Lisbon Private Tour: Highlights & Hidden Gems

Rita took us on a private, well-curated full-day (8-hour) tour to Pena Palace, Moorish Castle, lunch by the sea in Cascais, and a refreshing coastal drive back to Lisbon central. She was essential in setting our travel plan and stops for the day, long before we left our home, which was based on her experiences, the venue logistics, and our travel style. We have a relaxed temperament, are physically active, and are interested in history and details (some of which we may not remember), so she paced and educated us perfectly. We find that you can learn a lot about a culture based on anecdotes and guide experience. She was excellent and can highly recommend her for your adventures in Lisbon.

Inês was by far one of the best tour guides we have ever had. Super knowledgeable, earth to earth and very engaging. Perfect information regarding meeting point - wich is actually an higlight itself. My spouse and i loved it. Thank you Inèz

Angelo moved heavens to make our tour happen. I was stuck in the island due to the storm and he rescheduled or moved our tour so I could join my friends. He was detailed and thorough. Very generous with recommendations which we took heed for a lot of things. The very important thing I got from him was the trick that only a few tourists know- the way to avoid climbing the hills!!!! 🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽 Thank you, Angelo! My friends and I enjoyed our time with you in the rain!!!

We could not be happier or more impressed with our time with Angelo. Communication leading up to our tour was clear, responsive and very helpful. He really went out of his way to make sure we would make the most of our time and see & taste the priority items on our list to get the best overview of Lisbon. Ângelo speaks English very clearly, so we had no trouble understanding him. Bob uses trekking poles due to back issues and Ângelo was very considerate about pointing out possible tripping hazards, showing us shortcuts to avoid climbing stairs/walking up hills, or wasting time getting from place to place. His knowledge of the history, culture, political significance, people, events, etc., was encyclopedic and he was a very interesting teacher. Knowing that we had plans to attend a fado show that night, he made a point to show us the best way get to the restaurant and where to have the taxi drop us off. He was a wealth of information about what we might try to see or do on our own the next day, even sending us a lengthy text with links to different places, restaurants, menu recommendations to try, etc. He graciously spent extra time with us to squeeze as much into our day as possible and we walked almost 14,000 steps on our tour! You will be very glad you booked your tour with Angelo. We started the day with a very nice man and said goodbye at the end to a friend.

Antonio is an excellent city guide, well informed about Lisbon's history and culture which he conveyed in a compelling manner. We can not speak more highly of our experience.

Ângelo was friendly and extremely knowledgeable about Lisbon’s culture and history. If you are a history lover, he is the guide for you. He also gave us some extremely useful tips for navigating between hills that saved us quite a few steps in the coming days. We also appreciated his flexibility (and/or the booking company’s flexibility) to move our tour last minute when our flight was canceled. Highly recommend!

Jorge was an excellent guide. His tour exceeded our expectations in terms of both quality and time. His enthusiasm and knowledge made our guided tour great. We took many steps as we followed them, starting from the western hills and walking through the valley in the center to the eastern hills, which had great views of the setting sun. We learned a lot about Lisbon and its history in the afternoon. Jorge gave us lots of tips for the rest of our vacation and for souvenir shopping.

We took a private tour of the city. It was well worth our time. Our guide was very knowledgeable. He explained everything around the city. He took us to all the places he thought was important, keeping in mind the questions and suggestions that we had made. We enjoyed this trip greatly. Thank you.

Our guide, Joao Bento was amazing!! The depth of knowledge, warm personality, and ability to know what we were looking for in our experience, made the tour quite special.

Antonio was an amazing guide. He was friendly, incredibly knowledgeable, and he did a great job of showing us the city. I highly recommend doing this at the beginning of your trip because he really got us comfortable navigating Lisbon on our own and showed us tips and tricks on how to get places (without walking up and down all of the hills). This was a highlight of our time in Lisbon and we learned so much about the history and culture.

Lisbon is a beautiful old city full of art and culture with a bohemian twist . It is gritty with its murals and graffiti on many walls. Its streets are old cobblestones just wide enough for cars because most of the city was levelled in the earthquake of 1750s . Alfama being the highest point and built on stone escaped the destruction and so today is the oldest in tact neighbourhood in Lisbon, famous for its fado taverns and restaurants . Lisbon is a walking city, the neighbourhoods are small enough with distinct identities to be discovered on foot, please do yourself a favour and take your time to discover all the little streets and native shops . Good food is plentiful and not expensive . Better even their wines and ports are outstanding . Do try green wine . The taste is fresh and light , very good for summer . There is so much discover in Lisbon , to enjoy it spend about 5-6 days at a leisurely pace with side trips . Sintra is a must visit fairy tale town less than 1 hour by train out of Lisbon .

