 |
| Image Source/Image Source/Getty Images |
Tauck is expanding its eight-day European land tours for 2017 “A Week In…” series with the addition of “A Week In… Portugal.” In the coming year, the company will operate a dozen “A Week In…” itineraries as well as a larger number of other European land tours of longer duration.
The new itinerary to Portugal will go from Porto to Lisbon and visit no less than seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including stops at wineries, wine cellars, historic monasteries, churches, palaces and castles. In Porto, guests will stay for two nights at the Freixo Palace Hotel, which is a restored 18th-century rococo palace. The tour will explore the city’s historic center and include a visit to the Douro River Valley, where guests will learn about the region’s wine-making culture and sample local vintages as they partake in tastings at a vineyard and a wine cellar.
Heading south, the tour will continue to Coimbra, where they will visit the 700-year-old university located there. The next stop of the day will be Alcobaça with a visit to a historic 13th-century monastery and finally guests will reach Monte Real where they will stay overnight at the Palace Hotel Monte Real and enjoy an exclusive performance of Portugal’s traditional fado music.
Continuing on the tour, guests will stop in Tomar to visit Convento de Cristo, a hilltop monastery built by the Knights Templar in the 12th century and will then arrive in Évora for a two-night-stay at the Convento do Espinheiro. During their stay in Évora, guests will visit Alentego wine country and go to the Herdade do Esporao winery for a tour, tasting and lunch. They will also visit Olivais do Sul, an award-winning producer of artisanal olive oils, which is the region's other agricultural tradition.
The eight-day Portugal tour will conclude with two nights at the InterContinental in Lisbon, where guests will tour the 500-year-old Jerónimos Monastery, visit a museum dedicated to Portugual painted ceramic azulejo tiles and enjoy an exlusive private tour and dinner at Palacio de Queluz, an 18th-century royal retreat. The final day of the tour will include a visit to the coastal resort town of Cascais and the scenic village of Sintra. The day will conclude with a farewell reception and dinner in Lisbon.
There are 11 scheduled departures of the “A Week In…Portugal,” which are set to operate from May through October of the coming year, when they will be joined by another journey, “A Week In…Tuscany & Umbria,” which will bring the total number of itineraries of the new series to 12. Tauck will also be adding a new land journey in Europe for 2017, its third, which will be the 13-day “Adriatic Treasures: Croatia to Venice.”
A new brochure includes the company’s complete collection of nearly 40 European land journeys, which include a selection of European river cruises, and have been mailed to travel agents as well as past and prospective Tauck guests in recent weeks. If you are interested in hearing more about Tauck and what they offer you can call Tauck at 880-468-2825 or visit the company’s website at www.tauck.com.