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JOURNEY TO THE HEART OF PORTUGAL |
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| TRIP DETAILS CASCAIS - SINTRA - LISBON A 10 day art retreat with Margaret Ferraro in Portugal
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| DESCRIPTION This enchanting art escape will take you to Cascais, a delightful fishing town and Portugal's most popular holiday destination near Lisbon on the Estoril coast. You will have several days to explore and capture the many beautiful sceneries from boundless cliffs over the ocean to exquisite gardens and lovely homes full of traditional Portuguese charm. From here you will visit Sintra known as the playground of the Kings with lavish mansions and gardens. End your retreat with a fun visit of Lisbon, Portugal's most delightful city. Explore the bustling streets of this captivating capital, its many restaurants, cafés and museums. A perfect combination of art and exploration awaits you on this exciting painting retreat.
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DAY 1 - FRIDAY - LISBON TO CASCAIS
Upon arrival to Lisbon’s Airport, we'll transfer to our hotel in Cascais (approx. 30 minutes away). On arrival, unpack and settle into your lovely hotel for the next 6 nights. Depending on our arrival time, we'll be meeting our local guide Margarida for a quick orientation followed by a delicious Portuguese welcome dinner.
Suggested Accommodation: Hotel Baia - Cascais
Included Meals: Dinner.
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| DAY 2 - SATURDAY - PAINTING ATELIER & VISIT OF CASCAIS
Enjoy your first painting atelier with Margaret in our very own private studio at the hotel. The studio is booked only for the group, so you can leave your materials there during the whole stay and use it when you want. After lunch, join Margaret to discover a few of these lovely painting spots:
Santa Maria House – House museum near Santa Marta Lighthouse. A beautiful house from the beginning of 20th century that can be visited with a beautiful tiles collection. Raul Lino was the architect.
Condes Castro de Guimarães Museum - This Revivalist-style palace built in 1900 has exhibits of paintings, ancient artifacts & old books.
Marechal Carmona Park - A quiet escape from the hustle and bustle of busy Cascais. Right on the doorstep of the town, once in the park you feel miles away from city life. Much to see, much to draw and paint!
We meet tonight on for another lovely Portuguese dinner!
Suggested Accommodation: Hotel Baia - Cascais
Included Meals: Breakfast and dinner
Included Activities: AM Painting atelier with Margaret. PM guided excursions are optional and the entrance fees, if applicable, are not included. All paint spots are accessible by foot. If you require a taxi, this will be additional.
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| DAY 3 - SUNDAY- BEACHFRONT PROMENADE
This morning, after a lovely breakfast, follow Margaret on a walk through the beachfront promenade until Estoril. Paint the lovely scenery by the ocean from colourful boats to crashing waves. Cross the railway to see the famous Estoril Casino and gardens. Enjoy one of two beaches, the Rainha beach (intimate beach near the train station & popular with tourists, offering calm waters) or Tamariz Beach (a popular seaside destination known for its wide sand beach, rock pools and numerous local eateries). There are beautiful seascapes to draw and paint here and also some old architecture.
The hotel studio is opened the whole day for you to enjoy and we'll meet later on this evening for cocktails and dinner. A great time to share your creations and get some constructive feedback from Margaret.
Suggested Accommodation: Hotel Baia - Cascais
Included Meals: Breakfast and dinner
Included Activities: AM Painting workshop on the promenade with Margaret. PM at leisure or enjoy the studio for added painting time.
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| DAY 4 - MONDAY - DAY TO PAINT, REST OR EXPLORE
Maybe today is a free day for you to relax or perhaps you want to return to a specific spot you discovered along the way to paint? If free time is not on your radar today, join Margaret and our local hostess Margarida to any of these locations. We'll decide together in advance.
Paula Rego House of Histories - Collection of Paula Rego's work from the 1950s to the 1990s, housed in bold, pyramid-shaped towers
Museum King D. Carlos - Small museum in an 1879 building dedicated to exhibits on marine life & archaeology.
