2023 International Portugal

The starting point for this tour is the town of Coimbra. Porto is the closest airport and there are coach transfers directly from the airport.  Alternatively, you can make your way by train to Coimbra and transfer to our centrally located hotel, where we check in for six nights. Enjoy the rest of the day to settle in or begin exploring this enticing city.

Coimbra is the Oxford or Cambridge of Portugal, with the best and oldest university in the country dominating the skyline. The city holds an affection with the Portuguese people like no other, the name Coimbra coming from the nearby Roman city of Conimbriga. Finally freed from Moorish occupation in 1064, Coimbra became the capital of Portugal when King Afonso Henriques moved it south from Guimarães in 1139. For visitors, it still holds a wealth of historic interest.

Overnight: Hotel Vila Galé, Coimbra

The starting point for this tour is the town of Coimbra. Porto is the closest airport and there are coach transfers directly from the airport.  Alternatively, you can make your way by train to Coimbra and transfer to our centrally located hotel, where we check in for six nights. Enjoy the rest of the day to settle in or begin exploring this enticing city.

Coimbra is the Oxford or Cambridge of Portugal, with the best and oldest university in the country dominating the skyline. The city holds an affection with the Portuguese people like no other, the name Coimbra coming from the nearby Roman city of Conimbriga. Finally freed from Moorish occupation in 1064, Coimbra became the capital of Portugal when King Afonso Henriques moved it south from Guimarães in 1139. For visitors, it still holds a wealth of historic interest.

Overnight: Hotel Vila Galé, Coimbra (B, D)

The starting point for this tour is the town of Coimbra. Porto is the closest airport and there are coach transfers directly from the airport.  Alternatively, you can make your way by train to Coimbra and transfer to our centrally located hotel, where we check in for six nights. Enjoy the rest of the day to settle in or begin exploring this enticing city.

Coimbra is the Oxford or Cambridge of Portugal, with the best and oldest university in the country dominating the skyline. The city holds an affection with the Portuguese people like no other, the name Coimbra coming from the nearby Roman city of Conimbriga. Finally freed from Moorish occupation in 1064, Coimbra became the capital of Portugal when King Afonso Henriques moved it south from Guimarães in 1139. For visitors, it still holds a wealth of historic interest.

Overnight: Hotel Vila Galé, Coimbra (B)

Leaving Coimbra after breakfast, we take the Linha do Oeste and head south to pass through the important regional town of Leiria. This line is a quaint country line retaining a lot of its unmodernised charm.  Our destination is the inland station of Valado-Nazaré-Alcobaça. We will be met by our luxury coach who will take us the short distance to the fine beach resort of Nazaré with its glorious sandy bay backed by steep cliffs. High above the town is the Ermida da Memória, reached by a funicular railway dating from 1889. Local legend has it that here is the site where the Virgin Mary saved the King from falling off the cliff during a deer hunt in 1182. We will have time in Nazaré for our own exploration, lunch or relaxing on the beach. If you like seafood, this is the day to try it, with an abundance of excellent seafood restaurants. We return to Coimbra by train.

Overnight: Hotel Vila Galé, Coimbra (B)

We catch a train for our journey along the scenic Beira-Alta railway line – one of the finest in Portugal- as we climb up into the Serra da Estrela mountains. Our destination is the old frontier town of Guarda.  From here we will visit one of the historic towns in the area depending on the new train timetable: Guarda, Belmonte or Almeida. Guarda is an important city and the highest in Portugal, at over 1,000 metres above sea level. After a gap of over 10 years, Belmonte can once again be reached by train with the reopening of the line between Guarda and Covilhã. It has an attractive historic centre and a castle.

In 1810, Almeida featured heavily in the Peninsular Wars and was seized back

from the French by the Duke of Wellington. There is a fine 17th-century church, one of Portugal’s oldest alms-houses and military history including soldiers’ barracks and the armoury. From Guarda, we return to Coimbra on the Inter-City service.

*Note: the Beira Alta Line is currently undergoing complete track renewal. We will offer an alternative scenic line if still closed.

Overnight: Hotel Vila Galé, Coimbra (B)

We catch an electric loco-hauled inter-city train (first-class seats) for our journey south to the railway centre of Entroncamento. From here, our coach takes us the short distance to visit the UNESCO-listed Convento do Cristo in Tomar, formerly a 12th-century Templar stronghold. Our guide will once again join us to give us a guided tour of this important monument.

After time for lunch, you will have a choice. Either remain in Tomar with the guide or go with David on the local train to Entroncamento to visit the National Railway Museum. Over the last few years, this museum has been improved and enlarged and is definitely worth a visit. We all meet up again at Entroncamento station for our train back to Coimbra.

Overnight: Hotel Vila Galé, Coimbra (B)

A train-free day today, as we have the opportunity to visit two of the most important UNESCO World Heritage sites in Portugal, the Monastery of the Dominicans of Batalha and the Monastery of Santa Maria of Alcobaça. The Monastery of the Dominicans of Batalha was built to commemorate the victory of the Portuguese over the Castilians at the battle of Aljubarrota in 1385.  It was to be the Portuguese monarchy’s main building project for the next two centuries. Here a highly original, national Gothic style evolved, profoundly influenced by Manueline art, as demonstrated by its masterpiece, the Royal Cloister. King Alfonso, I founded the Monastery of Santa Maria of Alcobaça in the 12th century. Its size, the purity of its architectural style, the beauty of the materials and the care with which it was built make this a masterpiece of Cistercian Gothic art. Dinner will be in a local restaurant.

