Spain, Portugal & Morocco 5-Star Cruise

Lisbon is Portugal’s vibrant, colorful capital city, and the country’s cultural and commercial heart. There’s a lot to do in Lisbon, and lots of options for all tastes, at all times of year. Lisbon is famous for its cultural heritage, Baroque churches, Fado shows, delicious seafood, and brilliantly preserved architecture in the city’s many walkable neighborhoods. While there, ride the iconic Tram 28 from the city center up to Bairro Alto. Tour the Torre de Belem, a fortified tower built in the 16th century that watches over the city from the mouth of the River Tagus.

As you arrive in Funchal on a cruise, your ship will cast anchor in a bay protected by mountains rising straight up behind the port. The name, Funchal, derives from that of the fennel plant, the funcho still used today in the traditional sweets known as rebuçados de funcho, that one can find anywhere on the island of Madeira.

You can visit the town centre, to visit historic churches, from the A Sé Cathedral, with its inlaid ceiling, to the majestic Church of the Incarnation, to the church of Carmo without a vault.

Another option will take you up to the village of Monte, from where one can admire a spectacular view of the Funchal bay. You can visit its 18th century church and the tomb of the last Austrian emperor, Charles I, and stroll around the magnificent botanic gardens. But if you like heights, there’s nothing more impressive than the Cabo Girão and its 589 metre tall cliffs, amongst the highest in the world, at the foot of which lie the cultivated lands known as Fajãs do Cabo Girão.

If you’re looking for an equipped beach during your cruise, another excursion will take you to Machico. Founded in the 15th century, it hosts the oldest religious building on the island, the Capela dos Milagres, and the fortresses of São João Baptista and Nossa Senhora do Amparo built in the beginning of the 16th century.

The more lively tourist attraction is instead in Calheta, on the south-west coast. Splendid yachts cruising across the Atlantic are moored in the port and if you want to go for a swim there are two beautiful beaches of golden sand; in spite of the modern structures Calheta dates back to the mid-15th century. This is where they make the “Aguardente”, the best white rhum, and fundamental ingredient of Madeira’s typical drink, the “Poncha” .

Tangier’s strategic location has made it a highly sought-after locale since ancient times. The layout within Tangier’s Medina, like most throughout Morocco, was never planned in advance. As the need arose, a labyrinth of streets and small squares emerged that eventually became the various quarters there today.

The Grand Socco offers the most straight forward approach to the Medina, a gentle open space waiting to be value on an excursion. The arch at the northern corner of the square opens onto Rue d’Italie, which becomes Rue de la Kasbah, the northern entrance to the kasbah quarter. Through an opening on the right-hand side of the square is Rue es Siaghin, off which are most of the souks and at the end of which is the Petit Socco, the Medina’s main square.

Palma is a stunner. Rising in honey-coloured stone from the broad waters of the Badia de Palma, this enduring city dates back to the 13th-century Christian reconquest of the island, and to the Moors, Romans and Talayotic people before that. A richly studded diadem of historical sites, Palma also shelters a seemingly endless array of galleries, restaurants, craft studios and bars – it’s without doubt Mallorca’s greatest treasure. Wander in any direction from the awe-inspiring Gothic Catedral at its geographic and historical heart and you’ll find bent medieval streets lined with aristocratic townhouses, looming baroque churches, teeming public squares, vibrant bohemian neighbourhoods and markets overflowing with all the bounty of the island. You could spend weeks in this city alone, and still uncover fresh joys every day.

Following your departure from the Xcel, you will be transferred to the airport to catch your flight home to Dublin.