LONELY PLANET'S OFFICIAL ITINERARY INFORMATION
Itinerary: A Viticultural Voyage
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Oenophiles have much to look forward to on a leisurely journey through the north, Portugal’s premier wine-growing region. How quickly you cover this 360km route depends on how much imbibing you plan to do along the way. You can cover the distance in just over a week, but you may want to linger at some of the delightful guesthouses and rural manors along the way.
Any self-respecting port wine tour will likely begin and end in Porto at the mouth of the Rio Douro, the heart of the world’s best port wine region. Across the river from the city is Vila Nova de Gaia. Packed with port wine lodges, this is an excellent place to sample the goods, and with fine views to the city besides.
After preliminary tastes, it’s time to journey up the wine’s ancient highway, on a river cruise up the Douro valley to Peso da Régua and beyond to the very heart of vineyard country, the tiny village of Pinhão. Asking locally will give you any number of different vineyards and adegas (wine cellars) to visit.
While in the vicinity, don’t miss Lamego, surrounded by beautiful architecture and home to one of Portugal’s few sparkling wines. You could also stop in Vila Real, erstwhile home of its eponymous rosé wine.
Returning along the Douro, catch the train back as far as Livração and change to the Linha da Tâmega narrow-gauge train up to the historic town of Amarante. From here, it’s an easy hop back to Porto to complete your crash course in port wines back in Vila Nova de Gaia.
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