Hidden Europe: unique experiences in Europe's cities
08/09/2020 · By Katie Shaw
Europe’s cities are treasure troves of culture, teeming with iconic, must-see sights to enthral even the most seasoned of tourists.
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2025 Tour code: POG25
About the tour
Flowing from Northern Spain to the Atlantic Ocean, the Douro river carves our route through a rolling landscape of vineyards and idyllic locations. On this Iberian holiday, explore the Douro Valley by rail, travelling from Spain's 'Golden City' of Salamanca and through Portugal's beautiful countryside.
Experience the region's iconic wine and unique cuisine, and delve into the highlights of the vibrant cities of Porto, Lisbon, Guimarães, and Sintra.
Crossing the border once more, we wrap up our holiday in Spain, visiting Valladolid and the nation's food capital, San Sebastián.
Unforgettable Experiences
What’s included
Itinerary
Our holiday begins today as you arrive at London St Pancras and meet the Tour Manager and travel group. Together, we board the Eurostar service to Paris, travelling in Standard Premier Class, where we are served a light meal at our seats.
From Paris, we continue by First Class rail to Biarritz in Southwestern France, located near the Spanish border, where we spend the night. Overlooking the sweeping Bay of Biscay on the Atlantic coast, this historic spa town - a popular health resort since the 1850s - has an air of grandeur and Art Deco glamour.
On arrival this evening, we check into our hotel and walk to a delightful local restaurant on the Grand Plage seafront, where we sit down to our first three-course dinner as a group.
Additional information
Hotels
Trains
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Upgrades
Reviews
4.3 / 5 · 80 reviews
geoff hancock
Submitted 6/Oct
All good .Good hotels Good trips .Good company..Good food .No delays on trains unlike uk
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Denise Mapp
Submitted 4/Oct
Excellent trip, visiting a variation of places. Loved the port tasting in the Douro region. Trip was everything I expected. A lot of travelling, but which was very relaxing in first class compartments. Lovely to have the stress taken away when having a manager to organise the travel. Enjoy the mixture of guided and free time.
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Keith C
Submitted 1/Oct
The holiday was excellent, well organised, with a good party and an outstanding leader. We went to interesting places, stayed in good hotels and had a mixture of guided tours and free time to explore on our own. We would highly recommend it.
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Stuart
Submitted 30/Sep
A little longer duration would have been much appreciated ( 2 or 3 days).
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Paul McFadzien
Submitted 29/Sep
Great train trip. An excellent way to travel through and see the Douro Valley, Porto, Lisbon and the Spanish cities we visited. Hotels were well located and lived up to their ratings. Particular mention needs to be made of our tour manager, Roger. His knowledge, good humour and skills enabled us to enjoy a carefree holiday.
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Peter Levison
Submitted 20/Sep
This was a thoroughly enjoyable holiday with good accomodation throughout. The cities we visited and the various tours were excellent with adequate free time to sightsee independently. The train journeys were very good indeed with some lovely scenery travelling along the Douro valley and also after we left Lisbon. The meals provided were very good but there was enough opportunity to enjoy local food independently. Our tour manager Roger was excellent and his local knowledge and enthusiasm made the holiday experience superb.
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