Marisa was a great tour guide! She was very knowledgeable and a great storyteller. We learned a lot about Lisbon during the time we spent with her. Would definitely recommend this tour and Marisa!

My guide Marisa is very knowledgeable and showed me many great spots in central Lisbon. She was also very flexible in adjusting the itinerary to accommodate my requirements.

Our tour with Sonia was over the top! We truly enjoyed the unique combo of facts on Portugal and Sonia’s personal experiences. Her temperament was a perfect fit for our group. i highly recommend Sonia!

We loved our tour with Lucia! She was informative, engaging, and very personable. She gave us great tips for exploring other parts of the city and wonderful restaurant recommendations, for places we never would have discovered ourselves. We didn’t want our tour with her to end!

We spent a great morning in Lisbon with Alphe who showed us around many well known areas and some not so. We met in a crowded square and within a few minutes we were looking over the square from a beautiful building only yards away. I asked Alphe was it ok to be inside as we were the only ones, he answered, yes but no one else knows about it. That continued through the morning as Alphe shared his local and historical knowledge with me and my wife. Out of the way spots to grab a coffee, through quiet streets and a lovely green we later revisited for lunch. Overall a great way to spend our first morning in Lisbon. Alphe was great company and his input gave us a good overall view of a city.

I don’t even know where to begin with Angelo. Without a doubt, the best tour guide I’ve ever had. I highly recommend combining the walking tour and culinary tour with Angelo, this is two tours combined into one. It may sound like a lot, but trust me it’s worth it. Angelo actually spent almost 9 hours with us and if we didn’t have a prior engagement it could’ve been longer! We were a group of 5. Angelo will contact you ahead of time to verify your interests as well as food likes/dislikes/allergies etc. He will customize your tour accordingly. Since we did the walking and culinary together, we would explore some interesting sites and learn history and then stop in a coffee shop or sandwich shop or bar or any of a number of local eateries where he would call ahead and we would be ushered in like vips and able to skip the lines and have the food hot and waiting for us. It was all amazing. Angelo is also extremely knowledgeable about everything related to Portuguese history and culture. Every question we had, he had a perfect answer to. If you knew nothing about Portuguese food and culture, you will now! And I can guarantee you will love it! In conclusion, Angelo is more than a guide, he is a genuinely great guy who becomes your friend for the day. He also offered us tremendous tips and guidance unrelated to the tour. If you haven’t noticed yet, we loved Angelo and highly recommend!

Ana was our local tour guide on a three hour tour of Lisbon. She was very engaging and informative. We learned a lot about the history of Lisbon as well as current attitudes and events. We had a wonderful morning with her as our guide, and I would highly recommend her.

We had a great day with Igor. He was full of interesting facts about the city and took us to some unseen gems of Lisbon. To discover these gems definitely book him. He was a lovely guy to chat with and answered all of our questions with great patience!! If you are thinking of booking this tour, do it.

Our group of Germans & Americans greatly enjoyed our time with Ana! She was very communicative both before the tour (after booking) and during the tour. Her insights were great and she did an excellent job tailoring the conversation to both the adults and teenagers within our group. She gave us an amazing dinner restaurant recommendation and even dropped us off the at the end of the tour. We loved the stop for egg custard tarts!! We'll definitely be eating the again during our time in Lisbon.

Pedro was an excellent guide. We felt we were walking the city with a great friend. Highly recommend for day one in Lisbon.

Ana gave us the perfect tour of Lisbon! We saw so many amazing, special places. She really does know the hidden gems (and where to find escalators, lol). She obviously loves her city and shared plenty of information about the culture. I highly recommend picking Ana as your guide!

Our tour with Sonia was wonderful! She did a wonderful job giving us historical background of the city, showing beautiful churches and meaningful sights, as well as gave us fantastic recommendations for local rooftop bars with great views! It was the perfect overview of the Baixa-Chiado area!

we had an amazing private tour by Rita - she was an excellent host and showed us around to all kinds of places we wouldn't be going ourselves. 10/10 would recommend

Amanda was an incredible guide. She was kind and patient, and took us to so many fun and beautiful spots around downtown Lisbon. Despite the weather, she made the experience so enjoyable. She also gave great history lessons and local ideas for the rest of our trip. Highly recommend!

