Description
Put your luggage on the rack, grab a seat by the window and let Portugal come to you with this independent rail tour from Lisbon to Faro!
You’ll visit a wide variety of scenic destinations, from the charming capital, Lisbon, to the enchanted Sintra, and the Algarve, from East to West.
A combination of experiences, both relaxing and exciting!
Your train tour will start in Lisbon, a city surrounded by tradition and blessed with modernity.
The city’s seven hills, covered with layers of history and heritage, have become a popular European destination for its diversity, vintage trams, cobblestone streets, Fado songs, majestic azulejo adorned architecture, and an enviable climate.
From here, departure to Sintra, leaving from the central Rossio station, a Neo-Manueline building from the late 19th century, strikingly adorned. You will ride towards the city outskirts through a 1.8-mile tunnel, a technological marvel when it first opened in 1890!
Sintra is a scenic splendor, a realm of romance where majestic fairytale-like palaces, a grandiose castle, regal estates, and charming red-tiled houses stand amidst a landscape of luxuriant, semi-tropical forests and hilltops.
Your journey to the south of Portugal starts on the modern Oriente train station, designed by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava for the Expo’98 world’s fair.
Along the three hour journey to Faro, the capital of the Algarve, you’ll pass through the green-yellow fields of Alentejo with a distinctive landscape change.
The Algarve is a world-known summer holiday destination, with beaches bustling with tourists during high season. Faro, however, is a quiet town, home to a vast Moorish Heritage that lingers in some of the most secretive corners of the town.
You arrive at a station facing the lovely Ria Formosa, near the old town, and the beautiful marina.
This will be your base to explore both ends of the region, with very different sights.
Vila Real de Santo António, in the East Algarve, is a historically important town. It was built as a replica of the central Lisbon’s street layout after the 1755 devastating earthquake.
The city center is today a shopper’s paradise, with traditional small stores and terraces. The region was always associated with fishing and is very proud of its rich gastronomy, with famous dishes made from tuna, a long-established tradition. Ferries cross the placid Guadiana River to Ayamonte, in Spain, on the opposite bank.
Heading tho the West Algarve, you’ll take the train to the cosmopolitan city of Lagos, once a landmark of the Portuguese Discoveries, and refuge of pirates.
Due to its unique bay and port, directly across from Africa, Lagos became a major point of departure and arrival for the ships that set sail in the discovery of new worlds. From here, Henry the Navigator dreamed of unknown lands and vast richness.
Today, Lagos is a cosmopolitan city with a relaxed atmosphere, making it one of the most appealing locations in the Algarve. It is well worth visiting the city’s churches, museums, the castle, and the walls.
This rail holiday provides the best of both worlds – you can travel independently while you sit back and soak up the views!
