Private Guided Tours of Lisbon with Mattie

Duration: 3.5 hours

Cost: $285 USD

Price includes: Your guide

Max participants: 10

Note: All tours are private (only you and your travel partners)

Cancellation Policy: Read our full terms here

The City of Seven Hills, Lisbon is one of the most charming of Europe’s great capitals. It’s also my hometown, so on this 4-hour walking tour I’ll introduce you to the very best of it.

We’ll start our tour high above the city at the Portas do Sol viewpoint. After enjoying the view, we’ll make our way down into the narrow winding streets of Alfama, one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city. Originally a Visigothic settlement, it was the Moors who gave this district its current architecture and atmosphere, which we’ll thoroughly explore.

Next, we’ll cross into Baixa, our downtown and commercial core. Much more modern and built in a neatly organized grid, this is where we’ll see huge squares like Praça da Rossio and broad boulevards such as Rua Agusta.

From there, it’s on to the Chiado neighborhood, an elegant and sophisticated district of theaters, bookshops, old-style cafes, and art nouveau jewelry stores! This is a great area to grab an excellent meal and do some shopping, so it’s the perfect location to end the tour.

Tour highlights: Comprehensive introduction to Alfama, Baixa, and Chiado - Lisbon’s prettiest and most central neighborhoods

Duration: 4 hours

Cost: $285 USD

Price includes: Your guide

Not included: Approximately €40 per person for food and drink tastings (paid onsite on the day of the tour)

Max participants: 8

Note: All tours are private (only you and your travel partners)

Cancellation Policy: Read our full terms here

For me, gastronomy is one of the strongest mirrors of any society, and a country’s cuisine can tell you just as much about its history and culture as any historical or archaeological site. Plus, who doesn’t like eating great food?!

As a wine and food lover (but more of a traditionalist than a “trendy foodie”), let me take you on a hybrid walking and food tour of Lisbon, my city. We’ll wander the city’s streets and hills, exploring it by way of its markets, cafés, and traditional restaurants.

So let’s take a journey together into Portugal’s gastronomic traditions, tasting our pastries, cheeses, meats, and wines and beers! There's a world of tasty bites and delights awaiting us, and I’ve curated a great selection of the best and most traditional sites, restaurants, and cafès of the city.

We'll begin in Praça do Comércio at one of the oldest cafès in Lisbon, the famous Martinho da Arcada. Here, we’ll enjoy a coffee and custard tart before continuing down the lovely pedestrianized street of Rua Augusta until we reach Rossio Square (the hear of Lisbon). In the square, we’ll grab a seat at one of the best places in the city for a classic Lisbon dish: clams cooked in olive oil, wine, garlic and cilantro! You'll never forget the taste of the bread dipped in that heavenly sauce.

Moving uphill through the city, it's now time for the famous Bifana, our marinated pork sandwich served with mustard and hot sauce. A fair deal heavier than the previous bites, we’ll work that off with a good bit of walking and exploring.

Next, we'll sample the king of creamy cheeses : Azeitão sheep’s cheese. Spread on crackers, it’s a delicious treat that is best enjoyed with a glass of wine or cold beer.

In no particular order, we’ll also stop in at chocolate stores, canned fish retailers, cork shops, and other beloved and historic mom-and-pop establishments.

Tour highlights: Walking tour of central Lisbon, a great selection of delicious and representative dishes and drinks

Duration: Approximately 8 hours

Cost: $560 USD (or $840 for groups from 4-6 pax)

Price includes: Your guide, private round-trip transportation

Not included: Site entrance tickets, lunch (all paid directly onsite)

Max participants: 6

Note: All tours are private (only you and your travel partners)

Cancellation Policy: Read our full terms here

The classic day-trip from Lisbon, Sintra and Cascais are two of the most beautiful towns in Portugal. And when visiting them, you have no excuse not make a quick stop at nearby Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in mainland Europe. So that’s exactly what we’ll do today!

Starting from Lisbon, I’ll pick you up at your accommodation and we’ll drive out to Sintra, a town filled with magnificent palaces that’s nestled in the forests and mountains of the Serra da Sintra.

We can visit any of the palaces you’d like, but my recommendation among the ones in town is always Sintra National Palace, the oldest visitable royal summer house in the country. After touring the palace, we’ll go for a nice walk through the town, which is very pretty in its own right.

Alternatively, if you’d like to see something totally different that will make you feel a million miles away from the typical Sintra crowds: the Capuchin Convent is actually my favorite place in Sintra. Embedded in dense forest at an elevation of 1,700 feet, this 16th century stone convent has tiny, cramped quarters and feels nothing like the more famous and opulent buildings in Sintra town. This is a totally unique place and presents a really interesting contrast to what we’ll have just seen.

After our visit to Sintra, we’ll make a quick drive over to Cabo da Roca to enjoy the incredible views.

