The vibrant city of Porto is Portugal´s gate to explore the north of the country. The city has seen a tourism boom in the last years thanks to its beautiful setting by the Douro river, the fame of its Port wineries and its picturesque coloured buildings. All of this is enough to make it worth a couple of days, but there is much more to Porto out of its “tourist” quarter. From strolling up and down its quiet streets full of charm to exploring its art noveau heritage or the modern architecture of the famous Porto school, without forgetting to enjoy the great food and wine options in town.

From Porto you can explore the north in a circular route or start a traverse of the country from north to south. 

Bordering with Spain, the Minho region offers a great combination of historical towns, beautiful rivers, the mountains of Peneda Geres National Park and the rought Atlantic coast, all of it seasoned with great sea food and vinho verde. You can explore the area along the Portuguese Camino heading north towards Santiago, enjoying the river paths along the Lima and Vez rivers or walking the cobbled paths built by the ancient mountain culture of the Peneda mountains.

To the south, the Douro region offers one of the most beautiful wine landscapes in the world, with its terraced vineyards hanging over the water and its XVIIIth century “quintas” still producing wine and hosting travellers. Hiking through the vineyards, navigating the Douro and learning about the wine culture with the locals is an unbeatable combination.

Coimbra and its surroundings offer, as the rest of the country, an incredible opportunity to dive in the rich History of Portugal: from Roman ruins to Templar castles, from one of the first universities in Europe to palaces surrounded by exotic gardens. Closer to the border with Spain, the area known as the Historical Villages of Porto offer great hiking opportunities and some of the best preserved traditional villages in the country.

Just north of Lisbon you can find a great mix again between historical sites, picturesque towns, beautiful rural areas to hike amongst olive trees and a roughed coast with long beaches, great surf and best seafood. The town of Obidos, Gothic monasteries as Batalha or Alcobaça, the coast around Nazaré or the quiet hiking trails of the Candeeriros-Serra do Aire Natural Park make for another great combo to enjoy the best of Portugal.

Top activities in Northern Portugal:  Explore Porto,  hike amongst vineyards in the Douro valley,  Port and Douro wines,  hike in the Peneda mountains and along the Minho river, Portuguese Camino, colourful Obidos.

Lisbon is one of the great Iberian cities, full of charm and beauty and sometimes also full of tourists! This is why is so important to lean on local knowledge to go beyond the tourist post-cards (some of them are still worth it!) and get to have a glimpse of the real city. Lisbon is also known as the city of light, maybe because of its facing to the huge Atlantic Ocean and the reflection of the sun in the wide Tejo river. It is also a city of many cities, best explored on foot as you hop from hill to hill discovering the different look outs and enjoying the lively streets where the traditional Portuguese tiles mix with art noveau buildings and modern street art.

Crossing theTejo river you enter the large region of the Alentejo, representative of the iconic landscapes of the south. An inland countryside of wide fields of “montado”, the famous open forest home to cork oaks, dotted with hill-top villages and fortresses that talk of the historical building of the nation fighting to the East against Castile and to the South against the Muslims.  The region offers great hiking along historical paths, linking village to village. 

The beautiful town of Evora, with its many layers of historical heritage and its quiet rythm, links the inland with the roughed coast of the Alentejo, the Costa Vicentina. A true paradise for coastal hiking,  wild beaches and some of the best sunsets we know of.

Top activities in Southern Portugal: Castles and hill-top villages of the Alentejo, hike along the Costa Vicentina and through cork- oak forests, wild beaches and water sports, wine and seafood.