We had the most amazing experience with Jorge. His historical and geographical knowledge of Lisbon was hugely informative along side his passion and dry sense of humour. We would highly recommend this tour. We learned so much from Jorge who was also an excellent photographer and we haven’t stopped taking panoramic pictures tweaking here and there. Thank you Jorge. You truly made our experience very special with lots of laughter.

Ângelo is an outstanding guide. He is passionate about his country and his city and is eager to offer you historical context (complete with photos and videos on his iPad) about every place you go. His communication style is also great. He reached out the day we booked to get to know us and ask what we were looking for in a tour. He asked where we were staying and ultimately started the tour from the hotel, arriving 15 minutes early. He gave us dozens, and I mean dozens, of ideas of places to go or eat. And he gave us a super convenient methodology to avoid climbing one of Lisbon’s many hills, to get back to our hotel via a “shortcut.” I’d book another tour with him in an instant. The tour was booked for 3 hours but Ângelo asked if we minded going longer than that. We were enjoying chatting and walking so much that the time went fast - we ended up doing a 4.5 hour tour. Obrigado e tchau!

I wrote a previous review of this hotel and would like to add a few more comments. As previously stated we have visited this hotel many times over the past 15 years and it remains the only resort we consider staying at when on Big Island. On this last two weeks stay we booked a north tower ocean view one bedroom suite. As others have noted , the grounds of this resort are stunning and immaculately tended. The staff are incredible, from the bell service, front desk, gardening, room service, housekeeping to the waiters you can always count on being greeted with a smile and “Aloha”. While staying at the resort , we play tennis most everyday and the court facilities are top notch. Rudy, who runs the tennis facility is a great teaching pro and his staff, to include Ron and Lei, among others, are both helpful and joy to be around. I was a bit critical in my earlier comments about the resorts condition. Yes, it is in need of refreshing in some areas and there are signs those things are starting to be addressed but what I hope is that the changes never change the real charm of the place. Yes, there are fancier and more recently renovated properties to chose from but none of them appeal to us quite like the Fairmont orchid. I would and have recommended the Fairmont to anyone planning on visiting Big Island.

My wife and I spent a full day with Luis visiting Fatima, Nazare, and Obidos. Luis has a warm and engaging personality, and he made us feel welcome from the start. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of Portugal, including its history and culture, and he is articulate and eloquent in sharing his knowledge. His English is excellent, and he also speaks fluent Portuguese and Spanish. He was sensitive to our needs and he customized the tour to our preferences. He gave us 9 1/2 hours, over and above the promised 8. In addition he gave us valuable advice to help us plan the remainder of or vacation. Without reservation we both give him our highest recommendation. You will not be disappointed if you book a tour with Luis!

David is extremely knowledgeable and provided us with an interesting history of Lisbon. The pace of the tour was well calibrated and not rushed. We thoroughly enjoyed the tour!

Antonio took my wife and I on a walking tour of Lisbon. He personalized it perfectly so there was no overlap with what we had already seen. Although the weather was rainy, Antonio took us to see both highlights and hidden sites (make sure he takes you to the church that is plain outside and irnate inside...a true hidden gem!) and never wavered. He made sure we went inside different places as well as seeing key sites and statutes while explaining the history. We had a great time and learned a lot. Antonio did a great job!

Excellent walking tour. Very courteous and friendly guide. Knowledgeable. Would recommend highly. Great experience

We booked the highlights and hidden gems walking tour with Sofia. Sofia, was very warm, friendly, and fun. She was very knowledgable, but also adaptable to our questions and areas of interest. Sofia really helped us to know Lisbon through the people and history, not just the sights. It was a highlight of our holiday!

Amanda was a great guide and she was especially good with my 11 year old son in explaining things and generally just being a wonderful person.

Chico was an outstanding guide! Extremely knowledgeable and generous with his time! We learned so much about the beautiful city of Lisbon and its history. Thank you, Chico!

I cannot express strongly enough how much we enjoyed our tour with Antonio through With Locals. Beyond just introducing us to Lisbon, he gave us an insightful and introspective lesson on the culture, history and politics of Portugal and its people. He was intellectual and informed kept the five of us engaged for our entire tour. I would do it again all over again. Don't miss the opportunity to spend the day in Lisbon with Antonio.

