Gulbenkian Museum | a Lisbon must-see

On the advice of one of my clients, we visited the Gulbenkian Museum today during our tour of Lisbon. Clearly one of the most outstanding museums I have ever visited, I cannot recommend this highly enough.

Calouste Gulbenkian made his fortune in the petroleum industry, playing a critical role in forming some of the world's most prominent oil companies. Retaining a 5% interest in the companies he put together (he was known as Mr. 5%), he became an incredibly wealthy individual. Spending a lifetime assembling an art collection of over 6,000 pieces, Gulbenkian bequeathed his art to his nation, Portugal, upon his death. One thousand works are in the museum's permanent collection.

While the scope of the Gulbenkian's art collection rivals that of the Louvre, the scale is ever so much more manageable. You can get an overview of the entire museum in just an hour, although longer visits would be well worthwhile. Instead of glazing over the thousands of relics from Egypt you might find at the Louvre or British Museum, visitors can view a few dozen exquisite pieces on display. Persian carpets, Mesopotamian and Greco-Roman artifacts, far eastern art pieces, illuminated manuscripts, Lalique creations, and a representative collection of 15th - 19th century western paintings make for a stunning experience.

Gulbenkian Museum (search here on Google)

copyright (c) 2009 by David J. Ourisman. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.
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Portugal and Spain | an October trip

I have never been to Spain or Portugal, and I am very much looking forward to my upcoming trip this October. An official francophile, I've been countless times to France, even to the Basque region in the southwest of the country, just a skip over the Pyrenees to Spain, but this is my chance to visit the Iberian Peninsula.

I'll be posting trip reports, complete with photographs, on Travel Horizons, so if you haven't subscribed, just click here for an RSS feed or click here to be notified by email when a new posting has been made. I'll keep you posted on my discoveries in Portugal and Spain.

I used a Virtuoso on-site in Spain, Valesa Cultural Services, to put together my trip. If you've never experienced the pleasure of a completely planned trip, you're missing one of the true pleasures of life. It is sheer luxury to just relax and enjoy your vacation - knowing that local experts will take care of all the details. Small example: when you're catching a flight the next morning, your guide will simply tell you what time you'll be picked up in the lobby of the hotel; you don't need to figure it out for yourself... It's a small thing, but it's just a taste of the difference an on-site can make.


Portugal and Spain (search here on Google)

copyright (c) 2009 by David J. Ourisman. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.
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guaranteed US Dollar rates in Europe

Upscale travelers look forward to staying in five star hotels with beautifully landscaped lawns, ornate lobbies, exquisitely furnished guestrooms, and incomparable service. They also expect to pay a small fortune to enjoy such luxury, especially with the sad state of the weak US Dollar.

So this offer is quite a value. Spend five nights at two or more of five Orient-Express hotels, and enjoy a flat rate of only $480 per night with daily buffet breakfast for two included. This rate is guaranteed in US Dollars (and is equivalent to about 322€).

1. Reid's Palace, Madeira (pictured above) is high on my wish list of places to stay. The island of Madeira is in the Atlantic Ocean, some 535 miles from Lisbon. It was discovered by Portuguese sailors in the early 15th century and, with a pleasant year-round climate, is a popular tourist destination for European travelers. Reid's Palace is a beautiful and gracious resort located on 10 acres of botanical gardens on a cliff top overlooking the waters of the Atlantic.

2. The Hotel Ritz, Madrid is one of the grand old hotels of Europe. It is located right across the street from the Prado Museum, one of the must-see attractions of Madrid. Convenient to museums, galleries, and shopping, and offering an elegant Afternoon Tea service, the Ritz is a storied and elegant hotel in the heart of Madrid.

3. Hôtel de la Cité, Carcassonne. Find yourself in a fairytale... reads the headline on the hotel's brochure. Carcassonne is an ancient walled village set in the wine country of Southwest France. Part of a medieval citadel, the Hôtel de la Cité has magnificent gardens on property and offers you the opportunity to make your home for a few days in this part of French history.

4. La Residencia, Mallorca is located on an idyllic island in the Mediterranean Sea. With hot summers and mild winters, La Residencia is a luxury hotel and spa on the northwest coast of the island, set in the midst of a grove of olive and citrus trees. The hotel was created from two 16th and 17th century manor houses and offers spectacular views of the sea.

5. Lapa Palace, Lisbon is set on a hilltop with beautiful gardens in the center of Lisbon, overlooking the river and the city itself. Originally built as a private residence, Lapa Palace offers an oasis in the midst of a busy city.

I would especially recommend this package to travelers planning to visit Spain + Portugal, or Portugal + Madeira this year. Conditions apply, but this is an incomparable value at several of the world's finest five star hotels.

five star hotels (search here on Google)


copyright (c) 2008 by David J. Ourisman. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.
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