Discover
The world beyond the ordinary.
Portugal
Kosher Portugal: Lisbon, Porto and Jewish Portugal
Portugal has one of the oldest Jewish stories in Europe and a small, welcoming community today. On our Portugal trip every meal is kosher, Shabbat is kept with the community in Porto, and the days follow that story from Lisbon to Tomar, Belmonte and the Douro.
Our Portugal trip
Nine days from Lisbon to Porto, November 2027
One escorted trip, with the group and a tour leader: Lisbon, Belmonte and Porto, and Shabbat in Porto.
Dates and from-price are the ones published today, per person sharing a double room, in US dollars. The trip page carries the full itinerary, the hotels, the price and the terms.
Kashrut
Kosher food in Portugal: how every meal is covered
Every meal on the trip is Glatt Mehadrin, full board: a breakfast buffet, packed lunches on touring days, seuda shelishit and dinner.
Hotels are chosen for their willingness and ability to meet our kashrut needs, and for their proximity to kosher restaurants where there is one. Where local kosher supervision is limited, a cook and mashgiach travel with the group to prepare and supervise the meals. Tell us about any allergy or dietary need when you inquire.
Lisbon
Kosher Lisbon: Belém, Alfama and the Shaare Tikva Synagogue
Lisbon is where the trip begins and ends, with four of the eight nights spent in the city, split either side of the tour.
The first evening is a Belém tour: the Belém Tower, the Monument to the Discoveries and the Jerónimos Monastery, from which the Portuguese caravels sailed on their fifteenth-century voyages. The welcome dinner follows. On the last full day a Jewish walking tour takes in the lanes of Alfama and Bairro Alto, the memorial to the 1506 Lisbon massacre and the Shaare Tikva Synagogue, which was inaugurated in 1904. A sunset cruise on the Tagus passes the Belém Tower and the Discoveries Monument before the farewell dinner.
Jewish Portugal
Jewish Portugal: the expulsion, the Crypto-Jews of Belmonte and a living community
Jews lived in Portugal for centuries. In December 1496 King Manuel I ordered all Jews to be baptized or leave by October 1497, and the edict became one of forced conversion. Many families kept their faith in secret for generations.
From 1496 to the Inquisition
The Portuguese Inquisition was established in 1536, and the first auto-da-fé was held in 1540. Portugal had also taken in many of the Jews expelled from Spain in 1492, so the 1496 decree sent a second wave of exiles to the Mediterranean, Morocco among the places that received them.
Tomar
The trip visits Tomar's best-preserved medieval synagogue. It is now the Abraham Zacuto Museum, where the refugees of 1492 are remembered.
Belmonte
Belmonte is the best-known home of Portugal's Crypto-Jews, who practiced Judaism in secret for some five hundred years and came out into the open only in the late twentieth century. The town has a synagogue, opened in 1996, and a Jewish museum, opened in 2005. The group visits the synagogue and the museum and meets a representative of the community.
Aristides de Sousa Mendes
In June 1940 the Portuguese consul-general in Bordeaux, Aristides de Sousa Mendes, issued visas to thousands of refugees fleeing the German advance, against his government's orders. Yad Vashem recognized him as Righteous Among the Nations in 1966. The trip visits the Peace Frontier Museum at Vilar Formoso, which tells the story of the rescue, and the Casa do Passal Museum in Cabanas do Viriato, the house where he lived.
Lisbon and Porto today
Both cities have active synagogues: Shaare Tikva in Lisbon, and Kadoorie Mekor Haim in Porto, inaugurated in 1938.
Porto
Porto and the Douro: bridges, azulejos and wine
Three nights in Porto, Shabbat among them.
Sunday is for iconic Porto: the Clérigos Tower, the Lello Library, the azulejo murals at São Bento Station, the riverside Ribeira and the Dom Luís I Bridge, then across the river to Vila Nova de Gaia for the views and the city's wine heritage, with a kosher port wine tasting.
Shabbat
Shabbat in Porto, with the community
Shabbat is kept at Porto's own synagogue, Kadoorie Mekor Haim.
Kabbalat Shabbat and a festive Friday night dinner are held there on arrival, with Shacharit and the Shabbat lunch the next day and time to meet the local kehillah. The afternoon is a gentle walk near the hotel and the shul, and Havdala follows.
Along the way
Sintra, Cascais and Coimbra
Sintra's Royal Palace and the lanes of its medieval quarter, including the Beco da Judiaria, where Jewish life once flourished; a coastal drive through Cascais and Estoril; and the University of Coimbra, with its Baroque Library, St. Michael's Chapel and the Royal Palace, centuries of scholarship on one hilltop campus.
Questions
Questions travelers ask about kosher Portugal
Is it easy to keep kosher in Portugal?
On your own it takes planning, because the Jewish communities are small. With us every meal is arranged: Glatt Mehadrin, full board, with packed lunches on touring days and a cook and mashgiach traveling with the group where local supervision is limited.
Is there a kosher hotel in Portugal?
On our trip you do not need to find one: every meal is arranged, Glatt Mehadrin on full board, with packed lunches on touring days and a cook and mashgiach traveling with the group where local supervision is limited. Kosher Tour of Portugal, November 2027 has the details.
Is there a Sukkot program in Portugal?
Not at present. Our Sukkot program is in Israel, at David's Harp above the Sea of Galilee. Sukkot Programs in Israel has the details.
Is there a synagogue in Lisbon?
Yes. Shaare Tikva, inaugurated in 1904, is Lisbon's synagogue, and the Jewish walking tour on our trip ends there. Porto has Kadoorie Mekor Haim, inaugurated in 1938, where we keep Shabbat.
Who were the Crypto-Jews of Belmonte?
Families who were forcibly baptized after 1496 and went on practicing Judaism in secret for about five hundred years. The community in Belmonte came back into the open in the late twentieth century, and the trip visits its synagogue and museum and meets a community representative.
When is your Portugal trip?
November 2–10, 2027, from $5,500 per person, sharing a double room: Kosher Tour of Portugal, November 2027.
Where is Shabbat kept?
In Porto, at the Kadoorie Mekor Haim synagogue, with the local community: Kabbalat Shabbat and a Friday night dinner, Shacharit and lunch on Shabbat, and Havdala.
Are flights included?
No. You book your own flights to Lisbon and home. We meet you on arrival and take you to the airport on the last day, so send us your flight times.
Connect
Shared journeys. Lasting friendships.
Enrich
Memories that touch the soul.
Inquire
Speak to someone about your trip
Call the line for your region, or send an inquiry and we will come back to you.
- Israel+972 2 992 9801
- USA / Canada+1 646 240 4118
- Europe+44 207 048 6168
- Australia+61 39 999 7496
- South Africa+27 83 377 1908
Speak to Shelley in reservations. Every missed call and message is returned.
Since 1991 · Glatt Mehadrin