Cascais Cultural Center - Temporary Art exhibitions
Palace of Cascais Citadel - Restored royal residence known for its elegant interiors, private chapel & sweeping bay views.
Suggested Accommodation: Hotel Baia - Cascais
Included Meals: Breakfast and dinner
Included Activities: Visit of any of these locations with Margaret and Margarida.
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| DAY 5 - TUESDAY - VISIT TO SINTRA After an early breakfast we transfer to Sintra for the day. We’ll first visit the stunning and colourful Pena Palace and Park which cover over 200 hectares of forested hills that surround the Palace. After a light lunch in the center of town, we visit the Quinta de la Regaleria, an extravagant 19th century gothic mansion that is surrounded with some of the most elaborate gardens of Sintra. Bring your supplies today as you can enjoy some light sketching or painting within each of these stunning properties. You can then bring your sketches back to our private studio in Cascais for more time to paint.
After we leave Sintra, we'll stop for a quick visit of Cabo de Roca, a cape on the west coast of Portugal in the Lisbon Region. It is the westernmost point of the European continent, which is the main reason most visit this place. The views from the cape are quite spectacular, and if time permits, you can photograph and sketch this incredible landscape. We finish the day with another lovely group dinner.
Suggested Accommodation: Hotel Baia - Cascais
Included Meals: Breakfast and dinner
Included Transfers: Private shuttle to Sintra return
Included Activities: Visit of Pena Palace + Quinta de la Regaleria
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| DAY 6 - WEDNESDAY - EXPLORING THE LOCAL MARKET
This AM we join Margaret to a colourful local market only opened on Wednesdays. See all the colours of fruits, flowers and vegetables that line the many alleyways. Visit the fish market. Have a coffee with a Portuguese pastry in one of the many coffeeshops. This is a great place to take photos, or do your own sketch or drawing. Return to the studio for added time to paint. Margaret will be there to assist you this afternoon.
Today might also be a good time to get a relaxing massage, or depending on the weather, maybe you'd prefer some beach time this afternoon? We'll meet up later for another fabulous Portuguese dinner with wine and fun conversations about the day!
Suggested Accommodation: Hotel Baia - Cascais
Included Meals: Breakfast and dinner
Included Activities: AM visit of local market with Margaret. PM at leisure or enjoy the studio for added painting opportunities.
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DAY 7 - THURSDAY- ON ROUTE TO LISBON
After a lovely breakfast, we check out from our Cascais hotel and head by private bus to our new hotel in Lisbon. For the next three days, we will have the pleasure of exploring this creative city together.
You will first have some free time to unpack and have a quick lunch before we start our fun walking city tour. We will be visiting some of the most iconic neighbourhoods on foot. It will include tapas and wine tasting and tasting of Pastel de nada (Portugal’s famous custard tarts). We finish the tour with a ride on the famous Old tram 28.
Tonight, if you have the energy, we'll meet up for a lovely group dinner in one of Lisbon's delicious restaurants.
Suggested Accommodation: Tesouro de Baixa in Lisbon
Included Meals: Breakfast
Included Activities: Afternoon guided city tour on foot.
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| DAY 8 - FRIDAY - IN THE HEART OF LISBON
Today we start our day with a morning painting workshop with Margaret in one of the lovely squares around the city. Next, we visit one of our favorite museums, the National Museum of Ancient Art which enjoys the reputation of sheltering the largest collection of paintings, at least nationwide speaking. We'll then have a lovely lunch followed by an afternoon at leisure. Perhaps you’ll be interested in taking a sightseeing bus to see the many different corners of the city. We recommend the narrow streets of Alfama. The old historic district of Alfama is such a beautiful area to wander around. It’s probably the most authentic district in Lisbon, and one you should take the time to explore more.
We will then reconvene later on around 7pm for a Sunset Fado & tapas walk. Fado is a music genre that can be traced back to the 1820s in Lisbon, but probably has much earlier origins. It is a type of popular Portuguese song, usually with a melancholy theme and accompanied by mandolins or guitars. A must see while in the capital city! You'll finish the tour with a delicious and authentic Portuguese tapas dinner with wine, all whislt listening to captivating Fado music.
