North Portugal Tourism Guide - Vila Nova de Gaia

Vila Nova de Gaia Tourist Information

There is a tourist information office on the waterfront in Gaia at Avenida Diogo Leite, Tel: 223 703 735. Open daily June-Sept 10am-7pm; Oct-May Mon-Fri 10am-6pm.

They have a list of all the wine companies that offer tours and a useful map of the port wine lodge locations.

Explanation of Port Wine Tasting & Tours

The port lodges and their distinctive names high up on the terracotta roofs in Vila Nova de Gaia give Porto city its atmospheric character. The lodges are where the barrels of port were brought from all over the Douro region on the barcelos rabelos - the traditional boats moored at the riverside - and stored ready for shipping across the world. Some of the port wine lodges are over 300 years old. Today nearly every company offer a tour of their cellars while imparting information on the production of port, the different types, vintages and history of port and the companies that sell it. What better way to gain an explanation of port wine!

Apparently port came about when somewhat inferior wine had brandy added to it to make it more palatable. These days it's a much more serious business. The grapes for making port are grown in a demarcated area 40,000 hectares in size along both banks of the River Douro and its tributaries. Grapes are harvested in September to October and then crushed. The juice ferments for a few days and is then stopped with the addition of aguardente - a Portuguese brandy-type spirit - at a time that later dictates the wine's sweetness. The wine then stands in casks in a cellar of the estate until the following March. It is then shipped downstream to the shippers' lodges at Gaia where it matures. The Portuguese often chill their port (probably something to do with the warm climate) and good accompaniments are some of the lovely Portuguese cheeses or chocolate for a very decadent experience.

Tours run on weekdays and Saturdays, but not Sundays. These are all pretty well organised some to military style precision! It can often be cheaper to buy the top quality ports from here, but some of the cheaper ones can be found cheaper in town.

One more place you may want to visit to find out about the history of port wine trade and its impact on the city is the Port Wine Museum (Museu do Vinho do Porto). It's free entry and is found in a former warehouse on Rua de Monchique west of Porto's Ribeira district. Rua de Monchique 45-52, tel: 351 22 2076300. Email: museuvinhoporto@cm-porto.pt. Open Tuesdays to Saturdays 10am-12.30pm and 2-5.30pm, Sundays 2-5.30pm. Closed on Mondays and holidays.

Gaia Tourist Attractions & Museums

The views all over Porto and Gaia are stunning and there is many a vantage point on the hillier areas. One of the first sights to greet you on the Gaia side of the Ponte de Dom Luis (bridge) is the Mosteiro da Serra do Pilar with its round church that sits atop the hill where the bridge meets the land. From the terrace here you can get some fantastic views of Porto. The monastery is a former 16th century monastery and the round church, a replica of the Church of Santa Maria Redonda in Rome, opens to the public on Saturday afternoons and Sunday mornings. The Duke of Wellington apparently made his headquarters here before chasing out the French in 1809 and later in the 20th century the monastery has been used as barracks. Today much of the monastery is owned by the military and there is a small military museum next door open between July and September.

Other attractions in Gaia itself are the Teixeira Lopes Museum, the stately home and gardens at Quinta Santo Inacio, Park and Zoo that make a fun day out for the children. The Teixeira Lopes Museum displays Lopes' artistic work who was at the centre of an important artistic and intellectual set that lived in Gaia at the end of the 19th century. His masterpiece is "A Inglesa" an enigmatic portrait of an Englishwoman. Along with the the Diogo de Macedo Gallery attached to the museum a wide range of art including paintings and sculpture are on display from a long list of Portuguese artists. The museum is on Rua Candido dos Reis uphill from the waterfront and is fee to enter. Open Tues-Sat 9am-12.30pm and 2-5.30pm.

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Casa-Museo Van Zeller

The Casa-Museo Van Zeller is the former summer home of the Van Zeller family, whose wealth arose from the port wine trade.

The family lived in the house for three centuries, through Napoleonic wars; today it is open as a museum including many everyday objects that give an inside view into how middle-class Portuguese families would have lived. Some family members are attributed with having helped the local population's health by introducing vaccines. Other family members are said to be quite the nature lovers having introduced many plants to Portugal such as camellias.

The gardens surrounding the house are a testament to the enthusiasm for gardening that the family had and include many ancient trees and unusual species of camellias that have attracted visitors from all over the world.

Santo Inacio Park and Zoo

The Santo Inacio Park and Zoo have a variety of animals including snow leopards, meercats, cranes and owls.

They have regular falconry and reptile displays during the week and at weekends - check their website for the latest times (the website is in Portuguese but opening hours for the zoo are under the "Informaces" title can be found at the link on the right).

There is a self-service restaurant and a bar/cafe overlooking a lake.

The zoo also supports the European Association of Zoos and Aquariums conservation "Campaign of Madagascar" which one of the events organised has been where drawing children have done visiting the zoo will be sent to schools in Madagascar to show that people are concerned about the loss of Madagascan species due to deforestation, hunting and pressures from the increasing human population. Madagascan children will be given the opportunity to send pictures back to Europe when an exhibition will be held.