Today your officially licensed guide will meet you at your hotel and you will leave for a private history tour of Lisbon to include the Jewish sites. You will start at emblematic St George’s Castle, renamed after conquering the Moors, where you will be able to take in the impressive views over the sea. Leading down from the castle to the river, you will cross the Alfama, Lisbon’s salty sailors’ quarter. Its tangled street plan is one of the few parts of Lisbon to survive the big quake, making the Alfama a cobbled playground of color. Next, on to the Baixa-Pombalina area where there were once two important Jewish quarters: the Judiaria Grande and the Judiaria Pequena, created during the reign of Dom Dinis (1279-1325). The Jews of Portugal, throughout history, held social and political ranks with the favor of kings, and conciliatory relations between Muslims and Christians alike. However, these periods were equally marked by inquisitions, forced baptisms and brutal massacres. Lisbon is no different, and at the Praca Dom Pedro, the Court of the Inquisition was held in the Palacio dos Estaus, where the Dona Maria national theater, built in the 19th century, now stands.
A wonderful tasting lunch of specialities such as typical Bacalhau (dried, salted cod), Azeitao cheese, traditional sweets and more, awaits. You will then head to the Belem area of Lisbon where many Portuguese explorers embarked on their voyages of discovery. You will learn about the Torre de Belem, used as a starting point for many of the voyages of discovery and thus the last sight for sailors, of their homeland. A tasty visit awaits you in Belem, at the Pasteis de Belem factory, where the best custard tarts in the country have been made since 1837!
Tour in a nutshell: Private gourmet & historic tour of Lisbon and Belem to include Jewish Heritage. Overnight Lisbon.