Our Directors
Our Tour leaders
Flexibility and adapting to the differing needs and requirements of each group member come naturally to Américo. This is coupled with many years of experience in leading cultural tourism parties and providing training in the fields of art and contemporary culture. This is all complemented by his favourite themes: nature, gastronomy and wines.
Spiritual tourism in conjunction with religious heritage are the beginning of André’s specialist fields that have seen him lead tours dedicated to this field all around the world. Eco-tourism and in particular gastronomy and wine are other specialist interests. He ensures local cultural visits take on a special dimension with visits to markets where he provides direct contact with traders. And to bring about the closest possible awareness of local identities, he especially enjoys putting on home-hosted lunches.
Cristina is a decorative arts specialist – Portuguese tiles and furniture, art from the era of the Discoveries as well as archaeology. She takes a particular interest not only in the exotic influences on Portuguese collections and their reflection in daily life but also in the evolution of tiling as a means of decorating both the interior and exterior of buildings. Research work carried out on behalf of various national museums and almost twenty years of experience as a guide for official state visits ensure Cristina is the ideal Tour Leader for all of our Lisbon programs.
Filipa has a great passion for her country, its culture and traditions and is always able to convey this with special enthusiasm to international visitors. She is Episode Tour Leader for French and English speaking groups to both cities and rural destinations.
Helena L. is a specialist in cultural tourism focusing particularly on art, architecture and museums. With strong communication skills, she loves to delve deep into history to tell the enchanting stories associated with the place of visit.
Helena R. defines herself as a highly extroverted person and simply loves working as a tour guide. Despite having covered many countries throughout her 20 years of experience as a tour guide, her preference is showing Portugal off to its visitors highlighting how such a small country can be so diversified across areas such as art and gastronomy.
Ilídia is an anthropologist specialising in human ecology. Her thorough grounding in the realities of Portugal ensures she is able to make an enriching contribution towards any Episode program tour.
Jorge is our leading specialist on cultural and nature tourism. With twenty years of experience in leading small groups, he has built up extensive knowledge on everything that Portugal has to offer. He is our Tour Leader for his home region of the Alentejo and our specialist for visits to historic gardens, nature tourism and botanical themed itineraries, particularly on the island of Madeira.
Just what does opera have to do with tourism? Jorge believes that his position as an actor with the São Carlos Theatre Company provides him with the ideal background and profile for Tour Leader of small groups. With wide ranging interests and a diverse cultural background ranging across art, cinema, theatre and music, he is the ideal Tour Leader for a number of Episode programs.
Leonor has gained a broad theoretical background across all aspects of tourism in line with her many years of experience accompanying groups both in Portugal and internationally. Her area of specialist knowledge is human geography providing a very special perspective on themes related to the urban landscapes encountered on the tours she leads.
With dual French and Portuguese nationality, Maria Teresa began her career as a specialist in Germanic languages and literature having since gained 30 years of cultural tourism experience as both a guide and lecturer specialising in study visits to national heritage sites. This impressive background is complemented by continual training in the field of art resulting in Teresa standing out as our most experienced Tour Leader able to lead any Episode program.
Nazaré is an art historian who has trained at and worked for several leading Portuguese museums. Throughout many years, she has accompanied specific interest visits to Portugal, especially in the fields of architecture and art history, and is a specialist on the city of Lisbon.
“Twenty years covering Portugal from top to bottom” leading cultural tourism groups have endowed Maria de Jesus with the highest level of expertise in this field.
Paulo, with his extensive education and experience in the fields of history of art and Portuguese culture, heads specific interest tours on subjects ranging from art to wines and is a key Tour Leader for German speaking groups.
Sandra has extensive experience both in programs focusing on art and architecture and nature tours connected to local culture. This comes in addition to specialist knowledge on the history of tiles, art from the Portuguese era of Discoveries and the Jewish legacy in Portugal.
Teresa, while one of the younger Episode guides, has already gained a diverse range of experience in the tourism sector in which she particularly appreciates the opportunity to interact with people. Born into a family of wine producers in the north of Portugal, she retains a living interest in the world of wine and very strong ties with the Douro region. She is our Tour Leader for the Art & Wine, Oporto and the North of Portugal programs.
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Raffaella D’Intino, born in Italy, holds a degree in Modern Languages and Literature from the University of Venice and a post-graduate degree in Cultural Management from Lisbon’s ISCTE / INDEG University. She has also written a number of books and articles on the Peregrinação de Fernão Mendes Pinto and on Portuguese travel literature. In Lisbon since 1989, she has been involved in many landmark events such as Lisbon, European Capital of Culture and Expo 98. Having always had the taste for travelling, and over the course of experiences worldwide, she realised the concept of cultural tours combined with personal enrichment. Setting up the Episode – Travel with Art project took place spontaneously emerging out of both this idea and her genuine interest in Portuguese culture. |
| Ana Maria Henriques, born in Lisbon, has a degree in Applied Mathematics and Computing from UNICAMP, Brazil and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Cape Town. She has been a consultant at The Boston Consulting Group engaged in a range of strategic implementation projects across different sectors of activities. Previously, as a founding partner in Methodus – an information systems development company operating in the Portuguese market, she acquired the knowledge and experience to connect technology to corporate strategy as the operating tool to delivery the former. Her multicultural experience – having lived in Angola, Brazil, South Africa and travelled extensively across the African, American and European continents – backed by a career closely linked to management and the complexity of change were fundamental to setting up the Episode – Travel with Art project. |
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Our Tour leaders
Flexibility and adapting to the differing needs and requirements of each group member come naturally to Américo. This is coupled with many years of experience in leading cultural tourism parties and providing training in the fields of art and contemporary culture. This is all complemented by his favourite themes: nature, gastronomy and wines.
