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The Douro region is internationally renowned for its wine making. In fact wine has been made here for nearly two thousand years! As a consequence, the landscape has very much been moulded by man over the centuries typically characterised by the vine growing terraced hillside and quintas (wine producing farm complexes). The Alto Douro region has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site as an outstanding example of a traditional European wine-producing region and aims to protect this cultural landscape.
Until the 19th century the River Douro was the only access route inland and was consequently an important trading route for imports and exports. It is a difficult river to navigate and the only boats that could navigate the various obstacles were the Barcos Rabelos, the traditional wooden boats seen at Vila Nova de Gaia. These were more often than not laden with the barrels of wine that would be taken up to Gaia for storage in the many wine lodges. Today these traditional boats are used for shorter cruises on the Douro and are still made for tourist traffic on the quay at the Ribeira in Porto. The longer cruises are serviced by modern cruisers taking visitors out to see the sights in comparative luxury.
Today the Douro region is most famous for its variety of ports which have only been the principal wine of the region since the 18th century. Other wines typical of this region is the fragrant sparkling Lamego wine - the best of the few Portuguese sparkling wines - made around the town of the same name and a variety of table wines ranging from claret-like reds and fresh, fruity white wines.
Porto is known as the City of Bridges and with six bridges spanning the River Douro within less than 10 kilometres of each other it's easy to see why. The bridges are: Ponte Maria Pia, Ponte Dom Lus I, Ponte da Arrbida, Ponte de Sao Joo, Ponte do Freixo and Ponte Infante Dom Henrique. Several companies offer hour long Pontes (Bridges) Cruises along the River Douro so you can get a close up view of some of them. These shorter cruises are often on the traditional wooden barcelos rabelos. Tour operators offering these tours include Douro Acima, Rota do Douro and Via D'Ouro details via the links to the right.
The six bridges have been constructed at different times from 1861 when construction of the two-tier Ponte Dom Luis was begun through to 2001 when the Ponte Infante Dom Henrique was commenced. The earlier bridges bear more than a passing resemblance to the style of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. The Ponte Dona Maria Pia was actually built by Eiffel in 1876-77 and Ponte Dom Luis was designed by Theophile Syrig who was an assistant to Eiffel. The Ponte Pensil suspension bridge (officially named Ponte Dona Maia II) is no longer standing and the Ponte Dom Luis now stands in its place. The only things that remain are two obelisks from which the suspension cables were secured. The Dom Luis Bridge is one of the most famous sights of Porto and is striking not only for its two-tier design, but for the spectacular high level walkway. The train also crosses the second tier. The Ponte da Arrabida completed in 1963 held the world record for the longest concrete single arch bridge. Today it carries the A1 motorway - the main motorway to the north of Portugal.
Other cruises along the Douro also leave from Vila Nova de Gaia. These are longer cruises of either one or two day trips, often with the emphasis on the wine production of the region. The two night trip incorporates overnight stays at country estates and manor houses alongside the River Douro; both trips give you a chance to visit the historic sights of the area and include themed dinners and wine tasting. The main routes are to and from Porto and ending/starting at either Peso de Regua or Pinhao. Cruises run from March through to November.
Journey routes are commonly: Porto-Barca de Alva-Porto; Porto-Pinhao-Porto; Porto-Regua-Porto; Regua-Pinhao-Regua; Regua-Porto. River cruise operators include Barcodouro, Rota do Douro, Via D'Ouro and Endouro Turismo - more details from their websites - links to the right.
The Port Wine Route has been identified through the Douro region as a tourist trail that takes you through the Douro countryside where you can stop off points at quintas to find out about the various stages in the production of port wine. Needless to say there are many quintas offering wine tasting tours along the route.
The Port Wine Route Members' Association produce a helpful website that can help you plan a journey with maps indicating where the quintas are throughout the Douro region, they can even help you organise tours.
The region around the River Tamega encompassing the towns Celorico de Basto, Mondim de Basto and Cabeceiras de Basto form the district known as Terras de Basto. This a fertile, rural area dotted with smallholdings and vineyards that produce the strong Vinho Verde (Green wine). These are semi-sparkling wines that are picked early and drunk young. You can see the vines as you travel around the area that are kept clear of the ground by draping the vines on trees or trellises around the fields. The red is preferred by the Portuguese while the whites are more frequently exported. You can follow the Rota Vinho Verde - the Green Wine Route either independently or through organised trips throughout the Vinho Verde region that stretches from south of Porto north to the Spanish border. The Vinho Verde website (links right) is a useful source of information for finding out more about the wine, the region and for planning a route.
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