We had a really nice walking tour with Angelo at the end of December! He was so good about finding hidden ways to navigate the hills so that we didn't have to walk uphill very much. This was good because my teenage daughter had an ear infection and did not feel great. We learned to much from Angelo who clearly loves Lisbon and the history of this beautiful city. At the end of the tour, he was able to secure a table for us at Maria Battita's which was PACKED. But within 10 minutes, we had a lovely table in the corner and had a wonderful lunch based on his recommendation. Thank you, Angelo, for a great tour and introducing us to your gorgeous city!

Our walking tour with David was great! David’s knowledge of Lisbon, Portugal, and frankly world history as it relates to Portugal, was off the charts. He provided us with some great tips relative to navigating the steep hills connecting the neighborhoods (wished we’d known that BEFORE we trudged one of the hills!) and some great tips overall. He even followed up with some great photos and links to restaurants post-tour. This is our first experience using Withlocals and we are very pleased. We will be back! Thank you.

We booked with Alphe. He built a custom tour for us including food tastings - it was fantastic! We feel like we have a new friend in this beautiful city.

Rita was awesome! Super knowledgeable, catered to our requests and was so gracious. Great communication form start to finish! Her genuine enthusiasm, pride, and passion for Portugal is infectious. Book with confidence! We really enjoyed the unfinished monetarist, and Nazare was a dream come true for me personally.

Our tour of Lisbon with Ricardo was absolutely perfect! From start to finish he had us entertained and engaged by his extensive knowledge of all things (location, history, culture) Lisbon/Portugal. He enthusiastically shared the ins and outs of the city and also pointed out so many hidden gems. He really took the time to get to know us and quickly was able to tailor the tour to our interests. Even before the tour started he willingly answered my questions about the local area - where to eat, what to see, where to stay. His suggestions were always on point and exactly what we were hoping for. We couldnt have asked for a better guide, and we would highly recommend Ricardo when visiting Lisbon. His tour was the highlight of our trip! We have used With Locals numerous times in many different cities and we can absolutely say Ricardo is the best guide around.

We met Jorge the 2nd day in Lisbon with hopes of learning more about the history and culture of the area. My husband and I were also hoping to learn a few tips and suggestions regarding getting around the city and non touristy places to eat. Jorge provided these AND MORE! His love for the city where he resides was evident as he brought the city alive in so many interesting ways. His knowledge of the history of Lisbon, centuries in the making, and his preparation for the tour showed us how much he wanted to us to walk away loving this city and appreciating its nuances. He went above and beyond our expectations! The time spent was invaluable to our new appreciation of the city.

We had a great morning with Amanda discovering what Lisbon has to offer. The rich history of this beautiful city was sprinkled with snippets of local knowledge. We ventured into tiny old shops and sampled the best pastas del natas. We can highly recommend lovely friendly Amanda.

My wife and I had a few days to walk the same streets of Lisbon, before meeting Jorge. After his tour, I've come to appreciate the deeper nuances of the city and its sights. The paintings and the churches were a highlight for us. The details he provided brought the monuments into focus and gave us a greater appreciation for this wonderful city. Jorge loves Lisbon and his presentation clearly shows that devotion.

Rita was extremely knowledgeable and friendly. The tour was a great start to my weekend in Lisbon and set me up well for further exploration. Rita is a great storyteller able to connect foreigners with Portuguese history and contemporary culture in a relatable way. I greatly enjoyed hearing about her personal connection with the carnation revolution.

Igor was a great choice of guide: Our 3 hour tour was packed with interesting information about the city. Igor is very pleasant and friendly . We will definitely look him up for a food tour when we return to Lisbon

Rita is an excellent guide. She is friendly and fun, with a huge personal knowledge of Lisbon. She gave us a local viewpoint of the city, which is so much more valuable than the usual tourist guided tours. We got an understanding of the local culture and history and learnt so much about Lisbon in just 3 hours. Would totally recommend Rita.

My husband and I had an absolutely wonderful time on our tour with Carlos. He was incredibly knowledgeable about the city and his passion for Lisbon’s culture - from the language, to history, to music, to the food and drink - shone through during the entire tour. Not only did he give us an extensive tour and and experiences while walking the city, he was very accessible after and shared further resources and recommendations. He was wonderful.

Carlos was an amazing tour guide! He showed us all the hotspots and told us everything about the interesting history of the city. A great start for our stay! He gave us some great tips for the rest of our trip as well. Thanks, Carlos! We had an amazing time.