Portugal: Gardens of , and the Douro Valley

14 – 23 MAY 2020

Palacio de Mateus

Come with us to in May, where blue skies are clear, food and wine are delicious, and distinctive cultural influences are evident since it is the oldest country in Europe with unchanged boundaries. Be embraced by a wonderfully relaxed and friendly people!

Wander hilly streets of coastal Lisbon, munch on a custard tart while gazing at sun- dappled historic architecture. Get your fill of history and culture at UNESCO World Heritage Sites like Coimbra University and the picturesque town of Sintra. End the tour in , where the majestic Douro Valley begs for you to lounge back with a glass of port wine in hand. Felicidades! Welcome to Portugal.

Portuguese gardens are quite distinct: there is nothing like them anywhere else in Europe. The blue and white tiles (azulejos), are their most characteristic feature. The gardens around Lisbon and Sintra provide contrasts of landscape, style and vegetation. The invading Moors from the C8th produced great Islamic garden architecture with colourful tiles, tanks and citrus trees enclosed by high walls.

In Lisbon, major garden developments arrived in the C18th while in Sintra, the English landscape style arrived in the C19th.

Beautiful gardens of the Douro Valley in the north are surrounded by valleys and rolling hills covered with rows of vines.

But the greatest joy of this tour is provided by access to the much loved private gardens and homes with their dedicated owners.

In Sintra we stay in the delightful Hotel Palacio de Seteais, with its outstanding gardens. We travel north staying at a wine farm near Oporto and the Douro Valley, the centre of port wine production where we discover gardens and the history of the region.

Gerald Luckhurst, notable garden designer, historian and author, has worked in Portugal and Madeira for many years and will join us for gardens well known to him around Sintra.

Our itinerary in Lisbon and Sintra, includes a visit to the former Royal de Queluz to visit the extensive formal gardens with parterres, statues, vistas and glazed tiles. Gerald Luckhurst joins us for a welcome drink and will talk on gardens in the region prior to dinner in the hotel restaurant.

Quinta de Monsarrate

With Gerald Luckhurst we visit de Monserrate and its gardens created by inspired English owner, Francis Cook and thence to the chalet and garden of Contessa of Edla in Pena Park, built in the 1860s for King Ferdinand II’s future wife. It resembles a woodland alpine chalet, surrounded by indigenous vegetation with meandering paths, a fernery and lake.

Then there are visits to Lisbon Central to imbibe the vibrant atmosphere and perhaps, a fine local fish restaurant.

Make your selection… at our favourite fresh fish restaurant, Lisbon

We visit privately owned gardens created with great flair and presented by owners who provide delicious garden meals. We visit Quinta da Regaleira, the house built in 1904 in ornate Gothic style — the atmospheric hillside woodland gardens were laid out by Luigi Manini, an Italian theatre designer to incorporate underground passages, statues, grottoes and plants from around the world.

Emerging from rambling hillsides, the Quinta da Regaleira, in manic Gothic style

We visit the beautiful 1496 cloisters of Mosteiro dos Jeronimos in Belem, overlooking the River Tagus where Vasco da Gama spent the night before his voyage of discovery to India.

Palacio dos Marqueses da Fronteira

On the outskirts of Lisbon, we experience the splendid interiors of the Palacio dos Marqueses da Fronteira and its beautiful formal garden with parterres and beautiful C17th azulejos tiled walls. We lunch in the old kitchen of the Royal and return to attractive Sintra for some free time.

The fine Serralves Art Museum in Porto is surrounded by lovely gardens where you can easily pick up horticultural gifts like a small trowel

We visit Coimbra with its world famous University of Coimbra library constructed in early 1700 to display the wealth and scholarship of Portugal. We continue to the Douro through extensive mountains, forests and valley floors staying at Quinta do Pacheca for four days — a wine farm on the slopes of the Douro River, with delightful views.

Our next stop are the gardens of Quinta da Aveleda — a wine estate with richly planted woodland garden with delightful follies, ancient camellias clipped into towers and hedges, stone water channels, benches and statues adorning the garden where we join the owner for lunch in the shady courtyard. On our return to the hotel, we visit the cellars for pre-dinner wine tasting.

Our favourite café in Porto, The Majestic, modelled upon the Colombo Restaurant in Rio de Janeiro (former of the Portuguese Empire).

The vineyard clad, Douro Valley

Near Oporto, we visit Casa de Serralves where the French garden architect, Jacques Gréber from France, designed a new 18ha garden. We continue to historic Oporto for the Cathedral, Clerigos Church, tower by Nasoni and to enjoy the riverside ambiance with its cafes and restaurants. Later, we visit Graham’s 1890 Port Lodge, also privately owned which is still a working cellar with oak casks and vats of ageing port wine. Our visit to the cellars is followed by tastings.

The rabbit, fabulous street art, Oporto.

We have a morning visit to the C18th Palacio de Mateus with its later additions and see the eye-catching sculpture ‘sleeping on the lake’ designed in 1981by João Cuhilero. Later, we take a river cruise in a traditional Rabelo boat upstream returning along the riverside road to Peco da Recua and our hotel.

Palacio de Mateus

On 23rd May, travelers depart for Lisbon airport for return flights, onward travel, or a short flight to Marrakech if continuing on the Morocco Tour.

Warwick and Sue Forge lead the tour accompanied by Susan Worner who was responsible for planning our fabulous tour of Provence and Paris.

Tour Prices The Tour Cost is in Euro currency (€) and the conversion to AUD is provided below. The Tour cost includes: Accommodation with most meals (as specified) excellent coach travel throughout, garden visits, boat trip, museum, wine tastings, etc.

Per person for shared room €5,500 (=AUD8,867 12/7/2019) Single Supplement for dble room €1,450 (=AUD2,338 12/7/2019)

Detailed Tour Itineraries with conditions will be available very shortly.

To register your interest, write to: Warwick Forge [email protected] or to, PO Box 198 Toorak VIC 3142 Enquiries: Warwick Forge 043 818 2801 or Sue Forge 043 818 1578.