Spiritual tourism in conjunction with religious heritage are the beginning of André’s specialist fields that have seen him lead tours dedicated to this field all around the world. Eco-tourism and in particular gastronomy and wine are other specialist interests. He ensures local cultural visits take on a special dimension with visits to markets where he provides direct contact with traders. And to bring about the closest possible awareness of local identities, he especially enjoys putting on home-hosted lunches.
Cristina is a decorative arts specialist – Portuguese tiles and furniture, art from the era of the Discoveries as well as archaeology. She takes a particular interest not only in the exotic influences on Portuguese collections and their reflection in daily life but also in the evolution of tiling as a means of decorating both the interior and exterior of buildings. Research work carried out on behalf of various national museums and almost twenty years of experience as a guide for official state visits ensure Cristina is the ideal Tour Leader for all of our Lisbon programs.
Filipa has a great passion for her country, its culture and traditions and is always able to convey this with special enthusiasm to international visitors. She is Episode Tour Leader for French and English speaking groups to both cities and rural destinations.
Helena L. is a specialist in cultural tourism focusing particularly on art, architecture and museums. With strong communication skills, she loves to delve deep into history to tell the enchanting stories associated with the place of visit.
Helena R. defines herself as a highly extroverted person and simply loves working as a tour guide. Despite having covered many countries throughout her 20 years of experience as a tour guide, her preference is showing Portugal off to its visitors highlighting how such a small country can be so diversified across areas such as art and gastronomy.
Ilídia is an anthropologist specialising in human ecology. Her thorough grounding in the realities of Portugal ensures she is able to make an enriching contribution towards any Episode program tour.
Jorge is our leading specialist on cultural and nature tourism. With twenty years of experience in leading small groups, he has built up extensive knowledge on everything that Portugal has to offer. He is our Tour Leader for his home region of the Alentejo and our specialist for visits to historic gardens, nature tourism and botanical themed itineraries, particularly on the island of Madeira.
Just what does opera have to do with tourism? Jorge believes that his position as an actor with the São Carlos Theatre Company provides him with the ideal background and profile for Tour Leader of small groups. With wide ranging interests and a diverse cultural background ranging across art, cinema, theatre and music, he is the ideal Tour Leader for a number of Episode programs.
Leonor has gained a broad theoretical background across all aspects of tourism in line with her many years of experience accompanying groups both in Portugal and internationally. Her area of specialist knowledge is human geography providing a very special perspective on themes related to the urban landscapes encountered on the tours she leads.
With dual French and Portuguese nationality, Maria Teresa began her career as a specialist in Germanic languages and literature having since gained 30 years of cultural tourism experience as both a guide and lecturer specialising in study visits to national heritage sites. This impressive background is complemented by continual training in the field of art resulting in Teresa standing out as our most experienced Tour Leader able to lead any Episode program.
Nazaré is an art historian who has trained at and worked for several leading Portuguese museums. Throughout many years, she has accompanied specific interest visits to Portugal, especially in the fields of architecture and art history, and is a specialist on the city of Lisbon.
“Twenty years covering Portugal from top to bottom” leading cultural tourism groups have endowed Maria de Jesus with the highest level of expertise in this field.
Paulo, with his extensive education and experience in the fields of history of art and Portuguese culture, heads specific interest tours on subjects ranging from art to wines and is a key Tour Leader for German speaking groups.
Sandra has extensive experience both in programs focusing on art and architecture and nature tours connected to local culture. This comes in addition to specialist knowledge on the history of tiles, art from the Portuguese era of Discoveries and the Jewish legacy in Portugal.
Teresa, while one of the younger Episode guides, has already gained a diverse range of experience in the tourism sector in which she particularly appreciates the opportunity to interact with people. Born into a family of wine producers in the north of Portugal, she retains a living interest in the world of wine and very strong ties with the Douro region. She is our Tour Leader for the Art & Wine, Oporto and the North of Portugal programs.
Highlights
As spring arrives, the vines of the Alentejo begin to blossom and the villages and wine cellars of the São Mamede Route are waiting to share their stories with you…
Discover the charm of an Algarve away from the crowds – and be enchanted by the colours of nature and the echoes of an ancient past with our Mediterranean story.
Lisbon – a stunning city of light, of hills, of vivid history and a dazzling river. Our Around Lisbon Around Lisbon tour is the way to discover the unique character of this beautiful city and its rich hinterland…
Discover the charm of an Algarve away from the crowds – and be enchanted by the colours of nature and the echoes of an ancient past with our Mediterranean story.
Lisbon – a stunning city of light, of hills, of vivid history and a dazzling river. Our Around Lisbon Around Lisbon tour is the way to discover the unique character of this beautiful city and its rich hinterland…
