Your private guide and driver will pick you up from your Lisbon hotel on the morning of your tour and take you to your first stop, the extravagant Palácio Nacional de Mafra, a journey of just under an hour.
Built by King João V in the early 1700s, the vast palace and convent boasts more than 1,200 rooms and some 29 inner yards and courtyards, making it one of the largest palaces in Europe. Within the complex are 11 chapels and a basilica decorated with jasper and marble sculptures, as well as a huge library.
You’ll have plenty of time to explore, with your guide giving you some background on the history and development of the complex over the years. Once you’ve had a good look around, you’ll continue onto the medieval hilltop village of Óbidos, about a 45-minute drive away.
A maze of narrow, winding lanes sit behind Óbidos’s well-preserved city walls. You’ll have some time for lunch before exploring the streets, where craft shops and cafés alternate with whitewashed houses dripping with vivid-pink bougainvillea.
From here, you continue onto the UNESCO-listed Monastery of Batalha, a farther 45-minute drive away. Etching the sky with a contour of delicate parapets and flying buttresses, this 14th-century structure is built in flamboyant Gothic and Manueline style.
Inside, you’ll find a range of medieval royal tombs, including those of Dom João I and his wife, Queen Philippa of Lancaster, along with their most renowned son, Henry the Navigator. It’s also the location of the Portuguese Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Particularly evocative, though, are the Capelas Imperfeitas (Unfinished Chapels), which were intended as another grand royal mausoleum and styled with a latticework of winged angels, ropes, circles, trees and arches. However, the buildings were never finished, and the huge octagonal structure remains open to the sky as though waiting in a permanent state of limbo for the masons to return.
Once you’ve had time to explore, you’ll return to Lisbon with your driver and guide. North of Lisbon lie a series of impressive structures that reveal much about Portugal’s often complex and tumultuous history. With the aid of a private driver and guide, you can take in a variety of destinations in a single day, visiting a national palace and a UNESCO-listed monastery as well as a medieval hilltop village. With private transport and an expert local guide, you’ll cover more ground and get a deeper insight into the sights along the way, allowing you to make the most of your time.
Start planning your tailor-made trip by contacting one of our Portugal specialists
These activities are designed to give you the most authentic experiences around where you're staying. We work with local guides, who use their knowledge and often a resident's eye to show you the main sights and more out-of-the-way attractions. Our specialists can suggest tours and activities that will introduce you to the local ways of life.
Arrábida panoramic tasting tour
Explore some of Portugal’s most dramatic coastal scenery on this full-day private tour through the Arrábida region south of Lisbon. En route you’ll get to visit a local winery, coastal cliffs and quaint towns with medieval castles.
Évora and the Alentejo: wine and gourmet tour
Explore the Alentejo, Portugal’s most significant food and wine region, on a full-day private tour. You’ll see Roman remains and medieval streets in historic Évora, sample local wines in a family-run winery, and drive through rolling countryside in-between.
Traditions of Lisbon walking tour
Explore Lisbon with a local guide on a private half-day walking tour, which takes in several of its most interesting districts. You’ll learn about the city’s history and traditions, and stop for local food and drinks along the way.
You can enjoy this activity as part of the suggested tours below, or we can weave it into a trip shaped entirely around you.
