Follow in the footsteps of Catholic pilgrims on a full-day sightseeing tour of Central Portugal from Lisbon. Transfer from the Portuguese capital, and drive through a vast variety of landscapes.

Your first stop will be the extraordinary town of Fátima, where an apparition of the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared before 3 children every month between May 1917 and October 1917. Now one of the major shrines of the Catholic faith, the complex contains the tombs of 2 of the young shepherd children, the crown of the Virgin in the Chapel of the Apparitions, and a section of the Berlin Wall (said to be a tribute to God’s part in the fall of communism) .

Next, go to the city of Batalha to see the 14th-century Batalha Monastery, built by King John I to thank the Virgin Mary for the Portuguese victory over the Spanish during the Battle of Aljubarrota in 1385. Most of the monument was completed by 1434, but there are Manueline influences added in the 15th and 16th centuries.

Enjoy lunch in a local restaurant (own expense) far from the tourist crowds, and get a taste for authentic Portuguese food. Continue to the fishing port of Nazaré for panoramic views of the Atlantic Ocean. Popular with surfers, Nazaré was the site of a 79-foot wave, surfed by Garrett McNamara in 2011.

Finally, tour the picturesque town of Óbidos, taken from the Muslims in 1148. Forming part of the dowry of numerous Portuguese queens, Óbidos maintains its medieval feel inside the old city walls, with cobblestone streets and flower-bedecked houses.