Flavors of Portugal Culinary Tour

Your authentic cooking holiday in Portugal will include daily activities and meals as indicated below, or it can be customized to suit your tastes. Depending on the season and dates booked, the order of activities is subject to change.

Day One

• Arrival in Lisbon airport and private transfer to your hotel.
• This evening you are free to relax, dinner on your own.
• Overnight in Lisbon

Day Two

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Meet your driver at the hotel and transfer to your cooking class in Chef Artur’s home kitchen. Enjoy a private Lisbon food tour to the off the beaten path area of Campo Pequeno. You will meet the chef and buy some ingredients for a cooking class at the chef’s house featuring a series of Portuguese “petiscos” (like tapas) such as codfish patties and octopus salad, all in a laid back and intimate environment, while drinking a good glass of Portuguese wine. Learn the basic principles of Portuguese cuisine and how to prepare some of our most traditional dishes. The chef has therefore selected a tasting menu of four dishes that are a good representation of our vast culinary culture and history.
• Lunch to follow,
• After the tour head out for a guided tour of Lisbon’s historical sites. You will see some of the greatest examples of Lisbon’s Golden Era and the Portuguese Manueline style of architecture by exploring the Belém district. Visit Jeronimo’s Monastery and the Belém Tower, both UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and the Monument of Discoveries. End the tour with dessert: a tasting of the famous and incredibly delicious pastéis de Belem,” a custard pastry.
• Dinner on your own and overnight in Lisbon.

Day Three

• Breakfast and check out. Your driver will meet you at your hotel to take you to Lamego in the Douro Region, the next stop in your Portugal cooking vacation.
• During the transfer north you have several options. You can visit Obidos, a beautiful medieval town with whitewashed houses, and Fàtima, which is the religious capital of Portugal and a popular pilgrimage site known for the appearance of Our Lady of Fátima in 1917. Or, if the religious site does not interest you, you can head to Coimbra or another town.
• Lunch on your own during the journey.
• Arrive in Lamego and check in to your accommodations.
• Dinner on your own, overnight in Lamego.

Day Four

• Breakfast, then it is off to another cooking experience during your culinary tour of Portugal, this time with a Viscountess.
• Immerse yourself in the history and traditions of the Douro on this Douro wine tour and cooking class. The Viscountess will show you her estate, taking you through the farm, the olive groves, and organic garden. Select vegetables and herbs then head to the kitchen where you will learn traditional Portuguese dishes. Her cousin will assist in the class, and it will end with lunch in the elegant dining room or al fresco when weather permits.
• After lunch, head to Lamego, a beautiful town known for the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Remedies with its famous staircase. Stroll to the center of town to enjoy the promenade, the Cathedral, and if you like a visit to the town Museum, which was the former Bishop’s palace.
• Check in to your hotel and dinner on your own. Overnight in Lamego.

Day Five

• Breakfast and check out. Head to Amarante, a small town in the Douro Valley and the next stop on our Portugal food and wine tour. The River Tamega runs through the town and is traversed by the iconic São Gonçalo Bridge. Now the town is full of cafes and restaurants, and is home to the tomb of São Gonçalo, a 12th-century Saint known to heal the sick.
• Lunch on our own during your time in Amarante.
• Journey to the hotel where you enjoy a wine tasting paired with traditional canapes.
• Dinner on your own and overnight in Amarante.

Day Six

• Breakfast and check out. Your driver will pick you up and then it is off to Guimarães, Braga, and Porto.
• Guimarães is called the “cradle” of Portuguese nationality and boasts more than 800 years of history. .It was birthplace of the first king of Portugal, Alfonso Henriques, who declared the independence of Portugal. You will see the old Castle, the 15th-century Place of the Dukes of Bragança with its famous tapestries, and the Oliveira square, a World Heritage site.
• Lunch on your own in Braga.
• Next head to Braga, an important religious capital known as the Portuguese Rome for its Baroque style and many churches, including the Cathedral and the Shrine of the “Bon Jesus of Braga” with its Baroque staircase.
• Next head to Porto where you will check in to your hotel.
• Dinner on your own and overnight in Porto.

Day Seven

• Breakfast, then head out for a cooking experience featuring the famed Francesinha sandwich, one of Porto’s most iconic dishes. Originally from Porto but now popular throughout the country, the Franscesinha is a sandwich with ham and cured and fresh sausage, served on bread, topped with melted cheese, and smothered with a special sauce.
• Lunch to follow.
• In the afternoon enjoy a Porto on your own (with your driver guide), exploring such sites as the Church of São Francisco with its gold-leaf decor, the neo-Arab Stock Exchange Palace, the Cathedral, and more.
• If you’d like, you can end the tour at a port wine lodge for a tasting (not included) and then make your own way back to the hotel.
• Dinner on your own and overnight in Porto.

Day Eight

• Breakfast and departure transfer to Porto airport.