Insider’s Tour of Lisbon: One-Week Cultural Exploration
What to expect on this itinerary
On this handcrafted one-week tour, you can immerse yourself in Lisbon’s unique culture as insider guides connect you to the city’s authenticity. A vibrant culture echoes through Lisbon’s colorful neighborhoods, fusing a millennium of history, a dedication to art, and a love for food. Uncover Manueline and Fado, explore fabulous odes to past centuries, stroll the cobblestones of today, and bask in one of the world’s most distinctive destinations.
Customizable Itinerary
Lisbon – The Atmosphere of Modern-Day Lisbon and an Intimate Fado Performance
A local guide will meet you at the airport and transfer you to your luxurious accommodation in Bairro Alto, which is a changing neighborhood that is perfect for a cultural stay. Your boutique hotel hosts stunning sunset views, and it allows you to step straight out into the city’s colorful magic. Music will carry you away this evening as you listen to fado at a charming venue in Alfama. Beautifully narrating loss and love, fado shares similar roots to flamenco but has a very different feel, especially the eerie tones that pull on your heartstrings and quickly immerse you in the artist's plight.
What's Included:
Lisbon – Lisbon Roots, Food, and Cultural Walking Tour
Lisbon – The Inside Tour of Lisbon’s Unique Manueline Architecture
Lisbon – Exploring UNESCO World Heritage Sites North of Lisbon
Lisbon – Into the Backstreets on Off-the-Beaten-Path Tour of Lisbon
Lisbon – Uncovering the Highlights of the Alentejo Region
Lisbon – Departure
Trip Highlights
- Discover the fabulous art and story behind Portugal’s unique Manueline style with an inside tour of Belem and beyond
- Uncover Lisbon’s vibrant cultural roots on a walking tour through the historic city with food being the focus for creating local connections
- Explore the majestic Alentejo region on a day trip, where vineyards meet whitewashed towns and a mysterious chapel of bones
- Stroll through the vibrant culture of modern-day Lisbon and explore the city’s colorful neighborhoods
- Marvel at some of Portugal’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites, notably two Manueline monasteries that you will visit on a day trip north of Lisbon
- Venture off the beaten path by visiting lesser-known Lisbon neighborhoods with experienced local guides, where you can gain an authentic impression of everyday culture
- Be amazed by Lisbon’s food and art scenes, especially when you explore the city’s cobbled streets
- Immerse yourself in the atmosphere of yesteryear with an intimate fado performance and dining experience
Detailed Description
You do not need to look for culture in Lisbon because the city’s culture will envelop you, breathing life into every street and creating authentic travel experiences whichever way you turn. Few world cities celebrate culture as engagingly as the Portuguese capital. Colorful neighborhoods have carried traditions into the modern day, and you can happily spend your days wandering the city’s cobbled streets. An artistic attention to detail is integral to the everyday life of the city, and Lisbon’s culture extends to an inviting culinary realm.
From history to today, this one-week tour has been handcrafted to reveal the many different sides to Lisbon’s culture. You can wander the cobbled lanes and immerse yourself in the city’s lively atmosphere before attending a fado performance that will introduce you to a distinct musical style and era. On day two, you will use food as a medium to uncover Lisbon’s roots with a private walking tour to famous and lesser-known areas. Then, traveling inside Manueline architecture with an artist guide will demonstrate Portugal’s great contribution to the world of art.
Evenings are the best time of day in Lisbon, and you will have an entire week of them. During days four and six, you can explore more of Portugal on day trips to magnificent attractions just outside of the city. UNESCO World Heritage monasteries will continue your Manueline journey, Alentejo’s vineyards will provide a peaceful time for your senses, and the whitewashed town of Evora will amaze you with its mystical Chapel of Bones. These day trips sandwich another leisurely day of exploring Lisbon’s culture with local guides. With a week in Lisbon, you can really dive below the surface, so, after seven days, Lisbon can remain a part of you.
Starting Price
$2,300 per person (excluding international flights)
Your Zicasso trip is fully customizable, and this sample itinerary is a starting place for your travel plans. Actual costs are dynamic, and your selection of accommodations and activities, your season of travel, and other such variables will bring this budget guideline up or down. Throughout your planning experience with your Zicasso specialist, your itinerary is designed around your budget. You can book your trip when you are satisfied with every detail. Planning your trip with a Zicasso travel specialist is a free service.
