Gastronomy Tour of Southern Portugal — The Curious Travel Company

This 8 Day Culinary Tour of Southern Portugal is a wonderful way to get immersed into the wonderful world of Portuguese traditions and cuisine.

This 8 Day tour can also be added to a Gastronomy Tour of Northern Portugal such as this example HERE to make a 16 Day tour. Of course, just contact us for your own tailormade tour of Portugal.

Day 1: Discover Lisbon and Its Flavors

After your arrival today and time to settle in, your guide will take you through the iconic cafes, markets, and pastry shops of Lisbon.

Foodie's Lisbon Walking Tour, with a local Foodie Tour Guide.

Our guide will meet you at your hotel to take you to visit some of the traditional cafes, bars, and boutique shops in Lisbon. You will get the chance to taste some delicious specialities of Lisbon (and Portugal). The tour will start at the lobby of your hotel and take you through the most iconic quarters of Lisbon, such as Baixa, Chiado, and Bairro Alto

Some of the sites include:

Grocery Shop "Manteigaria Silva," established in 1890
Liquor Shop “A Ginjinha,” established in 1840
Cafe “Nicola”
Bookstore and Tabaco Shop “Monaco,” established in 1875
Traditional Tavern and Restaurant "Beira Gare

For dinner, we recommend and can make reservations for you at one of the following Michelin star restaurants

Alma by Chef Henrique Sá Pessoa
Belcanto by Chef Jose Avillez

Day 2: Full Day with Chef Artur

VIP Gastronomic Experience: Full-day tour to Setubal, Azeitão, and Arrabida with Chef Artur

For a full day, chef Artur will lead you on an exclusive, private tour in his kitchen “on wheels” along the seaside. Together you will:

Visit the Setubal farmers' market, where you will source the best and freshest local ingredients.
Enjoy a traditional Portuguese breakfast with the chef at a local bakery.
Visit a shellfish farm to buy fresh seafood that you will cook for lunch.
Explore the beautiful sights of the Atlantic Ocean from the Arrábida hills.
Stop at a cliff overlooking the water where chef Artur will showcase a cooking demonstration to help spin that bounty into a delicious lunch using the kitchen in his van and outdoor grilling.
Partake in an informal lunch together, nap under the sun, or take a plunge in the cool water at the nearby beach.
Head out to yet another small village—Azeitão—to taste some traditional sweets and local wines, before returning to your hotel.

Day 3: Evora and Alentejo Wine Region

Continue your Portugal travel and head towards its biggest rural and agricultural region—Alentejo.

A Privately Guided Walking Tour Évora

This tour will take you to Évora, a medieval city that boasts exceptional preservation over the years. Since 1986, the open-air museum has been classified as a World Heritage City by UNESCO. Its walls have been guarding the practically unaltered streets and buildings throughout the centuries.

Our guide will take you to the enigmatic St. Francis church and its Chapel of the Bones once you've entered the fortified city. You will continue along the tiny alleyways of the old town to the Giraldo square, which was previously the headquarters of the Inquisition.

In the 16th century, Évora thrived with culture and tradition in its university as much as it still does today. After you have explored the interior of the 13th-century cathedral and the millennium-old Roman Temple, you will finish your walking tour with the century-old university, which was once a prestigious Jesuit college.

For lunch, we recommend one of the traditional restaurants:

Fialho
O Alpendre

Alentejo is a wine-producing region in Portugal and has a long tradition. It boasts wines that will surprise you for their excellence, aromas, and colours, which are as unique as the landscape and the cuisine.

This region was once an expanse of wheat fields, where the skyline extends as far as the eye can see and on which the cork oaks bestow a sense of strength and durability. Today, the wheat fields have been replaced by vast vineyards, whose wines take in the power of the landscape and the heat.

The white wines are distinctively aromatic, fresh, and balanced. On the other hand, the ruby, merlot, or garnet-coloured red wines are more intense, full-bodied, smooth, and slightly astringent.

You will have the chance to visit one of our unique traditional wineries and taste their premium wines. The options include:

Herdade das Servas
Dona Marina
Cartuxa

Day 4: The Ancestry of “Vinho de Talha” and the Brotherhood of “Porco Preto” Ham

Start the day with a UNIQUE visit! Travel back in time and discover the Roman process of winemaking in amphorae—a two-handled clay container with a large oval body and a narrow cylindrical neck. This tradition is also known as “Vinho de Talha.”

The Alentejo region of Portugal has long been the guardian of talha wines. The Roman techniques for preparing wine in the clay amphorae known as talhas have been preserved here. Throughout history, the talha winemaking method has been passed down from generation to generation practically unchanged.

The wine made in talhas is unmatched. Whether it results from more classic procedures or modernized ones, talha wine is the essence of the millenary wine culture of the Alentejo.

Historical data suggest that talhas existed as far back as Roman times, in other words, for over two thousand years. The proof includes engravings showing how the Romans made and stored their wine in vessels similar or almost identical to those that we find today in Portugal.

Lunch in one of the following super traditional restaurants:

O Encalhado (Amareleja)
Sao Lourenço do Barrocal (Monsaraz)

Continue to Barrancos for a truly genuine experience:

Visit a smokehouse where the famous Smoked Black Pork Ham (also known as "Pata Negra" in Spain and "Porco Preto" in Portugal) is made.
Join a VIP private tour.
Attend a Ham Carving Workshop.
Enjoy a tasting of the outstanding Ham as the grand prize.

