The Douro Valley is one of my favourite places to visit in Portugal it is a must for wine lovers. Did you know? Alternatively, you can alsobook a stunning Douro river cruisethat stops at vineyards. Road Trip Portugal: The Perfect 3-week Itinerary, Obidos: One of Portugals Most Beautiful Villages, 14 Best Things To Do in Lisbon (3-Day Guide), https://www.saltinourhair.com/portugal/douro-valley-portugal/. With unrivalled views of the river Tua and a particular emphasis on providing local flavours, Calca Curta is simply a must-visit. Wrong. GUIDE TO THE DOURO VALLEY WINE REGION OF PORTUGAL - Flipboard David Dean specializes in tech and travel writing and has covered technology and Portugal (his home base) for TripSavvy since 2014. Be sure to wear a hat and apply plenty of sunscreen during the warmer months, and take some water with you, since youll be sure to work up a sweat with all that paddling! The Douro is not just its viewpoints, and the car is still an excellent means to discover the river and the surrounding areas. [8] The meaning of this element is however unknown. 50 helpful votes. The "Alto Douro" or High Douro has been growing wine grapes for over 2,000 years since when occupied by the Romans. Get our travel tips Delivered to your inbox. For a luxurious and romantic lunch out with wine, you can reserve their picnic package on the shaded terrace, overlooking the vineyards and Douro river. Douro Valley Wine Tasting Tour, Lunch, River Cruise Option 2023 - Viator Portugal's Douro Valley Should Be Your Next Wine Trip This makes it an easy one to access either by walking, taxi or via your own car. You can admire rock art from 30,000 years ago at this open-air museum and archaeological park. Unlike the Rhine, Loire, and many of Europe's great rivers, the Douro was never a strategic military location. On the south bank, between Vila Nova de Foz Coa and the Douro, past. The Ultimate Day Trip to Douro Valley, Portugal (From Porto) Porto is the main hub city in northern Portugal. Here are all your hotel options in Duoro Valley. Premium Private Douro Tour: 3 Wineries with Tastings & Lunch. The village contains several schist houses and even a chapel at Picote de Sao Domingo from the Iron Age. By now, you may have seen the region by car and boat, but theres a certain type of luxury that comes with this train ride. The rewilding scheme visited by Phoebe Smith is creating a wildlife corridor along the Ca River valley, linking it with the Douro valley (pictured). The N222 road hugs the south bank of the river. 1 - So Leonardo da GalafuraThe So Leonardo da Galafura viewpoint is close to Rgua. The convention superseded an agreement on the Douro, signed in 1927, that was expanded in 1964 and 1968 to include tributaries. Ready to explore the Douro Valley? Coach Rede Expressoswww.rede-expressos.pt, Airport: Francisco S Carneiro Airport (Porto), With the River Lima in the background, one of the countrys biggest horse (), O mercado Gourmet da Ladra realiza-se no interior do mais antigo mercado (). The Douro Valley Quinta da Roda does not just offer Port wine tastings, but also, visits to the vineyards, picnics, workshops, and more. Read: The ultimate city trip to Porto, Portugal. Porto, Northern Portugal. Want to advertise on Portugal.com? The best grapes are crushed by foot in a large vat, rather than being put through machines, and after a rigorous sterilization process, you can help out. Note that the train only goes to Pocinho, about 8km from Foz Coa. Navigation was challenging and risky, therabeloboat being the only vessel capable of crossing the natural obstacles. Beginning at the headwaters, the first five dams are in Spain: Cuerda del Pozo, Los Rbanos, San Jos, Villalcampo and Castro Dams. Museu do Douro(website is in Portuguese) is a museum located in Peso da Rgua dedicated to promoting the heritage of the Douro Valley and Port wine. In its Spanish section, the Douro crosses the great Castilian meseta and meanders through five provinces of the autonomous community of Castile and Len: Soria, Burgos, Valladolid, Zamora, and Salamanca, passing through the towns of Soria, Almazn, Aranda de Duero, Tordesillas, and Zamora. You can combine the ride on the historic train with a return trip from anywhere in the country. Douro Valley Tour with Visit to two Vineyards, River Cruise and Lunch at Winery. Brand X Pictures / Photodisc / Getty Images. The tour offers spectacular views over the Douro. The road to Vila Nova Foz Coa from Regua is somewhat hairy, winding erratically up and down mountains. Receive the latest news, travel information, stories, offers and more! A few tour companies include a vineyard tour as part of their day trips, but be sure to confirm the details if this is something you want to do. The wine tasting here lasts around 90 minutes where you get to taste 5 of their wines, visit the port wine cellars, and more for 29 per person. Douro Valley 3 Wine Experiences with Traditional Lunch and Optional Boat Cruise. per adult (price varies by group size) LIKELY TO SELL OUT*. Canada do Inferno is just 6.2 miles from the main centre and features 46 distinct carvings of Palaeolithic figures in the rockface. While its most famous for the port and vinho verde (green wine) produced there, tastings, vineyard tours, and being part of the harvest are just a few of many reasons to spend time there. One of Douro Valleys main products is the Port wine, but there are plenty of other local wines to learn about too. For those who dont have much time in Porto, a single day trip will allow you a brief, but enjoyable experience of the Douro Valley. Do you have any question? Follow unpaved roads and footpaths as you . Douro Valley Travel Guide: Things To Do in Douro Start planning your Portugal, Spain & the Douro River Valley (2023) trip with all the sailing dates, prices by category and current offers on one page. This space is dedicated to representing and preserving the Douro Valley wine region. The Alto (upper) Douro, also known as the Douro Vinhateiro is dominated by big placards on the hillsides bearing the names of famous Port producers such as Cockburns, Taylors and Sandeman. Quinta das Carvalhas is probably the largest and one of the most emblematic wineries in the Douro Valley. Beware, visiting the Douro Valley is