What's Included
The starting price is based on travel during the low season for a minimum of two travelers staying in shared 3-star accommodations. Please inquire for a custom trip quote based on your travel preferences and travel dates.
Verified Traveler Reviews
Based on 1355 reviews
The trip was very well organized; Zicasso's travel company listened to our wishes and delivered. We would definitely use you again and would highly recommend. We were very happy with Zicasso's travel designer's communication and quick responses.
See more
My husband and I traveled with our two adult children for 12 days through Portugal. Our trip was absolutely amazing, with every transfer, lodging, and tour detail seemingly tailored especially for us. Zicasso's travel expert was so wonderful to talk with as he planned our trip; he asked great questions to understand what kind of travelers we are and our interests. Our itinerary was perfect as we reviewed it prior to our trip, but as we experienced every transfer guide, tour specialist, and lodging, we could not have asked for a better experience. "Mahalo nui" (thank you so much) for helping us to experience your beautiful country and your even more beautiful and kind people. We can't wait for our trip back.
I wanted to make a special note of recognition about our transfer drivers/guides: they were absolutely amazing; so experienced and warm. We all enjoyed learning from them about Portugal and just felt so very well taken care of as they seamlessly transported us through your beautiful country and made sure we knew where to go and where to meet later. One of our drivers walked us through a local pastry shop to see the pastries being made; without him, we would have surely missed that experience. In Douro, another driver recommended a "locals" restaurant down the hill from our hotel. The owner was so kind he arranged for our server to drive us up the steep and winding hill to our hotel! These "special" experiences so reminded us of our beautiful Hawai'i and the spirit of "aloha" we felt so strongly in Portugal! At our departure, another driver walked us with our luggage into the airport departure terminal and showed us where to go (it was so much larger than any terminal we had been in). We would surely have been lost without his expert guidance.
Your tour guide selections were all simply amazing. We felt each guide's love ("aloha" for us) and attachment to each place we visited. We cannot thank you enough for all your work in planning so that we could truly enjoy and now have lasting memories until we return again.
With much "aloha" and gratitude, our "'ohana."
See more
My wife and I recently returned from our trip to Portugal, booked with Zicasso's tour operator, and let me say, we could not have been happier. She helped us create an ideal trip in a little over a month, since we decided to book a relatively last-minute getaway.
Our travel expert was a pleasure to work with. We told her what we were looking for and she put together a fantastic itinerary for us. We were beyond happy with the hotels she suggested and booked, as well as every excursion, including private hikes and boat tours. Every part of the trip was well coordinated, including all the private transfers and guides, who were all exceptional themselves. She even met us at the airport when we arrived and even saw us off at the end of our trip, helping guide us around the airport to make that as efficient as possible.
Even on the days we had to ourselves without any planned excursions, she still put together a tentative itinerary, including suggestions of what to explore based on the location we were at.
Our travel expert was very responsive throughout our planning and you can tell she really cares about making her clients' experience the best it can possibly be. We cannot say enough good things about this company and therefore, highly recommend them if you are looking to travel to Portugal. Thank you again!
See more
The trip was well planned by Zicasso's tour company, with only one scheduling snafu. The hotels were nice. The travel agents were very communicative and helpful.
See more
Zicasso's travel designer was a great travel agent. She came up with great options, found us some interesting and unusual experiences (a porcelain factory, a unique silversmith in Lisboa), and was incredibly available to help us through the inevitable glitches.
See more
Wow! Zicasso's travel designer put together a truly amazing trip, with some of the best drivers, guides, and tours we've ever had! I can't say enough good things about this trip! We really appreciated the close communication and the emergency number when we arrived, just in case we needed anything. Some of the experiences were beyond our imagination and I'm so glad we had her to plan this for us. I highly recommend her and the travel company!
See more
Related tours
11 Day Trip IdeaFrom $3,600
World Heritage Portugal Tour: 12 UNESCO Sites in 11 Days
12 Day Trip IdeaFrom $3,900
Off the Beaten Path Exploration of Portugal: Evora, Estremoz and Elvas
12 Day Trip IdeaFrom $3,900
12-Day Essence of Portugal Tour: Lisbon, Alentejo, Porto
7 Day Trip IdeaFrom $2,300
One-Week Best of Lisbon Tour
14 Day Trip IdeaFrom $4,600
Portugal Wine Tour: Lisbon, Evora, Douro Valley, Porto
7 Day Trip IdeaFrom $6,300