Overnight: Hotel Vila Galé, Coimbra (B, D)

We move from the Beiras to the Douro, with the option of free time in the city of Porto, while our luggage is transported directly to our next hotel. First, we all catch a train north to Porto, and you will have the choice of staying here for a few hours or travelling directly to Régua.

Overnight: Hotel Régua Douro, Régua (B)

We join our coach to head northeast to Bragança, the former terminus of the metre-gauge Tua Line. We begin by heading to the historic centre and the castle, an imposing fortified tower and home to a museum with antique weapons & Portuguese military artifacts. After time to visit and explore the historic centre, we walk to the attractive town centre for lunch in an excellent family-run restaurant. Bragança station still exists, and in 2019 the long-stored rolling stock was put on display in an excellent new museum. We will visit the museum after lunch, before returning to Régua on our coach. Evening free.

Overnight: Hotel Régua Douro, Régua (B, L)

This morning our coach takes us to Vila Real and Casa de Mateus, famous as the palace that appears on the labels of Mateus Rosé wine (though Mateus Rosé is not actually made here). The visit includes time to explore the beautiful gardens. We return to Régua by coach with free time for lunch before the afternoon’s highlight of the tour, the Douro Historic Steam Train. We join a restored steam-hauled vintage train, formed of five wooden-bodied carriages dating from the 1920s. We travel up the river through breath-taking scenery of terrace vineyards and olive trees, to the riverside station at Tua (about a 90-minute run). En route, we stop for water at the picturesque riverside town of Pinhão. Use the time here to see the famous tiled pictures, dating from 1938, that decorate the station. Many of the most famous names in port production have Quintas (port lodges) close to the railway station which is decorated with dazzling tile panels depicting scenes from bygone days of port production. On board, we are treated to traditional singing and served local delicacies and port wine. After a break, we return on the steam-hauled special to Régua.

We end this exciting day with a short trip across the river to Quinta da Pacheca, another local port producer, where we will have a fine dinner and more opportunities to taste their wine and port.

Overnight: Hotel Régua Douro, Régua (B, D)

We have the first of our two River Douro cruises, but to begin the day we once again catch the regional train with Schindler carriages east along the river all the way to the railway’s terminus at Pocinho. At Pocinho we join our river cruiser and sailing down the river we pass through three of the dams built in the 1970s and 1980s to tame this once-wild river. One of the locks we pass through is 32 metres deep and is an unforgettable experience. This is a stunning part of the valley with steeply terraced vineyards and dramatic rock cliffs and is probably the most stunning stretch of the river. A full three-course lunch with wine is served on board.

Overnight: Hotel Regua Douro, Régua (B, L)

We have another chance to see the Douro from the train as we head back west to Penafiel. Our coach will be waiting to take us the short distance to the vineyards at Quinta da Aveleda, one of the region’s top Vinho Verde estates with its fine gardens. Look out for the Goat Tower and the Old Wine Lodge.  After a guided walk through their beautiful gardens, we are taken to their dining room where we will be served an excellent three-course lunch with the chance to taste some of their popular green wines. From here we transfer by road to the pretty riverside town of Amarante, one of the gems of northern Portugal. Rows of 17th-century mansions with brightly painted balconies line the narrow streets. There will be time to visit the Monastery and other sites after our walk through the town. We return to Régua by train from Livração station, arriving early evening.

Overnight: Hotel Regua Douro, Régua (B, L)

In the morning we catch the regional train east along the river to the railway’s terminus at Pocinho. Until the late 1980s, the main line continued to the Spanish border at Barca d’Alva and at Pocinho the Sabor narrow gauge line branched off. You can still see a steam loco from that line that was abandoned in Pocinho when the line closed. This is a superb scenic journey with stunning views, and we might catch sight of the rare Black Kite which still manages to survive in this remote area of Europe.

From Pocinho we will make a short road trip to visit the UNESCO World Heritage Archaeological Park and Museum near the small town of Vila Nova de Foz Côa. As well as visiting the museum, with its spectacular views over the River Douro, we will also visit one of the prehistoric rock art sites, travelling 6 Km through the countryside in an all-terrain vehicle with an easy walk for the last 600 metres. (Note: due to capacity restraints at the rock art site, a maximum of 24 people will be able to go to the site itself, places allocated on a “first to book, first to choose” basis). Return to Régua by train, with dinner in a well-known local restaurant.

• Rock Art subject to capacity.

Overnight: Hotel Regua Douro, Peso da Régua (B, D)

One of the highlights of the holiday, we sail down the River Douro to Porto. We pass through two dams, firstly the spectacular Carrapatelo Dam. The lock in this dam will take us down 35 metres, one of the deepest locks in Western Europe and an unforgettable experience. Later we pass through the relatively small Crestuma-Lever Dam, as we start to see more settlements and finally the city of Porto.  The approach to Porto is spectacular as we pass under a series of bridges, including the iconic Maria Pia railway bridge and the Dom Luis I two-level bridge. Our coach will have collected our luggage in Régua and will be waiting to take us to our hotel at the airport, ready for our flights home tomorrow. Our farewell lunch, including drinks, will be on board our river cruiser.

Overnight:  City Central Hotel TBC or Airport hotel, Porto (B, L)

This morning our tour ends after breakfast or perhaps you wish to stay for additional days for your own exploration of this area of Portugal. (B)