Villas & Gardens Around Lisbon

A FOUR NIGHT HOLIDAY | 24 APRIL 2023

The vast wealth which came from Portugal’s maritime empire in the 16th and 17th century funded and inspired the creation of a host of mansions and palaces as well as their elaborate gardens in the countryside surrounding the city of Lisbon. In the company of expert horticulturalist Kirsty Fergusson, we will discover private homes and gardens – some of which are not open to the public – and royal palaces in the majestic pine forests which cloak the hills of the Serra de Sintra.

the itinerary

Flying to Lisbon, we will be transferred to the Turim Boulevard Hotel, where we stay for the duration of the tour. This evening we will have dinner together at a local restaurant.

Palácio dos Marqueses da Fronteira was built as a hunting lodge and country house for D. João Mascarenhas around 1675 and has been in the family for 13 generations. The Duke of Wellington lived here when defending Lisbon from Napoleon’s army. We will see the house and its gardens, with great stairways, water tanks, coloured glazed tiles (azulejos) and decorative parterres. At Quinta da Alegria, immaculately restored by Elisabeth von Schmieder, Princess von Auersperg, we shall enjoy a delicious lunch in the very private garden with terraces, shaded walkways and flower filled borders. Across the road is the Quinta da Regaleira, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with a romantic palace and chapel, and a luxurious park that features lakes, grottoes, wells, benches, fountains, and a vast array of exquisite constructions.

Monserrate is one of the most beautiful palaces in the Sintra hills, inspiring travellers, writers, and poets including Lord Byron, who decided to write about Monserrate in what later became a classic work of poetry: Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. The Moorish-style villa was imagined later, by Englishman Sir Francis Cook, who built a summer residence from the ruins of the neo-gothic palace in 1863. After falling into disrepair again, the estate was reopened in 2010 under the management of Gerald Luckhurst. After visit the palace and gardens we will continue to Quinta da Piedade where we will have lunch with current owner, Teresa Schönborn, Condessa de Schönborn e Wiesentheid, who has continued to develop the Italianate gardens by planting Cypress trees in abundance, amongst the typical Sintra garden plants (Agapanthus, Hydrangeas, Camellias, to mention just a few).

TOUR LEADER

KIRSTY FERGUSSON

Kirsty Fergusson exchanged a career in academia (she is a PhD specialising in French philosopher-novelists) for a life in gardening. Trained at Capel Manor, she was head gardener at Mapperton in Dorset during the early nineties, where a series of fortunate encounters opened the door to garden writing. As well as writing a weekly column for The Express, for many years she was a frequent contributor to Gardens Illustrated, House and Garden, Country Life, The Times, The Telegraph and The Independent.

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The National Palace of Queluz and its historical gardens are one of the most remarkable examples of the harmonious link between landscape and palatial architecture in Portugal. Built in 1747 at the orders of the future King Pedro III, the consort of Queen Maria I, the Palace of Queluz was initially conceived as a summer residence, becoming the royal family’s preferred place for their leisure and entertainment. We will have lunch at the palatial Cozinha Velha restaurant here before returning to Lisbon in the afternoon, where we will visit the wonderful Museu Nacional do Azulejo, devoted to the Portuguese art of coloured glazed tiles.

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A classic Renaissance garden with a Portuguese flavour, Quinta da Bacalhoa was the creation of the son of Afonso de Albuquerque, who had been a great mariner and Viceroy of India. He journeyed to Italy, became a connoisseur of Italian art, and was inspired by the gardens there to build his own villa on a peninsula south of Lisbon. It has loggias, patios and a formal water garden flanked by a hall with three pavilions and decorated with glazed tiles (azulejo) and terracotta busts. All is surrounded by their own vineyards and we will enjoy a wine tasting with lunch in the garden. In the afternoon we return to Lisbon airport for the flight home.

DAY

DAY

TOUR INFORMATION

DEPARTURE DATE & PRICES

DATE PRICE SINGLE SUPP

24 April £2,200 £340

Our prices are per person, based on the shared occupancy of a twin/double room. Supplement for single occupancy as shown.

FLIGHT DETAILS

Flights with British Airways: Depart London Heathrow, 13.35, arrive Lisbon 16.20 Depart Lisbon 16.30, arrive London Heathrow 19.15 Flight times subject to change – regional departures available on request.

WHAT WE INCLUDE

• Return flights • Four nights’ accommodation with breakfast • One dinner • Four lunches • All sightseeing, entrance fees and gratuities • The services of the Kirker Tour Leader