Private tours in Lisbon & surroundings
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Program
Travel northwards through the countryside by a landscape of vineyards, cork trees, pine and eucalyptus forests. Beautiful
Portuguese typical homes with laid out gardens and an outlook of windmills toping the hills, make us feel we left the big city.
We step back in time when we arrive at the stunning and very ancient walled town called Obidos. A medieval city surrounded by
the walls of the castle with picturesque narrow streets, whitewashed houses, iron balconies, flower pots in every window.
Inhabited by Romans and Arabs, this was the dwelling place of the Portuguese court for more than 500 years. We’ll walk through
the feudal streets up to the main square close to the highest castle-tower, from where you can enjoy a nice view over the
countryside and Obidos. Walking the ramparts, visitors can enjoy views of windmills, vineyards and surrounding farmlands.
Time to visit the many handicraft shops and wine taverns with the local liqueur “Ginginha”. Just walk around and let the streets
lead you into the steep alleyways with colourfully framed houses.
Drive to Alcobaca and stop in this charming ancient town. You may wish to visit the XII century Alcobaca Monastery. Is one of
the few European monuments that has managed to preserve intact an entire group of medieval buildings and its church is the
largest early Gothic creation in Portugal. Moreover, it’s the longest church in the country, an amazing construction which resisted
time and earthquakes. See in the transept the tombs of king Pedro and Ines, the 2 lovers of the most dramatic Portuguese love
story.
Entering through the kings room we access to the main cloister, from where we may visit the monks accommodations. The
cloisters are worthwhile a stopover: wander around the garden, kitchen, cellar, refectory, chapter house, dormitory, and learn how
monks used to live in this centenary monastery.
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Free time for lunch in Nazare, the most colourful of Portuguese fishing villages and the richest fishing region in Portugal. A lot of restaurants serve a great
variety of the local speciality, which is of course fish and seafood.
Narrow streets with white-washed houses where one can still see fishermen and their wives wearing traditional clothes, brightly painted boats, with their
high pointed prows, and its sizable beach with locals drying the fish on wire racks. This seaside resort is also famous for its beautiful handicraft, made by
fishermen’s wives while the husband is at sea, fishing.
After lunch, go up to the cliff called Sitio. Located on a rocky promontory over 100m above the main part of the town, Sitio provides wonderful views
over the bay and beach of Nazaré.
Continue to XIV century Batalha Monastery, the supreme achievement of gothic architecture in Portugal. Manueline additions in the 15th and 16th
centuries, gave the monastery it's finer detail. Here you can admire the highest church in Portugal.
You should not miss the Royal Pantheon with the tombs of the Portuguese “Conquerors of the Sea” – the so-called “Magnificent generation”, the
remarkable Manueline cloister, the chapter house with guards keeping watch by the tombs of two unknown soldiers and the Unfinished Chapels with an
incomparable Manueline portal.
Finally Fatima - the center of Christian faith and a local of world's pilgrimage. See the chapel on the place where Our Lady appeared to the shepherds, the
Basilica and the vast square where people crawl on their knees towards the heart of the shrine, in a impressive sign of faith and devotion, lightning a candle,
praying and making a vow to Our Lady or fulfilling a promise. Religious services can be attended. Visit also Aljustrel with the humble houses where the
shepherds lived.
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...Perched on a hill rising out of an agricultural plain, Óbidos is one of Portugal’s picturesque gems. From its lofty centre
one gazes upon expanses of vineyards speckled with whirling windmills and terracotta-roofed homesteads. Nearer, narrow
cobbled streets, lined typically with whitewashed, bougainvillaea-draped houses, wind up to the walled interior. The region
was the westernmost limit of the Roman Empire. Under Portuguese rule, Obidos flourished into a major trading port.
Every Portuguese queen was given Obidos as a wedding present. Obidos continues to be a popular destination during the
summer, when tourists jam the streets to explore the city’s medieval charm....
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...The city of Alcobaça became notable after the first king of Portugal, Afonso Henriques, decided to build there a Monastery to
celebrate the conquest of Santarém. It’s one of the most magnificent gothic monuments in the country and was the first Gothic
building in Portugal, started in the 12th century. Over the centuries this monastery had an important role on Portuguese culture.
The Cistecian monks in Alcobaça dedicated their lives to meditation, working and teaching. They created the first public school in
Portugal, which was begun in 1269, and the use of the land for farming purposes, providing a genuine agricultural training
ground, the fruits of which are still visible today...
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…Possibly the most famous fishing town in Portugal, Nazaré is unique in many ways. It has an atmosphere of times gone
by, contentment and traditions, which continue to thrive, which make it a special place to visit. Along the seafront of Nazaré,
people still dry their catch of fish in the sun and mend their boats alongside sunbathing holidaymakers. A throng of craft
shops and cafes stretches the length of the Avenida Marginal, as well as restaurants serving a great variety of the local
speciality, which is of course fish. Until not too long ago, fishermen were still seen using oxen to pull their brightly painted
boats from the ocean and even today many locals still wear their characteristic traditional costumes: the fishermen have
check shirts and trousers, and the women wear several layers of petticoats. The fishing boats are Phoenician in design with
bright colours and eyes painted on the vessels, supposedly with the magical power to avert storms…
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...In the XIV century, king Ferdinand died without a male heir to the throne; this originated the most significant civil war in
Portugal, involving England and Spain. The winner, king John I, ordered the construction of this Monastery in homage to his
victory and to be his Royal Pantheon. In fact, he started also what would become known as the “Magnificent Generation”, those
Monarchs who gave the impulse and consolidated the gigantic Portuguese Empire. The Monastery was to be the Portuguese
monarchy's main building project for the next two centuries. Here a highly original, national Gothic style evolved, profoundly
influenced by Manueline art...
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...The Catholic Church regards the three parts of the Fatima Secret and the total Fatima message to be important and of
great value to the spiritual lives of its people. It consists only of prophecies about the new condition of the Church in the
world.... Fatima and its Secret do present us with something deeply serious, for they bring us face to face with the mysteries
of eternal life. Fatima is undoubtedly the most prophetic of modern apparitions. Faith and prayer are forces which can
influence history and that in the end prayer is more powerful than bullets and faith more powerful than armies...
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