Tour of Portugal - Lisbon and Porto, 2027

Departure from Sofia Airport on a direct Bulgaria Air flight on the route Sofia - Lisbon. Arrival at Lisbon airport. Transfer to the Tryp Caparica Lisboa Mar 4* hotel. Check-in. Dinner. Overnight stay.

Breakfast. Half-day panoramic tour of Lisbon (included in the price): Marquês de Pombal Square; the Baixa district, rebuilt after the earthquake of 1755; the Rossio, Figueira and Comércio squares, the Monument to the Discoveries, the Belém Tower and the Jerónimos Monastery, considered a masterpiece of Portuguese Manueline art, founded by King Manuel (seen from the outside only).

Return to the hotel in the afternoon.

Dinner. Overnight stay.

Breakfast. Free time or an optional full-day excursion to Queluz and Cabo da Roca.

The National Palace of Queluz (Palácio Nacional de Queluz) is one of the most beautiful royal residences in Portugal. Built in the eighteenth century as the summer residence of the Portuguese royal family, the palace is a magnificent example of Rococo architecture and is often called “the Portuguese Versailles”. It impresses with its richly decorated halls, exquisite ceilings, valuable works of art and magnificent Baroque gardens with fountains, statues and ornamental canals. Today the palace is among the most visited historic sights in Portugal and offers an interesting insight into the life of the Portuguese aristocracy in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

The excursion continues with a visit to Cabo da Roca - the westernmost point of mainland Europe. On the way back to Lisbon we will visit the terrace of the statue of Christ the King (Cristo Rei), which rises majestically on a 133-metre cliff above the mouth of the Tagus river. It was built in 1959 in the time of António Salazar. The statue itself is 28 metres tall, 10 metres less than Christ the Redeemer in Rio, but it stands on an 82-metre pedestal, making the whole structure more than twice as tall as the statue in Brazil.

Return to Lisbon. Dinner. Overnight stay.

Breakfast. Free time or an optional full-day excursion to Óbidos, Nazaré and Batalha - a day visiting some of the best-known historic places in Portugal.

Forget the present and go back in time in the medieval town of Óbidos, surrounded by fortress walls that enclose traditional white houses and small shopping lanes leading to the castle. A look at the impressive monastery in Batalha - “Santa Maria da Vitória”, protected by UNESCO (entrance €15, not included in the price) - a magnificent monument of national architecture and one of the greatest Gothic masterpieces in Europe, built in 1388 to honour the vow made by King João I to the Holy Virgin that he would build a majestic monastery if he defeated the Castilians at the Battle of Aljubarrota. Departure for Nazaré, once a small fishing village and today known not only for fishing but also for its fine beaches, wonderful cuisine and unique local folk costumes.

Return to the hotel. Dinner and overnight stay.

Breakfast. Transfer from Lisbon to Porto with a visit to Aveiro and free time for lunch.

Aveiro is Portugal's hidden treasure. With its typical boats and canals, the town will at times remind you of Venice. Delicious Portuguese cuisine and beautiful beaches - it is the ideal European destination. Most buildings in today's Aveiro are in the Art Nouveau style, and their façades everywhere feature the characteristic azulejo tiles. Azulejo is a decorative style of painting, mostly in shades of blue, on glazed ceramic tiles - an art practised in Portugal without interruption for more than five centuries.

Arrival in Esposende and check-in at the hotel. Dinner. Overnight stay.

Breakfast. Half-day tour of Porto with a local guide (included in the package price). It is the second-largest city in Portugal and a UNESCO World Heritage Site: São Bento station; the Torre dos Clérigos bell tower; the Cathedral, from where medieval lanes with 12th-century granite houses lead down to the Douro riverside street. Option to visit a winery with a tasting of 2 kinds of port (€17 per person) and a mini cruise on the Douro river (50 min, €18 per person).

Return to the hotel. Dinner. Overnight stay.

Breakfast. Free time or an optional full-day excursion to Portugal's most colourful province - “green Minho” - with visits to Braga and Guimarães.

A visit to Braga - a city that rivals the Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela in importance. In Braga you can find traces of the many peoples who passed through the Iberian Peninsula - Celts, Romans, Visigoths - and practically every architectural style can be seen here, above all Portuguese Baroque. Departure for Guimarães - the first capital of the Kingdom of Portugal and a medieval ensemble on the UNESCO World Heritage List: St James's Square and the pilgrimage church of Nossa Senhora da Oliveira.

Return to the hotel. Dinner. Overnight stay.

Breakfast. Check-out. Departure for Lisbon. Stop in Coimbra with free time for lunch.

Transfer to the airport. Departure for Bulgaria on a Bulgaria Air flight. Arrival at Sofia Airport.