• We will tour around the Alfama neighbourhood, checking out the medieval part of Lisbon, such as the steep Rua das Escolas Gerais and the Largo das Portas do Sol.

• We will then make our way to Sao Jorge Castle.

• After our lunch break, we board our coach and head to the Estadio da Luz, the Benfica Lisbon football club’s stadium for a tour around the stadium.

• At night our dinner will be accompanied by a live performance of Fado.

We begin at the MAAT (Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology).

For lunch, we head to Lisbon’s famous Time Out Market, a vibrant food hall where some of the city’s best chefs and restaurants offer a wide variety of Portuguese and international dishes under one roof.

We will also wander through the traditional Mercado da Ribeira next to Time Out Market.

We then make our way to the LX Factory, a creative cultural hub to explore the open public spaces, discover urban art and creative architecture, and experience a modern side of Lisbon that blends innovation with industrial heritage.

We then return to the city center where we will have some free time to enjoy shopping along Rua Augusta, Lisbon’s most famous pedestrian street lined with cafés, shops, and street performers.

Afterwards, we head back to the hotel to freshen up before dinner at a local restaurant.

By Mia 

We begin our trip north to Porto. 

On the way we will: 

• Visit Batalha, (2 hours away) and the Monastery of Santa Maria da Vitoria, now a World Heritage Site. 

• Have lunch at a little village nearby. 

• Visit Coimbra to explore the historic old town before re-boarding the coach and continuing to Porto. 

We should arrive in Porto in time to settle into our hotel and freshen up before having our early dinner.

• Our service project will be with  CASA – Centro de Apoio ao Sem Abrigo, one of Portugal’s leading organizations supporting people experiencing homelessness. Our group will be integrated into this initiative, assisting with both preparation and service for their food kitchen. 

We will begin with a boat tour on the river Douro. The tour “Cruzeiro das 6 Pontes” takes us to Porto’s six well-known bridges, as well as the Gaia area, the historical area of Ribeira, the stock exchange palace, port wine cellars, etc.

We then have a guided walking tour in the historic center. We will visit the: Praça Dom João I, Praça da Liberdade, São Bento railroad station, the Teatro Nacional San João,  the church of Santa Clara, the Sé cathedral, Igreja de San Francisco, the Ponte de Dom Luis I , Vila Nova da Gaia and more. 

We will head back to the hotel to freshen up before having dinner at a local resturant. 

This morning, we start off with an excursion to Barcelos, a medieval walled town. We will explore Paço dos Condes de Barcelos, the remains of a medieval palace, which now houses an open- air archaeological museum. 

We have lunch before heading to Guimarães, which is about an hour away. Often called the ‘Cradle of Portugal, Guimaraes’ historical centre is another World Heritage Site. Here we visit the Castle, the Palace and several small churches. 

We head back to Porto in the late afternoon with time to relax before going out for our farewell dinner at a local restaurant