Portugal Bike - The Ancient Medieval Villages, Lisboa, Portugal Bike Tours

Photo

1. The medieval town of Castelo de Vide
2. Narrow roads rounded with old stones
3. The Natural Park landscape of S. Mamede Hills
4. Majestic Marvao Castle from the top
5. Visit to the Marble Museum
6. Visit to the winery and wine tasting
7. Arraiolos - famous for its tapestries
8. Fields of Cork trees, Olive trees and vineyards
9. Evora city - classified as World Heritage by UNESCO
10. The amazing landscape in Alentejo and the charming accommodations.

Summary

You will start your tour in Marvao, a small medieval town on the top of the hill, surrounded by walls and with a majestic castle that defended this small town from the Spanish people many times. There you can admire a spectacular view and then ride down along a medieval narrow road with ancient stone walls. You will climb to Senhora da Penha, a little chapel on the top of a hill where there is an amazing view over Castelo de Vide, another medieval town, and its rows of whitewashed houses. You will ride along narrow roads, either sided by cork trees or stone walls and now you will get to Castelo de Vide, a beautiful town in Alentejo located in the cool mountains of the Natural Park of Sao Mamede, among dense olive groves and chestnut trees. The town is full of monuments, fountains and ancient houses. You will see medieval monuments, dozens of churches, enchanting alleys and some of the best Gothic porticos in Portugal. Then you will go to Elvas, a typical border town with its castle, again surrounded by walls. Elvas also has a star-shaped fort, several churches, the monumental Amoreira Aqueduct, a unique pillory dating back to the 16th century and many interesting details. The ride continues to Vila Vicosa, the capital of marble, where you can visit the Museum of Marble and learn how this industry began. You will visit Estremoz which is one of traditional wine regions in Portugal. You can visit a vineyard and taste the world famous Alentejo wine. On the next day you will visit Arraiolos which is famous for its rugs. This Portugalbike tour ends in Evora, a wonderful walled town with many Roman vestiges, medieval churches and buildings, fountains, the aqueduct, charming streets, etc. Evora is a city classified as World Heritage by UNESCO.

Photo

Day 1: Arrival. Welcome at Lisbon airport. 3H00 drive to Marvao. Briefing about the tour followed by dinner. Lodging in a cosy 3* Hotel in Marvao, the highest medieval village of Portugal.

Day 2: The beautiful village of Marvao and its castle - 48km (30mi), level 3. After breakfast we ride down from the medieval village of Marvao on the top and we ride into the Natural Park of Sao Mamede Hills. Here Nature and History embrace each other. It seems time has stopped! Everything is quiet. We have our picnic at a place with a dazzling view over another medieval village, Castelo de Vide. Dinner with the group. Lodging in a classic Manor House (Bed & Breakfast) that was built in the 17th century.

Day 3: The Natural Park landscape of S. Mamede Hills - 76km (47mi), level 4. After breakfast we leave Castelo de Vide and its castle, its churches and the Jew quarters and we ride on into the Natural Park. We have our picnic and the day ends in Elvas, a beautiful border town with its castle, walls and an aqueduct built in the 16th century. Dinner with the group. Lodging in a 4* Hotel that was built conserving the old architectonic structures of the convent.

Day 4: Vila Vicosa and its marble. - 62km (39mi), level 4. After breakfast we ride towards Vila Vicosa, the capital of marble in Portugal. This is a quiet small town where even the sidewalks are made of marble. There is marble everywhere. We have our picnic in the garden and then we visit the Marble Museum where you can learn how marble was extracted in the past and how it is extracted nowadays. The day ends in Redondo where we visit a pottery workshop. Lodging in an impressive Convent built in 1182 by monks, recently converted in a 4* hotel, with its impressive private collection of eighteenth century Portuguese tile work.

Day 5: Cork trees, Olive trees and Vineyards. - 66km (41mi), level 4. After breakfast we leave the Convent where we spent the night and we ride towards Estremoz, land of marble and wine. We have our picnic on the way and we end our day in Arraiolos, the land of the famous rugs. Visit to a tapestry workshop. Dinner with the group. Lodging in a 16th century convent converted into a Pousada where you find the perfect harmony between the traditional and modern concepts of Portuguese architecture.

Day 6: Towards Evora - 26km (16mi), level 1. After breakfast we ride towards Evora, a city classified as World Heritage by UNESCO. We visit a winery and taste the wine and then we have the afternoon free to wander around in this historic city where we can find evidences of 2000 years of History. Dinner with the group. Lodging in a 4* Hotel, located in the historical centre of Evora, next to the 14th century city wall..

Day 7: Departure. After breakfast we drive 2H00 to the airport. Farewell at Lisbon airport..

