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Our guide, Tiago, was amazing!! He shared so much knowledge and history of Portugal that informed each of our food stops. Each neighborhood brought more surprises and tasty delights. 
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Rebecca
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<div class="label label--neutral-gray-068" content="2024-01-25 19:37:09 UTC" itemprop="datePublished">
<span class="sr-only">Reviewed on:</span>
Jan 25, 2024
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Tiago is friendly and witty, and a pleasure to be with. Our tour that day encompassed the entire Royal Building of Mafra (the Palace, Basilica, Convent and Cerco Garden). It is a fantastic venue and a UNESCO World Heritage site. The complex was built in the first half of the 18th century under King John V, a quintessential absolutist monarch who ruled over Portugal in a period when the country’s wealth had reached almost unimaginable levels due to the gold and diamonds brought from Brazil. More than a complex of buildings, it is a true statement by the Portuguese monarchy of its power and greatness. Inspired by the opulence of Rome, King John V commissioned an entire baroque estate comprising a multifunctional palace, a formal garden and a hunting park (Tapada). It is an absolute delight for anyone who loves Italian Baroque and is considered one of the most relevant sites of Italian Baroque outside Italy. The Basilica is decorated with almost 60 statues by the most renowned Roman and Florentine sculptors and has a unique ensemble of six historic organs designed and built to play simultaneously. Besides taking me to the places that are usually open to the public, Tiago managed to arrange for us to visit the library, one of the highlights of Mafra’s Palace, containing 36,000 volumes from the 15th to the 19th centuries, and comprising works of great cultural and scientific interest, and even some “banned books” (books considered heretical or contrary to morality by the Catholic Church listed in the Index Librorum Prohibitorum). This library is deemed one of the most beautiful libraries in the world. What is more, Tiago got us into the sacristy of the Basilica, which is usually closed to the public. In both the library and the sacristy, we were welcomed by very kind and highly qualified professionals who gave us rich explanations about those locations and told us delightful stories that made our visit all the more entertaining. After we left the Royal Building of Mafra, we still had time to visit other places of interest in the city, such as the Interpretation Center of the Defensive Lines (lines of forts and other military defenses built by British and Portuguese from 1810 to 1812 to defend Lisbon against Napoleon’s army during the Peninsular War), the Church of Saint Andrew and the Palace of the Marquis of Ponte de Lima. Tiago was able to contextualize the Royal Building of Mafra within its historical period and to point out the historical personages related to it. Also noteworthy is the fact that despite Tiago&#39;s vast knowledge, not once did he adopt a professorial posture, which put me at ease and made me very comfortable to share my ideas and impressions. He was always more than willing to answer my questions and used each of those moments as springboards to add further points and curiosities. Furthermore, he demonstrated a keen skill to accommodate some unforeseen events that popped up during the tour. Needless to say, this was yet another unforgettable tour with Tiago!
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Henry
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<div class="label label--neutral-gray-068" content="2024-01-25 09:22:59 UTC" itemprop="datePublished">
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Jan 25, 2024
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Based on my particular interests and preferences, Tiago drew up such a careful itinerary with many of Lisbon’s hidden gems, which allowed us to visit as many places as possible in the most efficient way in the time we had. We drove through fascinating places, which I would hardly have had a chance to learn about had it not been for Tiago. And, most of all, these are places only a local would know. Furthermore, he managed to arrange a very exclusive visit to the Palácio da Independência (Palace of Independence), where one of the most relevant incidents in Portuguese history took place: the conspiracy to restore Portugal’s independence from Spain in 1640 (we were even able to walk the same path the conspirators took at the time). The tour as a whole allowed me to get to know Lisbon and its daily life much better, and see places which are monuments to Lisbon’s history, as well as places that show how the city is evolving now. 

Throughout our tour, Tiago demonstrated vast knowledge of the many subjects that arose, ranging from Portuguese history to tiles manufacturing processes (one of Tiago’s passions). What is also noteworthy is his ability to connect the diverse topics covered in the tours and to correlate what we saw in the different sites we visited. Also commendable is Tiago’s eagerness to share his knowledge and his availability to answer my — sometimes tough — questions and to delve deeper into the points I was most interested in. All these skills combined allowed him to convey a huge amount of information in a light and entertaining way. Finally, he provided me with several recommendations on further readings and subjects to explore, not to mention the many ideas we came up with for future trips.

Overall, this was a fun experience – one that I am looking forward to repeating.
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Henry
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<div class="label label--neutral-gray-068" content="2024-01-23 17:52:07 UTC" itemprop="datePublished">
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Jan 23, 2024
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