About the tour: Lisbon & Portugal's Picturesque 'Silver' Coast by Air

Fly to Lisbon, where you will be met and transferred to your hotel for three nights.

• Included meals: Dinner

Full day in Lisbon. We include a panoramic guided tour seeing the main sights before visiting the Belem area of the city. Belem is Lisbon’s historical area, with many important monuments and attractions and was also the place many explorers departed from, on their voyages of discovery. Prince Henry the Navigator, Bartholomeu Dias, Ferdinand Magellan, and Vasco da Gama are all known to have commenced their journeys from here. Not far from the Belem Palace is Rua Vieira Portuense with its many traditional houses and many cafés, where you can sample the local custard tarts, known as ‘Pastel de Nata’.

• Included meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Join our full-day, optional excursion, first to Sintra, once a favourite of Portuguese royalty. The town can be found on the Serra de Sintra hills, and its cobbled streets contain many colourful and flamboyant buildings hilly landscape and scenic views make Sintra a popular destination. Later, we visit the coastal resort of Cascais, once a traditional fishing village and a calling point for boats going to Lisbon, due to its sheltered bay. The town’s seafront promenade is a good place for a stroll, and nearby, you can find many restaurants serving local fresh fish and shellfish dishes.

• Included meals: Breakfast, Dinner

We leave Lisbon and head north, calling at a winery and vineyard, where we sample some wines. We then visit the pretty medieval, walled town of Obidos, which is known for its religious architecture, and for being the home of 17th century woman painter, Josefa de Obidos. Why not sample the local sour cherry liqueur, Ginjinha de Obidos, which is often served in an edible chocolate cup? Later we continue to our hotel on the Portuguese coast for a five night stay.

• Included meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Included morning guided excursion to the pilgrimage town of Fatima, where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to three shepherd children in 1917. The basilica at Fatima houses the tombs of two of the visionary children. Enjoy an afternoon at leisure.

• Included meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Optional excursion to Porto, a wonderful, walled city on the banks of the Douro River and birthplace of the famous fortified Port wine, which is still stored in huge cellars along the banks of the river Douro. Porto has a great deal of history and a wealth of monuments and landmarks to be visited. The Ribeira district next to the river Douro contains a huge variety of houses in pretty colours and is where you can see iconic Dom Luis bridge, linking with the port producing district of Vila Nova de Gaia. Our guided tour will introduce you to the many sights.

• Included meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Enjoy a free day at leisure.

• Included meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Enjoy an included, guided excursion taking in the pretty riverfront city of Coimbra, set beside the Mondego river, and home to many medieval churches, and two Cathedrals, ‘Se Velha’ or old, and ‘Se Nova’ meaning new. The University of Coimbra Botanical Gardens were originally established in 1772 by the Marques de Pombal and cover over 13 hectares, with decorative fountains, a medicinal plants nursery, and also a tropical greenhouse. The 16th century reconstructed Aqueduct can be seen next to the Botanical Garden, and is known as the ‘Arches of the Garden’. Coimbra is the medieval capital of Portugal and home to its greatest university where we see a Fado Show with traditional Portuguese music.

• Included meals: Breakfast, Dinner

To Lisbon airport for your return flight.

• Included meals: Breakfast