Lunch is on your own (or optional for an additional 18€).
Tour by tourist bus;
Cherry tasting in the orchard, including a 2 kg box of cherries;
Travel insurance.
FUNDÃO CHERRY
To speak of Fundão is, inevitably, to speak of cherries. This city and municipality, located in Cova da Beira (between the Serra da Estrela and Serra da Gardunha mountain ranges), holds the informal title of "Cherry Capital" in Portugal, being responsible for more than half of the national production of this fruit.
The cherry has ceased to be merely an agricultural fruit and has become the cultural, gastronomic, and tourist identity of the region. In June, the focus shifts to the harvest, attracting visitors to the famous Fundão Cherry Festival (in Alcongosta) and to the orchard for picking.
The "Fundão Cherry" brand is so well-established that the fruit now serves as the basis for the creation of dozens of innovative products, from traditional cherry pastries and liqueurs to gin, craft beer, chocolates, and even cosmetic products.
Castelo Novo
Nestled on one of the slopes of the Serra da Gardunha mountain range, Castelo Novo is one of Portugal's 12 Historical Villages. It's a place where time seems to have slowed down, characterized by a labyrinth of winding streets lined with imposing manor houses and traditional homes, all built of grey granite that blends into the rocky mountain landscape.
Casa da Cereja (Alcongosta Cherry Museum)
Located in the picturesque mountain village of Alcongosta—the true epicenter of the orchards and the site of the Cherry Festival—this museum space (officially named Casa da Cereja) was born from the rehabilitation and conversion of the old local Primary School. Casa da Cereja is a modern, dynamic, and interactive museum space that celebrates the identity of the "red gold" of the Gardunha. This cultural center invites visitors on an immersive and sensory journey through the life cycle of the cherry tree, from the visual spectacle of the white blossom in spring to traditional and modern harvesting techniques. It is the ideal place to understand how passion, science, and the unique microclimate of Cova da Beira have come together to transform Fundão Cherry into a brand of excellence recognized beyond borders.
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