The Casa do Porco Preto (Black Pig’s House) gives you the chance to experience a visit that’s full of flavour. You can find all the secrets behind our traditional production of hams, shoulder cuts, black pork loins, and sausages, which is a culinary treasure recognized worldwide.

In a naturally unparalleled environment, you can learn the unique characteristics of the Black Pig and the exceptional taste of our special products derived from the Alentejo breed.

Day 5: Southern Alentejo and Its Intense Red Wines

Today you will head south towards the wonderful region of the Algarve. En route, you will visit your last winery, still part of the region of Alentejo.

This southern part of the Alentejo is seriously hotter! However, conditions are more challenging in Granja-Amareleja, Moura, and Vidigueira, with poor, limestone-based soils and a significantly hotter climate. Nonetheless, a new generation of producers, particularly around Vidigueira, have shown the potential of these southern parts of the Alentejo.

Visit and lunch with wine tasting at one of our selected premium wineries:

Quinta do Quetzal
Quinta de Ribafreixo
Malhadinha Nova

After lunch, continue to the Algarve for a relaxing afternoon.

Dinner at one of the following Michelin Star Restaurants:

Vila Joya by chef Dieter Koschina - Hotel Vila Joya
Ocean Restaurant by chef Hans Neuner - Hotel Vila Vita Parc
Henrique Leis
São Gabriel by chef Leonel Pereira

Day 6: Algarve: A fish and Seafood Experience

Today we’ve prepared two of the most authentic experiences in the Algarve—Portugal’s southernmost region. At the table, the Algarve will always present its best dishes! Be delighted with the fresh fish and seafood, either grilled or in a stew. These are divine flavours that you can enjoy on a simple beach terrace or in the most refined Michelin-starred restaurants, where chefs turn out new versions of the traditional cuisine.

In the morning, embark on a private fishing experience onboard a traditional fisherman’s boat where you’ll also get to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the Natural Park of Ria Formosa. The quiet and steady waters of the lagoon allow everybody to enjoy fishing or just soak in the surroundings. Fishing rods and bait are included.

Partake in a Clam Picking Experience in the afternoon.

This unique local experience gives you the opportunity to spend the day onboard a traditional fisherman's boat with a local clam picker and guided by a marine biologist.

The activity takes place in the heart of the Natural Park of Ria Formosa, a protected lagoon for different species of fauna and flora. You can observe how the clam picker goes about his daily tasks, using firsthand knowledge about the ancient techniques and secrets of clam-picking. You will finish the adventure with an oyster tasting accompanied by a glass of wine.

In the evening, you should head to the town of Guia, and sample the famous “Guia Chicken Piri Piri.” This roasted chicken dish is coated with a hot, spicy sauce and is a must-try for every visitor in the Algarve.

Day 7: Western Algarve and its traditional cuisine

Today, you’ll enjoy a scenic tour in the morning where you’ll visit the Cape of Sagres and the historic town of Lagos in a half-day tour to West Algarve.

The Cape of Sagres is located on the rugged southwestern tip of Portugal and is marked by a lighthouse that was and still is, referred to as the end of the world. A buttressed fortress that was built in the 15th century by Prince Henry the Navigator sits on the ancient spot. Its presence has endowed Sagres with a unique role in the history of Portugal.

Nearby, at one of the most westerly points of the European continent—after Cabo da Roca—is the Cape of São Vicente. This is a sacred place for the Romans who named it Promontorium Sacrum and opens onto a vast horizon of sea and sky.

You will return to Lagos as the morning wears on. Everything seems to invite you to the beach and enjoy the simple pleasures of life. You will hear stories of sailors and pirates, the result of a relationship with the sea that is maintained in the colourful trawlers that still bring fish to the market and the Marina where yachts from all over the world are moored.

This connection to the sea had its high point in the 15th and 16th centuries because it was in Lagos that Henry the Navigator fitted up the caravels that would set out for the coast of Africa, launching the Portuguese Age of Discoveries. Gil Eanes, the navigator who demonstrated that the world did not end at Cape Bojador and that the sea was not filled with monsters, also sailed from here.

One can’t help but delight in the Algarve local cuisine. Fish and shellfish are the main ingredients for a number of delicacies such as:

Snacks with clams, barnacles, octopus, or roe
Soups and the most famous cataplana (copper casserole with steamed fish and seafood)
Specialities such as carapaus alimados (skinned marinated horse mackerel)
Stuffed squid

Sweets are another highlight, especially dom-rodrigos (egg and almond sweets), a recipe from the nuns of the Convent of Nossa Senhora do Carmo.

In the afternoon, we recommend a visit to a traditional town that has preserved century-old traditions such as bread baking. You will marvel at the fruit liqueurs from the Algarve (Orange, Almond, Carrot, and Fig) and taste the famous Algarve almond cake which is shaped like fruit but is made of almond cream and sugar.

Day 8: Farewell

Transfer to Faro or Lisbon Airport for your flight home.

If you prefer to extend your stay in Portugal or continue on to the Azores Islands of Spain please get in contact and we can design a longer, tailor-made itinerary for you.