Madeira Flower Festival & Portugal

Arrive in Lisbon the capital of Portugal. Check-in to your deluxe hotel and meet your fellow travellers at our Welcome Dinner.

A walking tour this morning through the old city squares and down to the waterfront. Afternoon visit to the National Palace of Queluz in the hills outside Lisbon. There’s a remarkable balance of architecture and landscape at this Royal summer palace with reception rooms opening onto a terrace surrounding the Sunken Parterre.

The Palace of Fronteira is next, one of the finest in Portugal, with its formal garden, a vast parterre built around a set of five fountains. This huge open-air gallery serves to display a collection of 17th century azulejos (tiles) on walls, staircases, benches, balustrades and its great tank.

Sintra is a cultural landscape with UNESCO heritage status located on the slopes behind Lisbon. This hilly and cooler climate enticed the nobility and elite of Portugal, who built extravagant villas and surreal palaces on the wooded slopes.

Visit Monserrate Palace with its Anglo-Portuguese garden, that epitomizes the romantic spirit with which Sintra is associated. Lunch is included then Quinta de Regaleira, an elegant fantasy of stone with gardens styled to represent ancient secret orders, with hidden tunnels and concealed symbolism.

Travel back to Lisbon via Estoril and Cascais on the coast road.

Morning flight to Madeira then transfer to your luxurious hotel in Funchal for the next five nights.

This afternoon two gardens. First Madeira Botanic Gardens where you will see the indigenous plants of Madeira and other Atlantic islands; Azores, Canaries and Cape Verde. The subtropical climate here on Madeira encourages exuberant vegetation. Then Quinta do Palheiro, a comprehensive suite of gardens on a terraced slope with views to the coast.

Take the cable car from Funchal to the village of Monte. This skyway allows access to a rugged landscape with panoramic views over Funchal Bay and the River of Joao Gomes.

Visit Monte Palace Tropical Gardens. Ride in the famous wicker toboggans down the hill from Monte. This tradition has been a constant on Madeira for over 100 years.

Afternoon at leisure.

Explore Funchal this morning with the Flower Festival underway; carpets of flowers, outdoor concerts and floral pavilions. Many of the buildings here date from its heritage as a ‘sugar’ town in the 15th and 16th centuries.

Watch the Children’s Parade as hundreds of children dressed for the occasion, parade into Municipio Square. There’s a beautiful flower mural, symbolically named “the Wall of Hope” (Muro da Esperança).

Free afternoon.

Visit Quinta da Boa Vista Orchids, a place of science and culture of orchids and a range of tropical exotic plants. Meet Patrick Garton and learn the history of his family estate, still irrigated by Madeira’s signature aqueducts, the levadas, that were cut into the hillsides and go back to the 16th century.

Travel back into Funchal and take your seats for Madeira’s famous Flower Festival Parade.

Spend the day exploring the island, beginning with a scenic journey to the charming village of Santana on the rugged north coast, renowned for its traditional triangular houses, before continuing eastward to the dramatic peninsula of Ponta de Sao Lourenco, where striking volcanic landscapes and sweeping ocean views await.

Early morning flight to Porto. Check-in to your luxurious hotel for the next four nights.

Free afternoon to explore Porto.

Morning walking tour of the old city, including Sao Bento railway station with azulejos covered walls, Dom Luis I Bridge and Ribeira quarter.

Afternoon at your leisure to explore Porto.

Morning at the Cristal Palace Botanic Garden with panoramic views over the River Douro.

Visit Casa de Serralves on the outskirts of Porto. With spare silhouette and minimal decoration, it’s classic Art Deco architecture with garden rooms complement its stark simple shape.

Douro River cruise this afternoon.

A day in the countryside of the River Douro region to visit two fine gardens. First stop is Casa do Campo in the hills above the Tamega River with ancient camellias and a manor house that dates to the 16th century.

Next stop is Quinta da Aveleda with woodland garden that is given an architectural focus with a series of follies. The Guedes family have been producing wine on this estate since 1870 but the main building dates back to 1671. Lunch is included with their signature wine, the refreshing Vinho Verde.

Travel back to Lisbon today with a stop in Conimbriga to visit Portugal’s finest Roman ruins that date to the 1st century.

Free time for lunch in the ancient university city of Coimbra. Meet up in our hotel this evening for our Farewell Dinner.

Your tour ends after breakfast.