My name is Filipe Alves and I was born in 1986 in the Portuguese town of Portalegre, before growing up in the capital, Lisbon.

After completing high school, I undertook a three-year bachelor’s degree in Tourism Information at the Estoril Higher Institute for Tourism and Hotel Studies, where I studied Portuguese and European History, Art, Culture, Social Studies, Politics, Decorative Arts and foreign languages. During my degree, I also completed internships at museums, tourist offices and hotels.

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In 2008 I successfully passed the National Exam for Tourist Guides, and have since been working as a freelance tourist guide throughout Portugal. The only exception occurred in 2010 when I worked for the company Douro Azul on board the MS Douro Cruiser as a German-speaking guide, and also worked as a tour leader for the Swiss Travel Agency Thurgau Travel. I subsequently spent four months in Augsburg in Germany, before returning to Portugal to earn a postgraduate degree in Tourism and Communication and to pursue my dream career as a tourist guide.

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As a professional guide since 2008, I have escorted hundreds of groups from all over the world on travel programmes lasting from 1 to 18 days, and I have also worked with numerous Portuguese and international travel agencies.

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From my studies and professional experience, I work in English, German, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese. Tourists have been very satisfied with my multilingual presence, pleasant nature, and interest and knowledge about the country and its people.