The Details
As one of Europe’s oldest cities, Lisbon has many faces. The jumbled alleyways of Alfama wouldn’t look unfamiliar to the Roman citizens who called ‘Olisipo’ their home over 2000 years ago, whilst the stately 18th century architecture of the Praca do Comercio announced the city’s resurrection after the great earthquake of 1755. In Mouraria and downtown Baixa, modern city life throngs around you as the ‘Lisboetas’ go about their daily business, with Cais do Sodre as the bustling gateway to historic Belem, to industrial Almada and beyond.
The Chiado district will be your home – Chiado and its sister-neighbourhood Bairro Alto date back to a period of urban expansion, when Lisbon’s growing population demanded an increase in living space outside the walls of the existing medieval city. They’re districts which are popular for their charming old bookshops and coffee houses, their unassuming backstreet restaurants and late-night bars, and their ‘miradouros’: perfectly-positioned viewpoints where you can watch the sun setting over a glass of chilled vinho branco.
Leaving Lisbon, you’ll take the Alfa Pendular train to the proud northern city of Porto. Known to the Romans as ‘Portus Cale’, Porto gave its name to the country when Portugal was founded in the 12th century – it also gave its name to its most-famous export, port wine, which you’ll have a chance to sample during your stay.
Exploring Porto in the company of our resident guide, you’ll see how each new generation has left its mark on the city: from the imposing Se do Porto cathedral and the recently renovated Mercado do Balhao, to the striking Sao Bento Station – Porto’s gateway to the vineyards of the Douro Valley. The city’s historic centre is UNESCO-protected – buildings old and new jostle for position on the banks of the Douro River, in the distinctive shadow of the majestic Ponte Luis I Bridge.