Next it’s on to Cascais, which we’ll get to via the gorgeous coastal road that stretches between it and Cabo da Roca. In town, we’ll go for a wander along the waterfront and will check out some of the impressive historic mansions.

After this, we’ll set our sights back on Lisbon, but not before making a quick visit to Estoril and along the way.

Tour highlights: Sintra town, National Palace or Capuchin Convent, Cabo da Roca, Cascais, Estoril

Duration: Approximately 8 hours

Cost: $645 USD (or $840 for groups from 4-6 pax)

Price includes: Your guide, private round-trip transportation

Not included: Alcobaça Monastery entrance tickets, lunch

Max participants: 6

Note: All tours are private (only you and your travel partners)

Cancellation Policy: Read our full terms here

Any time travelers tell me they want to get away from the city and the super popular nearby areas like Sintra and Cascais, I always suggest a day trip out to Alcobaça, Óbidos, and Nazaré. I've been touring the area for almost two decades now and these remain some of my favorite sights in all of Portugal!

I love the feeling of traveling to a region where medieval history, seafood, fishing, surfing, and good weather can all fit into the same experience. So come and join me on a fantastic day tour to these areas north of Lisbon!

We’ll set out from Lisbon and will make our first stop of the day after about 1.5 hours in Alcobaça, the town that houses the spellbinding Monastery of Alcobaça. In 2007, this Gothic World Heritage complex was declared one of the Seven Wonders of Portugal, and when you see it, it’s easy to understand why. The monument is the final resting place of the 14th-century King Pedro I and his star-crossed lover, Inês de Castro, so we’ll learn a bit about their story while visiting.

From there, it's time to head to coastal Nazaré, famous for its expansive golden-sand beach and the huge waves that break over it. The incredible surfing conditions have made this a global hotspot for surfers, but the town is nice in its own right. A former fishing village, you can still see the old fisherman’s quarters, and many of the original cobbled streets remain today.

Of course, we’ll also make a trip out to the Sítio headland, from where we’ll enjoy incredible views over the town, beach, and ocean.

Leaving Nazaré behind, we’ll continue on to our last stop of the day, the impossibly charming medieval town of Óbidos. Entirely encircled by city walls, this is one of the prettiest towns in Portugal. Its historic center is a labyrinth of cobblestone streets and whitewashed, flower-bedecked houses, and a wander through it is unforgettable.

Finally, we’ll return to Lisbon, about an hour south of Óbidos

Tour highlights: Alcobaça Monastery, Nazaré town and beach, medieval Óbidos

Duration: Approximately 8 hours

Cost: $675 USD (or $840 for groups from 4-6 pax)

Price includes: Your guide, private round-trip transportation

Not included: Site entrance tickets, lunch, winery visit/tasting (all paid directly onsite)

Max participants: 6

Note: All tours are private (only you and your travel partners)

Cancellation Policy: Read our full terms here

Only an hour and a half east of Lisbon, the ancient city of Évora provides a totally different experience from the more visited cities north of Lisbon. I personally love the city and my husband’s family is from here, so it’s somewhere we visit regularly!

Setting out from Lisbon, we’ll drive through a bucolic countryside of cork fields, grazing cattle, and little whitewashed villages that feel frozen in time.

Once we reach Évora, we’ll park the car and make our way through the city gates into the streets of this spectacular walled city with a distinctly Moorish atmosphere.

Our walking tour will take us all over the Unesco Heritage center, covering its main monuments like the Roman Temple, São Francisco Church and its Chapel of Bones, the 16th-century University, and the many cobbled streets and squares.

Around lunchtime we’ll sit down at a good local restaurant to try regional Alentejo specialties (I’ll share my favorites with you, of course!).

And because no day in the Alentejo region would be complete without tasting the excellent (and mostly unknown) local wines, we’ll hop back in the car and make an easy 20-minute drive to a nearby winery, either Monte da Ravaqueira or Fita Preta. We’ll start with a tour of the property and will then have a tasting, sampling 3 of their top wines.

Tour highlights: Évora walking tour, visit to the Chapel of Bones, winery visit and tasting

Looking for something a bit different?

All of Mattie’s tours can be fully customized to you, your interests, and travel style. If you’d like something totally unique, you can work one-on-one with Mattie to co-create a one of a kind tour.

To get started, request a custom tour below and provide us some initial ideas about what you’re looking for. Mattie will then reach out to you directly to start planning your tour together.

In general, Mattie’s standard guiding/transport fees are as follows:

• Half-day walking tours: $285 USD

• Half-day driving tours of Lisbon:

  • $390 USD (up to 3 pax)

  • $490 USD (4-6 pax)

• Full-day driving tours around Lisbon/Sintra:

  • $560 USD (up to 3 pax)

  • $840 USD (4-6 pax)

• Full-day driving tours outside the Lisbon area:

  • $675 USD (up to 3 pax)

  • $840 USD (4-6 pax)