Summary
Short description
Come Spring or Autumn, enjoy a gourmet journey aboard Portugal’s most luxurious train
Highlights
- Follow the Douro River aboard The Presidential, stopping for wine tastings and a vineyard-framed spa retreat
- Return from private, tailor-made tours of Porto to overnight in your very own palace
- Enjoy gourmet dining experiences throughout, with Porto’s Michelin-starred delights matched by The Presidential’s celebrity chefs and the Douro Valley’s riverside restaurants
In pictures
About
Recommended for:
City | Food & wine | History & culture | Natural world | Rail journey | Short break
The Presidential is the crown jewel of Portugal’s railways. Built in 1890, it served the court of King Luís I, hosting the likes of Queen Elizabeth II and Pope Paul VI. And, with all of its original style and magnificence immaculately preserved, it now plies the Douro Valley, linking Porto with the oenological delights of Portugal’s best-loved wine region. This journey runs throughout the month of April, and October Harvest time every year – you’ll taste your way some of its vineyards’ finest offerings and enjoy a spa retreat hidden among the valley’s beautifully terraced hills. Either side of your trips aboard The Presidential, you’ll enjoy a private tour of Porto’s cultural gems as you stay in palatial luxury. It’s all backdropped by a series of gastronomic experiences, with dinners in Michelin-starred restaurants and on-board lunches cooked by world-famous chefs.
Day by day itinerary
Day
1
UK/Porto
Flying into Porto, you’ll be met by your private driver to be introduced to the varied delights of Portugal’s second city. Its mercantile past has brought great riches to its terracotta-roofed jumble, with its churches gilded with Baroque fineries and great cathedral rising above the city’s medieval rabbit warren. Your private tour will also bring you to the Casa da Música concert hall, an icon for both Porto and modern architecture. End with Serralves; part contemporary art museum, part park-framed conservation project and part architectural masterpiece, this Art Deco institution is among Portugal’s finest cultural achievements. Come the evening, you’ll settle into your 19th-century palace accommodation.
Stay: Intercontinental Palacio das Cardosas, Porto (Deluxe)
Day
2
Porto/Vesúvio
Today you’ll board The Presidential at Porto’s spectacularly marbled São Bento Station, settling into its dark-wood cabins as you strike out into the Douro Valley. Watch as Porto’s urbane charms fade into rolling greenery, terraced into vineyards and dotted with pretty whitewashed villages. And, as you trace the Douro River’s meandering laze, you’ll be treated to a true gastronomic education. You’ll begin with lunch, prepared on the train by a Michelin-class chef and paired with some of the region’s finest oenological offerings. Then, arriving at Vesúvio, you’ll enjoy a wine tasting at the superb Quinta do Vesúvio. Dating back to 1827, the vineyards of this historic farmhouse are famed for their vintage ports and D.O.C. reds. You’ll even be treated to a foot treading ceremony. The estate is one of the few remaining that still practises this tradition. You’ll then end the day in the luxurious Six Senses Douro Valley, a 19th-century manor house whose infinity pool and spa command giant views over the river and its fabled vineyards. It’s the spectacular backdrop for your evening meal; indulge with menus that come fresh from the kitchen’s organic garden.
Stay: Six Senses Douro Valley (Deluxe)
Meals: B L D
Day
3
Vesúvio/Porto
Perhaps start the day with an award-winning spa treatment before you tuck into further gastronomic fineries with lunch at Rui Paula’s Michelin-recognised restaurant, DOC. As the name suggests, its diverse dishes highlight the very best of the valley’s regionally protected ingredients, served up to pretty river views. You’ll then board The Presidential once more, retracing the Douro River’s sweeping curves to arrive back in Porto. Here you’ll be treated to a final dinner at O Gaveto. A traditional Portuguese restaurant, you’ll enjoy an excellent selection of seafood, paired, of course, with some of the country’s finest varietals.
Stay: Intercontinental Palacio das Cardosas, Porto (Deluxe)
Meals: B L D
Day
4
Depart for UK
After breakfast, your private driver will see you to the airport in time for your flight home.
Meals: B
Map
Pricing
Any element of this itinerary can be adjusted to suit your needs. Just contact us to find out more.
Accommodation rating:
4-day gourmet train experience from £3,930 pp
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