Swap the city buzz for vineyard calm and sweet treats! Just 45 minutes south of Lisbon, Azeitão serves up bold wines, rich history and one of Portugal’s most iconic tarts. It’s a half-day escape that hits all the right notes… local, flavorful and full of surprises.
Departure at 2:30pm, for about 45 minutes towards south to a scenic drive to the village of Azeitão, popular for the great wines, including the Moscatel of Setúbal, sweet tarts and amazing cheeses. This is an opportunity to meet us and talk about this unique experience.
Stroll the historic streets of Azeitão village. Located in the Serra da Arrábida Nature Reserve, Azeitão area includes traditional villages like Vila Fresca and Vila Nogueira, named after the estates around which they developed.
Vila Fresca de Azeitão grew around Quinta Fresca, where King Dom João I founded a palace in the 15th century, later called Palácio da Quinta da Bacalhôa. Vila Nogueira de Azeitão developed around Quinta da Nogueira, owned by Dona Constança, wife of King Pedro (14th century). It became a town and council seat in 1786 but lost that status in 1855.
The region attracted aristocratic families who built elegant estates, including Quinta das Torres (now a hotel) and the Renaissance style palace of the Dukes of Aveiro.
Visitors can enjoy local specialties like cheese, tarts, and the renowned Moscatel de Setúbal fortified wine.
Sample the famous Torta de Azeitão (tart with eggs, corn flour, cinnamon and egg cream), accompanied with a coffee.
Bacalhôa, one of Portugal’s largest and most innovative wineries, recently celebrated its 100th anniversary. It produces wines from seven key wine regions from Portugal, Alentejo, Bairrada, Beiras, Dão, Douro, Lisboa, and Península de Setúbal, covering 1,200 hectares of vineyards with 40 grape varieties and four wine centers.
Its mission is to produce and market high-quality wines that reflect the distinctiveness of each region and Portugal’s winemaking heritage. Through its «Art, Wine and Passion» project, Bacalhôa blends wine production with artistic expression to engage and surprise even the most discerning audiences.
We’ll start by visiting the vineyards, see ancient olives trees still producing olives, admire the tranquil scene of the Japanese garden, in which some of the works of the sculptor Niizuma are exhibited, along with a Kaki tree, the ‘great-granddaughter’ of the only tree to survive the Nagasaki bomb.
The group guided visit to the winery takes around 60 minutes and you can learn about its history which brings together wine, nature and art.
Discover different collections divided into three thematic groups expository: “Out of Africa” is an exhibition dedicated to the Queen Ginga, “Forgotten Generation” dedicated to three artists marked by the Holocaust period and “The Portuguese Tiles” from XVI to XX Century used so lush and unparalleled in any European country.
The guided tour will end up by the shop for tasting a white wine, a red wine and the Moscatel of Setúbal. Some surprises might come along.
Drive back to Lisbon meeting point to drop off at 7:30pm.
