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Where
Portugal
Group Size
8 - 12 Travelers
Duration
8 Days, 7 Nights
When
March 23 - 30, 2026
Price
4,750 USD per person
Journey beyond Lisbon’s tiled buildings and narrow streets into Portugal’s pastoral Alentejo region to discover how the city’s global legacy connects with the country’s rural heritage through its food and culinary traditions.
Lisbon is one of Europe’s most ancient, cosmopolitan cities, with a food culture that’s fittingly rich and complex. The city’s kitchens and waterfront markets trace the contours of Portugal’s once-global trading empire, one which linked Brazil to India, and West Africa to Macau. But there’s another side to the Portugal story, one that’s told through ancient traditions and agricultural practices that are still maintained, especially in the country’s eastern interior. On this multi-day culinary trip, we’ll taste the very best of the gastronomic capital that is Lisbon and meet the people who make the city what it is – but also go deep into the Alentejo heartland, visiting farms and small villages and meeting the artisanal producers who keep Portugal’s rural culinary culture alive. On the road there will be exclusive events and musical performances, and of course, we’ll eat and drink our way through it all! In Lisbon we’ll learn about the voyages and trade routes that stocked the city’s pantry with spices, and sample contemporary cooking that fuses traditional Portuguese dishes with influences from across the world. Exploring the city, we’ll get an insider perspective on fresh-from-the-water seafood at the city’s bustling ports, while on an excursion up the stunning coast we’ll dip our toes into the Atlantic before visiting one of Europe’s most unique wine regions. Heading east, we’ll be introduced to some of the Alentejo’s key agricultural products, tasting freshly-pressed olive oil and the region’s prized dry-cured ham, and sitting down for lavish countryside farm-to-table meals. This eight-day journey will be a feast for your eyes and for your stomach. More than that, though, it will be an edible journey through the history of one of Europe’s most fascinating cultures.
Sip
Feast
Trek
Hear
Meet
Your itinerary
Day 1
Welcome to Lisbon!
In the late afternoon, we’ll gather at our hotel for a welcome drink and begin getting to know our fellow travelers for the week. Afterward, we’ll take to the water: soaking in stunning vistas in a private cruise down the Tagus, getting a fuller sense of the local geography and history as we sail past palaces, monasteries and monumental squares. Post cruise, our dinner table awaits at a fish restaurant right on the Tejo river in Belem. In the restaurant’s club-like atmosphere, we’ll enjoy a meal of classic Lisbon fish and seafood, with grilled wild Atlantic catch-of-the-day, fresh Algarve clams in cilantro and garlic, a big pot of soupy seafood rice with crab and prawns. And of course, a rice pudding to finish.
Day 2
Lisbon’s Song of the Sea
Our first full day in Lisbon will be devoted to exploring Lisbon and Portugal’s enduring connection to the sea. We’ll start with a visit to Lisbon’s stunning fish market, Mercado da Ribeira, where the most discerning Lisboeta shop for fish and seafood. There we will check in with our favorite fishmonger to discuss the day’s catch and, if they are in season, the treasured percebes, gooseneck barnacles. We’ll eat our way through the city’s backstreets – with a stop an old-school wood-fired coffee roaster – on our way to lunch at a beloved family-run restaurant for seafood starters and their specialty cod cakes. From there, we’ll head down to the port for grilled fish at a hidden gem of a grill joint beloved by port workers and Lisboeta in the know. We’ll wrap up our tour at a local wine shop where the owner will lead us a glass-by-glass tour of Portugal’s different wine regions. The evening is free to relax back at the hotel or explore Lisbon on your own.
Day 3
Along the Sintra Coast
This morning we will travel north along the Atlantic to coastal Sintra, a land of wild beaches, cliffs, lighthouses, and one of Europe’s most unique wine regions. At a picture-perfect beach we will enjoy a lunch at a classic waterfront seafood restaurant, where delicacies such as spider crabs, gooseneck barnacles and tiny whelks will fill our table. With our feet in the sand, and views out over the rolling surf, we’ll get ready to explore this micro-region. We’ll take a short hike along the coastal cliffs, led by a local ethnobotanist who will introduce us to the flora of the rich and wild coastline. Our walk will end at a winery where the vines miraculously survived phylloxera, the catastrophic 19th-century plague of parasites that nearly wiped out the European wine industry. Winemaker José Baeta will give us a tour of his remarkable vineyards and then, at the winery, will lead a full tasting of his magical wines, accompanied by plenty of Portuguese snacks. We’ll return to Lisbon as the sun sets and again have an evening free to relax back in town.
Day 4
Into the Alentejo
Today we say goodbye to the surf of Lisbon and Sintra and hello to the rich turf of eastern Portugal’s Alentejo, an inland region of rolling hills and vast farmlands famed for its earthy wines and black pigs, a domestic breed that produces a prized ham. Our welcome to this fertile region will begin with a visit to a local farm to learn about Alentejo agricultural life and some of its finest products. We’ll meet some of the farm’s free range black pigs, whose diet mostly consists of wild acorns, walk the fields and have a classic farm-style lunch of cozido à portuguesa – a hearty meat and vegetable stew – cooked in clay vessels on an open fire. After lunch we’ll head to Estremoz, a historical fortified village nestled in the rolling hills, where we’ll check into our hotel – a renovated palace. After a short rest, we’ll gather for a light dinner at the hotel’s excellent restaurant.
