Portugal than either would on its own.
Frequently Asked Questions About Our Lisbon Tours
Yes, it is genuinely hilly, and the pavements are laid with polished limestone setts that can be slippery when wet. Sightseeing in Alfama and the Bairro Alto means gradients and steps; Belém and the Baixa are flat. Sintra involves uphill walking on uneven ground. Our guided visits are paced for an older group, but if you have any concerns about mobility, please ask us before booking so we can tell you honestly what a particular day involves.
It does. The Porto and Lisbon tour includes guided visits in Sintra, taking in the palaces and other landmarks, as well as guided sightseeing in Lisbon itself. The itinerary also covers Porto, Guimarães, Braga, Coimbra and a cruise on the Douro. The precise order of days and the specific properties visited can change between departures, so ask us for the current itinerary before you book.
Flights from the UK to Lisbon take somewhere around two and a half to three hours. The Porto and Lisbon holiday includes return flights with luggage allowance, return UK coach transfers, and transport throughout the tour, with an English-speaking tour manager from start to finish. Lisbon's airport sits within the city itself, so the drive to your hotel is short. Ask us about the airport used and the transfer arrangements for the departure you are considering.
Yes. Our Open Group departures are made up of individual travellers and couples who join a scheduled tour, and solo travellers are a regular part of any group. The tour manager and the shared meals make it straightforward company. Single room availability and any supplement vary by hotel and by date, so please ask us and we will tell you what is available on the departure you have in mind.
The Baixa and the 1755 earthquake
On the morning of All Saints' Day in 1755, an earthquake, then fire, then a wave off the Tagus destroyed most of the lower city. The Marquês de Pombal rebuilt it in under a decade on a grid of wide straight streets with matching frontages, using timber cage framing designed to flex rather than fall. It remains one of the earliest deliberately earthquake-resistant districts in Europe, and it is why the Baixa feels so orderly compared with everything above it.
Alfama, sitting on solid rock below São Jorge castle, largely survived, and its lanes still follow the pattern of the Moorish city. Downriver at Belém, the Manueline monuments came through too: the Jerónimos Monastery and the Belém Tower, both UNESCO-listed and both paid for with the profits of the spice trade.
Sintra's palaces and the coast beyond
Sintra lies about twenty miles west of Lisbon in wooded hills that trap Atlantic moisture. It has its own damp, cool microclimate, which is precisely why Portuguese royalty summered there and why the gardens grow tree ferns and camellias that would struggle in the city.
The Pena Palace, painted red and ochre on its crag, was built for Ferdinand II in the 1840s and is Romantic architecture at full volume. Below it stand the walls of a Moorish castle, the wedding-cake chimneys of the National Palace in the town, and the gardens of Monserrate and Quinta da Regaleira with its spiral initiation well.
Our Porto and Lisbon holiday includes guided time in Sintra alongside the capital. Which palaces and gardens are included varies, so do ask us about a particular departure.
Fado, azulejos and custard tarts
Fado grew up in the sailors' quarters of Alfama and Mouraria in the early nineteenth century, and UNESCO added it to its list of intangible heritage in 2011. Sung by one voice over Portuguese guitar, it is not background music, and in the smaller houses the room goes quiet when it starts.
Tiles are the other constant. Azulejos cover church interiors, station walls, shopfronts and whole apartment blocks, and the National Tile Museum in the old Madre de Deus convent traces five centuries of them, including a long panel showing the city as it looked before the earthquake.
Then there are the pastéis. The bakery at Belém has been making its custard tarts to a recipe from the neighbouring monastery since 1837, served warm with cinnamon and icing sugar to shake on yourself.
