This 18-day adventure from the old world to the next generation of gastronomy will explore the very best of six incredible culinary regions, including Lisbon, Douro Valley, Porto, Basque, La Rioja, and Catalonia. The handpicked restaurants are amongst the finest on the planet but this itinerary isn’t just lavish dining and wine tasting. You’ll uncover many angles through markets, farms, informal cafes, a pintxo crawl, and an undersea winery as you explore Europe’s great cities and landscapes.
Customizable Itinerary
Day 1
Lisbon – A Market That Celebrates the Allure of Lisbon’s Food
Once you land in Portugal, you’ll start your luxury culinary tour at a unique, bustling food market. The first of its kind, TimeOut Lisbon brings together chefs and kitchens from across the city into one informal place, where you are served food on plastic trays. Among the kitchen stalls are a handful of Michelin stars – there is nowhere else in the world where you can taste the menus of three Michelin-starred chefs at the same sitting. From starter to the main course and then dessert, the guide will show you where to order because this isn’t a market where such stars are advertised. This market will also be a great introduction to the vibrancy of Lisbon, a lively insight to help overcome any jet lag.
What's Included:
Day 2
Lisbon – Neighborhoods of the City and More Michelin Dining
Day 3
Evora – Vineyards and Traditions of Alentejo
Day 4
Salamanca – Stunning Medieval Monuments and Dining in Spain
Day 5 - 6
Upper Douro Valley – The Best of a World Heritage Wine Valley
Day 7
Porto – Private Wine Tasting and Palatial Tastes in Porto
Day 8
Porto – Vintage Port Tasting and the Mosaics of History
Day 9
Bilbao – The Gastronomic Heart of Spain
Day 10
Bilbao – Day Trip to the World’s First Undersea Winery and a Pintxo Crawl
Day 11
San Sebastian – Basque Culinary Delights and a World Top 30 Restaurant
Day 12
San Sebastian – Coastal Dining and the Best of Basque
Day 13 - 14
La Rioja – Legendary Wine Country and Michelin Dining
Day 15
Barcelona – An Evening of Architectural Discovery
Day 16
Barcelona – Full Day Exploring the Catalonian Wine Regions
Day 17
Barcelona – The World’s Number 2 Restaurant Brings the Culinary Adventure to a Close
Day 18
Barcelona – Departure
Trip Highlights
- Dine at some of the world’s finest restaurants, from Michelin dining on vineyards to the number two on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list
- Arouse all the senses in four world-famous wine regions, including Portugal’s Upper Douro, Spain’s La Rioja, Catalonia’s Penedes region, and in much newer Alentejo
- Explore the culinary scene from all the different angles, including food markets, organic farms, cultivated tasting sessions, and a pintxo (Basque-style tapas) crawl in Bilbao
- Escape into the surreal countryside and embrace the rural atmosphere of both countries as Alentejo is wild and beautiful while the Douro Valley and La Rioja define rural pleasure
- Uncover the next generation of gastronomy with a visit to the world’s first underwater winery in Plentzia and the molecular brilliance of Basque restaurants
- Immerse yourself in World Heritage cities, where the harmony of the architecture creates a feeling of a distant time and space
Detailed Description
The cuisines of Spain and Portugal are a diverse and tasty reflection of the unique regions. These two countries are a jigsaw puzzle of regions, each with their own traditions and creativity. This 17-day itinerary will take you on a journey through the best of the regions to embrace the old-world recipes and the new age of cooking. These are the regions where Iberia’s finest restaurants are located, including many that have had a defining influence on worldwide fine dining. However, the experience will not just be about dining at hard-to-reserve-a-table restaurants. You’ll travel to destinations that celebrate the gastronomic sphere of possibility such as an underwater winery, Michelin dining at a food market, tasting at vintage farms, and hopping between pintxo bars in Bilbao.
You will begin in Lisbon and the Tagus River, which provide classic interpretations of Portuguese food and dishes that are familiar to you. Then, travel to the Upper Douro, which tastes different as it is heavy on pork and game meats, food that expertly accompanies the world’s first World Heritage wine region. Porto may be on the Douro but its fine cuisine has been crafted with the ubiquitous port in mind. After Portugal, you go on to Basque, Spain’s culinary capital that showcases a baffling diversity of flavors and experience. Finally, La Rioja is the legendary Spanish wine destination and precedes an intimate look at Catalan food.
Every day on the itinerary will feature a culinary element. It may be a restaurant reservation, a guided tasting, something unusual, or something famous. Along the way, you’ll discover some of Europe’s great cities, from the colors of Lisbon to baroque Porto, palatial San Sebastian to artisanal Barcelona. Rural landscapes add plenty of further charm, as the route leads you across open plains to golden sandstone cities and the villages from the past. Read some of our travelers’ reviews for Spain to discover new experiences to add to your own tour.
Starting Price
$19,900 per person (excluding international flights)
What's Included
- Accommodations
- In-country transportation
- Some or all activities and tours
- Expert trip planning
- 24x7 support during your trip
Your final trip cost will vary based on your selected accommodations, activities, meals, and other trip elements that you opt to include.
Reviews of Zicasso's Referral Service
4.91 stars based on 3434 reviews.
Zicasso’s travel consultant was excellent and attended to everything we wanted in our trip. Our tour guide was exceptional and felt like family.
Reviewed By Christine S.
The execution of the trip by Zicasso's tour operator was seamless. The app we had was wonderful. Communication with the guides was excellent.
Reviewed By Karen H.
The whole trip was perfect. The guides (and especially our driver) were fantastic. The hotels were great and the advice given beforehand by Zicasso's travel company was super-useful. We might have had one too many palaces and heard a bit too much about kings, but we essentially enjoyed everything. The amount of time on our own was just about perfect.
Reviewed By Indy B.
The trip was fantastic. Everything that was scheduled was well planned, with excellent tour guides, communication with the guides, as well as travel agents live during the trip. The experience was five-star and we could tell that the way it was booked through Zicasso was better for the guides themselves versus how others in our group had booked (ie, through other agencies). There were fewer obstacles, complications, and issues with the booking. We could tell this through our tour guides, as they were more comfortable and knowledgeable about our requests and needs.
Tickets were all organized and either sent to us through PDF or to our tour guides. The off days were were well placed during the week and our requests were more than satisfied.
Reviewed By Shaheed H.
Zicasso's travel specialist did an amazing job! She planned our itinerary well, based on our interests, the cities we wanted to visit, and the experiences we requested. All of the accommodations and transportation worked out well, and we enjoyed the trip a lot!
The only downside was one night with a late-night tour scheduled, followed by an early-morning hot-air balloon ride, which was hard to get up for in time, but we managed. Despite this, we would definitely recommend our travel company to anyone traveling to Spain!
Reviewed By Evan C.
Our Zicasso travel specialist was phenomenal. She understood exactly how we travel and what we wanted to do, and planned a 12-day trip to Mallorca and San Sebastián that was better than we even imagined. She was always responsive before and throughout the trip. All of the tour guides and drivers were kind, knowledgeable, and timely. Our travel company delivers exceptional first-rate service and we would highly recommend them.
Reviewed By Lisa S.