Day 5
Alentejo’s Song of the Vine
We dive even deeper into the Alentejo’s rural and agricultural heritage, with a day spent together with one of the region’s – and Portugal’s – most celebrated winemakers, Susana Esteban. The only woman to be voted Portugal’s “Winemaker of the Year,” Susana has made a name for herself by working with the Alentejo’s indigenous grape varieties and also for thinking creatively about how to adapt to climate change. She’ll lead us on a tour of her vineyards, followed by a wine tasting and big country-style late lunch. As the sun starts to set, we’ll be joined by a group of singers who will perform the classic Cante Alentejano, a polyphonic singing style unique to this area. The evening will be free to relax at the hotel or stroll the quiet lanes of Estremoz.
Day 6
Rural Building Blocks
Our final full day in the Alentejo region will be devoted to learning the story of the region’s most essential culinary building blocks. In the picturesque village of Monsaraz, a local historian and olive oil producer will take us through the village and local field, introducing our group to the rhythms of daily life here. As we walk, we’ll learn about how olives and cork – two of the area’s most important crops – are harvested and processed and then have a tasting of some exceptional olive oils. For lunch, we’ll repair to a classic village tavern that serves superb renditions of the region’s rustic farm-to-table dishes. After a short break back in our hotel in Estremoz, we’ll have a close encounter with what is perhaps the most prized of the Alentejo’s agricultural products, presunto, a dry-aged ham that’s as delicate and flavorful as the more famous version from across the border in Spain. Led by a top producer of the artisanal product, made from those black pigs we met a few days before, we’ll have a full tasting and perhaps even a lesson on how to carve paper-thin slices of presunto from a hulking pork leg.
Day 7
Back to Lisbon
After breakfast in Estremoz, we’ll check out of our palace and hit the road to get back to Lisbon. Once back in the city, we’ll have some free time to rest or explore a bit more ahead of our farewell dinner, which will be at one of Lisbon’s most exciting contemporary restaurants, Prado. Here chef Antonio Galapito brings together all of Portugal’s regional cuisines and products in a stylish and casual fine-dining atmosphere. His superb cooking is accompanied by an outstanding collection of out-of-the-ordinary wines sourced from small producers throughout Portugal.
Meet the Crew
We are firm believers in the power of local knowledge. Our guides and the culinary masters and other artisans who are part of our trips all deeply reflect that. Meet some of our local heroes:
Celia
Kika
Susanna
Francisco & Jorge
Lurdes & Ermelinda
Jose
Tiago
Where you'll stay
The Vintage Hotel
This week’s focus on deeply local experiences and places is also well reflected in our choice of accommodation. We always select boutique and independent places, ones inspired by international standards while staying loyal to the area’s local heritage – that’s the balance we seek for more than a good night’s rest.
In Lisbon, our group will be staying at The Vintage Hotel, a design-led luxury hotel, decorated with unique and vintage Portuguese art and furniture from the 50s and 60s. The Vintage is located between the charming Principe Real neighborhood and the central Avenida da Liberdade and directly opposite the Jardim Botânico de Lisboa – Lisbon’s stunning Botanical Gardens.
Casa do Gadanha
In the Alentejo, our stay will be in Casa do Gadanha, an old palace turned into a country boutique hotel in the village of Estremoz. Filled with charming original details such as tiles and marble basins, the hotel serves as an ideal base for exploring the region and then relaxing in the evening.
Know before you go
Pricing and Accommodation
The total cost of this trip is $4,750. For travelers wishing to have single accommodations during the trip, an additional $1,100 supplement will be due at the time of the final payment. A $500 non-refundable deposit per traveler is required to secure space on the trip. The balance is due 90 days prior to the start of the trip.
Activity Level
Travelers should be reasonably fit and feel comfortable walking two to four miles each day and remaining on their feet for long periods of time. Keep in mind that Lisbon can be hilly and is filled with cobblestones!
Arrival and Departure
For flights in and out of Lisbon International Airport (LIS), we suggest you arrive anytime by 1 p.m. on Day 1 and depart anytime on Day 8. We’ll provide the option of booking additional nights at our Lisbon hotel before and/or after the tour, and are more than happy to provide suggestions for things to do and see in the city on your own.
Inclusions
• All accommodation throughout the trip in stylish, boutique hotels. • Professional guides throughout the entire experience. • A belt-popping experience, with all meals and drinks included in planned activities. • All activities and events as mentioned in the itinerary. • A hungry group of Culinary Backstreets travelers, excited to explore all that Portugal has to offer!
Exclusions
• Transportation and flights to and from Lisbon, including airport transfers. • Food and drink outside of Culinary Backstreets Trip offerings. • If applicable, applying for a Portuguese visa (not required for U.S. citizens). • Travel insurance (recommended).
Dietary Restrictions
We encourage an adventurous palate! We will do our best to accommodate your dietary restrictions, though in most cases ingredients can’t be substituted or omitted from particular dishes. Note that the food experiences on this trip are unfortunately not very amenable to vegan, vegetarian, and kosher diets. If you have a particular food allergy or intolerance, please contact us to find out if this is the right trip for you.
Cancellation Policy
You may cancel 90 days before the start of the trip and receive a full refund minus a $500 per-person service fee. If you cancel on or after 60 days before the start of the trip there is a 50% cancellation fee. On or after 30 days there is a 100% cancellation fee. We highly recommend purchasing travel insurance as we are not able to make exceptions to this policy in cases of family/medical emergency or cases of the trip being canceled (see our Terms and Conditions for full details).
Notes on Itinerary
Itineraries and daily schedules are subject to change. We expect to do everything listed in the itinerary, though the order may be rearranged based on weather or other local conditions.
Safety and Sustainability
We have reinforced our commitment to sustainability and safety with new guidelines to assure maximum safety of our guests on our trips while maintaining the quality of the experience. All of our experiences are designed to have minimal impact on the community and environment. For more details on our precautions, read here. Our cancellation policy is extremely flexible to deal with changes in travel plans.
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