Photo

Technical Data

Type: Road Bike Tour
Class: HISTORIC TOUR
Version: Guided or Self-Guided
Region of Portugal: Alentejo (inland)
Duration: 7 days / 6 nights / 5 days cycling
Begin: Marvao (Alentejo)
End: Evora (Alentejo)
Difficulty level (1-5): 1 2 3 4 5
= Intermediate. You must be in good shape.
Distance: 286km (178mi)
Average: 57km/day (36mi/day)

Photo

The price includes:

- 7-day Road Bike Tour with a Guide (*)
- Transfers from and to Lisbon Airport
- Accommodations (6 nights): 1 Pousada (16th century Convent), 2 four* Historic Hotels (one 12th century Convent and one Military Convent), 1 four* Charm Hotel, 1 three* charming Hotel within a fortress, one 18th century Manour House. Double bedroom occupancy.
- 6 Breakfasts
- 4 nourishing and energetic picnics (*)
- 6 Dinners (including our famous wines, our amazing cheeses and lovely desserts) (*)
- Daily energy-bars and water (*)
- Luggage transport from Hotel to Hotel
- Documentation about PortugalBike Tour
- Personal Accident Insurance and Liability Insurance.
- First-Aid assistance on location
- Techno-Mechanical Assistance
- Permanent Backup Vehicle (*)
- Visit to Marble Museum (*)
- Visit to the Winery and wine tasting (*)
(*) Not included in Self-Guided Tours

=> Prices per person, double bedroom occupancy, 4* quality Hotel.
=> If you want a different date, ask us about prices and availability.

Photo

ROAD RACE BIKE: BH L41 Carbon Spirit Ultegra
DETAILS:

Frame: Carbon fiber
Fork: Carbon fiber
Brakes: Shimano Ultegra
Gears: Shimano Ultegra/105, 30 Speeds
Pedals: Normal (with cages or not), Shimano SPD or Look Keo Classic
Tires: Road, 700x23
Weight: 9,2kg
Other: Man or woman seat, frame triangle bag, seat bag.
(please see picture #26)

Testimonials

>>> I would like to thank Jose and Cristina for operating a "first class" bike tour. I truly enjoyed the variety of scenery throughout the small villages . The road bikes that were provided were of excellent standard which helped in the challenging experience on each hill travelled!! I would highly recommend the guided tour since Jose provides valuable insight on the Portuguese landscapes that are visited. Cristina also provides superior service with the support van. From our picnic lunches, to our dinner's out in the various towns, everything was well taken care. We especially enjoyed the wonderful meals, which were accompanied with a well deserved glass of red wine in the evening to celebrate our riding accomplishments. I truly enjoyed the experience, and I definitely plan to come again in 2010!
= Laura Allpress - Age: 45 (Ontario - Canada), 2009 =

>>> I had the most fabulous bike adventure trip with the PortugalBike tour company. I have participated in other adventure holidays in the past but this was my favourite and definitely exceeded my expectations. The hotels that we stayed at were amazing, all very quaint, interesting and one night we even stayed in castle! The food, and I love to eat; complete breakfasts to begin or day, picnic lunches that were nutritious and represented local foods and cheeses and finally our dinners �" they were so wonderful (all of them) complete with an excellent choice of wine selected by Jose (who is very knowledgeable about the local wines). Another key factor was I always felt in good hands in a foreign country ...Safety first; the route was well planned to consider traffic volumes and road conditions, top of line equipment and very knowledgeable guides. I would highly recommend this bike tour to anybody interested in truly seeing this beautiful country; from the cork trees, vineyards, storks, black pigs, hilly terrain to the fabulous medieval towns we visited. I can’t wait to come back and do the Algarve bike trip. Thanks so much Jose and Cristina for leaving me with such a memorable experience, you run a top class tour!
= Terry Nason - Age: 43 (Orangeville - Canada), 2009 =

>>> Just wanted to write and thank you for an amazing, thoroughly enjoyable tour. It was a great experience, terrific fun and exceeded my expectations in just about every way. You put together a terrific package and deliver it in a highly professional, but at the same time personal way that I truly appreciated. I will recommend PortugalBike to all my friends interested in cycle touring and have begun to do so already. Hopefully, I will get to return with one or more members of my family before too long. That would be great fun!
= Neil Reiner, Age: 62 (Vancouver, BC �" Canada), 2009 =

>>> A little personal word just to thank you so much for this very beautiful tour with PortugalBike where we enjoyed (again) your country, the nice people, the fooooood!, the weather!...everything! It was so cool! I think we just fall in love with Portugal! This was our second stay here in Portugal but certainly not the last! We will be back in a near future. “Prometemos e fazemos!!”
= Marlene Bouchard and Raymond Gauthier, Ages: 53 (Sorel-Tracy, Quebec - Canada), 2009 =

Photo

2. If you wish a different date, ask us for prices and availability.

3. You can join two Portugalbike tours and have a 2-week program (10% discount on the second tour).

4. If you wish to rent a bicycle for this Tour add Euro 100.

5. You can change your Road Race Bike: on Road Bike Tours you can also opt for riding a Hybrid Bike, if you prefer.

6. E-Bikes - Don't feel bad for being the last one: you can also opt for riding an electric-bicycle. See more info here.

7. Prices per Person, double bedroom occupancy, usually 4* Historic Hotels.

8. Groups: Discount for Groups with 4 or more people.