While neighbouring Spain often steals the limelight as a foodie destination, Portugal shouldn’t be overlooked. Michelin has recently awarded three restaurants in Portugal with their first star. The country now boasts twenty restaurants with one star, and six with two stars, demonstrating that exceptional cuisine is served in restaurants across the nation. To give travellers a taste of the country’s gourmet cuisine, the national airline TAP Air Portugal has introduced a ‘Taste the Star’ programme, through which Michelin star chefs create exceptional local cuisine which is served to business class passengers.
Now is the time to visit, as Portugal’s food scene steps out of the shadow of Spain, and before the best culinary destinations become tourist hotspots. The new customisable trip from Insight Guides has been planned by a local expert with insider’s knowledge of the finest foodie options in the country – from exquisite codfish tasting menus in Aveiro to typical Portuguese snacks, known as petiscos, in Alentejo.
Insight Guides provides a personalised trip planning service that utilises the expertise of local experts across the globe. The local experts live in their destinations and use this knowledge to create fully customisable cultural excursions to over 70 destinations. The latest trip visits Portugal, where travellers can experience the burgeoning food scene in the vibrant cities of Porto and Lisbon, and visit the rolling hills of the Douro Valley wine region and the UNESCO world heritage listed cultural landscape of Sintra.
As the trip is planned by local experts who know the country better than anyone else because they live there, all the details are taken care of – from reservations at the best restaurants to exclusive wine tastings. Travellers can expect:
- A premium vintage port tasting at a prestigious Porto winery
- A picnic and boat trip in the verdant Douro Valley wine region
- Culinary walking tours sampling gastronomic treats in Lisbon and Porto
- Guided tours of Sintra’s forested terrain and the coastal resort town of Estoril
- Optional lunch and dinner reservations at Michelin-starred restaurants
Vanessa, the Insight Guides local expert in Portugal, says,
“Nowadays, Portugal is one of the most amazing and dynamic showcases in terms of food in Southern Europe: a bunch of new restaurants open daily in any corner of this beautiful country. Markets such as La Ribeira in Lisbon or Bolhao in Porto are full of starving souls looking for the best bite. Don’t miss out petiscos (appetizers) paired with a glass of vinho verde or its outstanding seafood if you are near the Atlantic sea. Be impressed in 2019 for this lovely land!”