quite expensive by Portuguese standards, but it is still a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, known for the highest quality cuisine and wines. The tour can include lunch in a quinta in the Douro and accommodates up to 6 passengers. With the Douro River cutting through the landscape and eagles circling overhead, its easy to see why this is such a breathtaking lookout spot. The final option is to join an organized tour from Porto, which includes return transport. Douro Wine - Portugal.com You are free: to share - to copy, distribute and transmit the work; to remix - to adapt the work; on Facebook. At 557 miles / 897 kilometres the River Douro is the third-longest river on the Iberian Peninsula, rising in north-central Spain, forms part of the border between Spain and Portugal, then runs westward across northern Portugal all the way to the Atlantic coast, where it empties into the Atlantic at Douro da Foz. But along the way you can admire breathtaking landscapes over the river and visit vineyards, towns and villages until you reach Miranda do Douro, the point at which the river enters Portugal.Start at Vila Nova de Gaia with a visit to the lodges where Port wine is aged. But first, you must be prepared for the constant ups and downs on narrow, winding lanes. One of the tours weve done before and we recommend is Douro Valley Tour: Wine Tasting, Cruise & Lunch in Vineyard. We loved discovering the best Douro Valley wineries, and we have five fantastic vineyards to share with you. Whether youre visiting for a few hours or a week, here are a dozen of the top things to do when youre in the Douro Valley. Vila Nova Foz Coa is the closest town to twenty two thousand year old rock paintings discovered during the construction of a dam and now protected as another UNESCO World Heritage Site. Book this 4 hour guided hiking trail of 7 kilometers where you will get to discover the vineyards, olive groves, and fruit trees of the region. per adult (price varies by group size) 2023. It spans the country with dozens of bridges and tunnels. Before the building of the dams wine used to be transported downriver in flat-bottomed boats called rabelos. See options Full view All photos (1,046) Join Us for This Webinar on the Portugal Golden Visa Changes 2022! Our favorite village is Provesende, the nearest wine village to Pinhao which is helpful if you are traveling by train. A picturesque steam train runs along the Linha do Douro on Saturdays from May to October. Stretched along the Douro river for 75 miles where it forms the border with Spain, the deep ravines of the Parque Natural do Douro Internacional are very much a forgotten part of the country. The Douro region is famed for its terraced vineyards, with the grapes grown here used to produce Port wine. The Douro Valley is the picturesque region surrounding the mighty Rio Douro as it meanders across northern Portugal. There are partnerships with hotels and car parks for the users of the historic train. The warm summers, and countless hours of sunlight, also make it perfect for growing grapes and producing wine. Many of the vineyards let visitors participate in the harvest, but be warned, it can be hot, back-breaking work! It's shut on December 25, January 1, and May 1. Some experiences available include wine and food tasting, a day in the harvest and the unique opportunity to be a winemaker for a day. We also recommend trying out local restaurants and trying the park delicacies such as meatballs and roasted veal. Top Tip: Are you looking for a place to stay in Douro Valley? The possible origin is the hydronymic root *dur-, which is Pre-Indo-European or Pre-Celtic. . It is located close to the border of Spain. Better yet, the Douro Valley is only a short 1 hr 15-minute drive from Porto. This is an area of olives and almonds, rather than grapes, which means that in early Spring the terraces are bursting with white and pink flowers. The two options offer a complementary approach. What is Portugal in Winter Really Like? The Douro is the highest-flow river on the Iberian Peninsula, running for 897km (557mi) from the Spanish town of Duruelo de la Sierra to Porto, Portugal's second city. This region is generally semi-arid plains, with wheat and in some places, especially near Aranda de Duero, with vineyards, in the Ribera del Duero wine region. Another classic Douro Valley thing to do is join a boat cruise down the Douro River. If you want to get involved in the action, most of them will offer wine tours in Portugal through their grounds and most importantly: Wine tasting sessions! This is the oldest wine region in the world and a UNESCO world heritage site and it also produces the finest port wine. To experience the best of the park in a day, take a river cruise through it from the International Biology Station in Miranda do Douro, where youre likely to see many of the 170+ bird species found there, including peregrine falcons, eagles, vultures, and more. If youre short on time and long on money, theres no better way to see the Douro Valley than by taking a helicopter tour above it. 1. On the south bank, between Vila Nova de Foz Coa and the Douro, past So Joo da Pesqueira, the connection is by the EN222, back to Pinho. Admire the exhibition hall, with the most notable work, Douro: Matter and Spirit, holding centre stage. April and May are the best months to visit Douro Valley due to the lovely weather, spring flowers, and fewer crowds. By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. See all Douro tours here. All rights reserved. A little further to the east is the Vale do Coa Archaeological Park, an open-air rock art gallery, classified as a World Heritage Site, and the attached Museum in Vila Nova de Foz Coa.Once you get to Barca de Alva, you enter the International Douro Natural Park, as the river from here to Miranda do Douro makes the border between Portugal and Spain. Allow far more time than you think youll need. portugal - the douro valley The River Douro rises in Spain and flows more or less East / West across Northern Portugal reaching the sea at Portugal's second city, Oporto. Its most plentiful tributary (carrying a larger discharge than the Douro at their meeting) is the right-bank Esla river.
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