Suggested Accommodation: Tesouro de Baixa in Lisbon
Included Meals: Breakfast and Dinner.
Included Activities: AM painting atelier with Margaret + Sunset Fado & tapas walk
Optional Activities: Visit of the National Museum of Ancient Art (€15 entrance fee + taxi)
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DAY 9 - SATURDAY - A DAY OF EXPLORATION
We give you a full day to explore the city and its many wonders. Maybe you’d like to hop on a bus to do a city tour, or lose yourself in the little streets and narrow passageways of the city. You can simply wander the streets of Lisbon to make some amazing discoveries: several incredible viewpoints over the rooftops of the old Lisbon, interesting street art, local restaurants, galleries, cafés and little shops. You will pass several churches and old buildings with uncountable different patterns of Portuguese tiles. All to inspire your creativity!
As you can see, you’ll have plenty options to choose from on your day at leisure.
Meet up in the late afternoon for an informal show of your artwork and group critique. Enjoy a few drinks together before heading out on our fun sunset boat tour on the Tangus River. A perfect way to admire the sunset. Tonight will be our last group dinner and farewells as tomorrow most will be returning home or perhaps will be continuing on their journey through Portugal.
Suggested Accommodation: Tesouro de Baixa
Included Meals: Breakfast
Included Activities: Sunset Boat Tour on the Tangus River
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DAY 10 - SUNDAY - DEPARTURE DAY
Depending on the time of your flight, you may have more time in the city or you may have to be at the airport early. Perhaps you’ll be continuing on to the Algarve or somewhere else spectacular in the country? No matter what you do, we hope your 10 day art escape in Portugal has been a true delight!
Included Meals: Breakfast
Transfers: Budget around €20 for your return taxi to the airport. This can be shared if more are departing at the same time.
Tipping: Gratuities are not included in the price of your trip. Suggested tipping as follows:
Taxis: round up to the nearest € on your total fare.
Hotels: €1-2 per bag and a few € for house-keeping at the end of the stay.
Restaurants: add a 10% tip to the bill in the more tourist areas, but check the bill because service may be included.
Bars: usually €1 or 2 if the bar service was good, otherwise this isn’t required.
Guides: will depends on the length of the tour. Go with your feeling but at least €1 to 2 per person per tour.
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YOUR ACCOMMODATION Below is a list of potential hotels that we will be using for the trip. The hotels are subject to availability at the time of booking. If unavailable, similar options will be suggested.
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| YOUR ESCAPE PACKAGE
INCLUDES
- 9 nights /10 day accommodation in beautiful hotels based on double occupancy with option of upgrading to private with a single supplement added to your package.
- All breakfasts and dinners (wine included with dinner) in Cascais. All breakfasts in Lisbon and one dinner. Lunches are extra for added flexibility.
- Land transfer from the airport to your hotel in Cascais.
- Land transfer from Cascais to your hotel in Lisbon.
- All included activities and transfers as listed in the trip program above.
- All of your art sessions with Margaret. Be ready to paint in natural settings and make sure to bring the right equipment! Margaret will provide a list prior to the trip start.
- Access to a studio room in your hotel in Cascais during your stay.
- Local guide to help coordinate activities, meals and transportation in Cascais.
DOES NOT INCLUDE
- International flights (we can advise).
- Transfer to the airport in Lisbon on the last day.
- Lunches all through the trip and two dinners once in Lisbon.
- Optional tours as mentioned in the trip program above.
- Travel Insurance.
- Extras like airport taxes if applicable, water and tips.
. COST
€2290 Includes taxes. Based on double occupancy. Single supplement upgrades are available and will be determined once all hotels are booked for the group.
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| WHAT NEXT... Contact us for more information and to join our exciting art retreat in beautiful Portugal. Spots are limited so join NOW as spaces will fill up fast! Once you sign up, we'll send you a complete packing list and more information on how to prepare for this exciting art escape!
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