Come discover why Travel + Leisure Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, and many others are falling in love with Portugal. With the UNESCO World Heritage city of Évora as our base for six nights, we will venture out in all directions to explore the gastronomic and cultural treasures of the Alentejo.

Along the way, we will visit the fairytale walled village of Monsaraz, the marble town of Estremoz with its lively Saturday market, and a prehistoric megalithic site that predates Stonehenge by more than 2,000 years. Throughout the journey, we will discover the wines and traditional dishes that are putting Alentejo firmly on the culinary map.

Tour Highlights

• Historic Évora – Roman Temple, the Bone Chapel, the Évora Cathedral, and more.

• Portugal’s Stonehenge – older than the UK’s by 2,000 years

• Cork Forest Experience – sustainable harvesting in the Montado

• Monsaraz – a fairytale hilltop village overlooking Spain

• Royal Palace of Vila Viçosa – Portugal’s regal history

• Estremoz Market – one of Europe’s oldest outdoor markets

• Guided Winery Visits – Hosted by Erik. Some of his favorites including: Howard’s

  Folly, Esporão, Fita Preta & more

• Dining – unforgettable meals with wine pairings, including rising star chefs

Our private group bus will meet you at our pickup location in central Lisbon at 10am and to take us to Évora (approximately 1h20m minute ride).

Prior to lunch, we will visit the famous Bone Chapel of Évora. We will then wander the

maze of narrow streets of Évora before arriving at our lunch destination.

Wine tasting & lunch: We will dine at one of our favorite restaurants in Évora. The family has been serving traditional Alentejo gastronomy for close to 40 years.

After lunch, we will visit the 800 year old Cathedral of Évora, (Basílica Sé de Nossa Senhora da Assunção), followed by the 1,800 year old Roman temple, before making our way to your hotel – a 5-star property located within the walls of the town.

Each evening you can enjoy the common areas of the hotel with its commanding view of the 16th century aqueduct or wander the streets of Évora.

Cultural stop over: You will learn why cork is such an incredible sustainable resource.

We will visit a cork forest led by the always jovial, interesting Andreia. You will never look

at a wine cork in the same way again!

Lunch & wine tasting: We will then stop at Senhor Daurindo’s for a super traditional

Alentejo feast accompanied by some very local wines.

More culture: On the way back to our home base, we will stop by at the pre-historic

megalith, Cromeleque dos Almendres: a stone circle that predates Stonehenge by 2000

years.

Cultural stop: A guided visit to the royal summer palace in Vila Viçosa.

Wine tasting: Howard’s Folly. Funny name, serious wine. Lead winemaker David

Baverstock is better known for running the wine operation at Esporão. But Howard’s Folly is a new, small venture by David’s good friend, Howard who lived for 30 years in Hong Kong.

Lunch: Innovative Chef Bernardo creates perfect dishes to pair with Howard’s wines.

Cultural stop over: the fairytale village of Monsaraz. One of the best-preserved villages in

the country. If it were anywhere else, it would be mobbed with tourists year-round. We

will stop in the pottery town of São Pedro do Corval along the way for some shopping.

Lunch: We will have a lovely lunch on the covered patio facing the lake and the Spanish

frontier at good friend Joao’s family restaurant in Monsaraz.

Wine: Visit our friends at Quinta do Quetzal who love both art and wine. Our visit will be led by winery head, Reto Jorg.

Lunch: João Mourato, head chef at Quetzal, may receive a Michelin star one day. You will not believe he is only 29!!

Cultural highlight: the Roman Villa of São Cucufate has been standing for over 1,800

years.

Cultural stop over: We will visit one of the oldest outdoor markets in Europe in the

marble town of Estremoz.

Winery tasting: Owner, winemaker Luis Louro of Monte Branco was practically born into the wine business. Luis has strong opinions about winemaking and looks forward to sharing them with you. It also helps that his tasting area overs a glorious view of the countryside.

Lunch: We will have a lovely lunch in the barrel room while continuing to try some of the Monte Branco wines.

Early breakfast, check out and transfer back to Lisbon airport.

Most of you will be departing on a noon flight that day, therefore you will be leaving the Évora hotel at around 8 am.

If you are staying in the country, breakfast is at your leisure.

We can help you in booking transfers at other times and to different locations.