Hello all you Port lovers out there.
I am taking my husband - a great lover of port - to Porto for his 50th birthday in November and i wanted to arrange a tour of some of the port houses.
I am finding it really difficult using Google to track down ways of booking visits before i go - any suggestions from those of you who have been lucky enough to have already visited some of these marvellouse places
Regards
Andrea
Visiting Oporto
-
Alex Bridgeman
- Graham’s 1948
- Posts: 14906
- Joined: 13:41 Mon 25 Jun 2007
- Location: Berkshire, UK
Re: Visiting Oporto
Andrea,
If you are just visiting Oporto, it is very easy to organise visits to the Port lodges in Vila Nova de Gaia. In the majority of cases, you do not need to book in advance, but can just turn up at the door and pay the entrance fee.
If I was going to Oporto for just 2-3 days, my perfect itinerary (as a confirmed port lover) would be:
* Stay in the Yeatman Hotel, in Vila Nova de Gaia - it is expensive, but it is also a fabulous hotel and is in walking distance of most places you will want to visit in VNdG even if the hills are steep after a day's drinking and eating
* Have at least one evening meal at the hotel, the restaurant is excellent and the view from the bar is really impressive. The port list is first class.
* Book in advance a guided tour of the hotel's wine cellar. I missed out on my last visit and would really like to have done this.
* Visit the C da Silva wine bar on the waterfront and share a glass or two of port with Goncalo Devesas, who developed the idea of the wine bar approach to a Port Lodge
* Visit the Quevedo tasting room, which is a block behind the waterfront, but worth hunting out
* Visit the Ferreira port lodge - right at the far end of the lodges, but a really interesting visit (Sandeman, from the same corporate group, is in the middle of the waterfront and almost as good a visit)
* Visit the Graham's lodge up the hill (there is a mini-bus from the waterfront), take the tour and sample some of the exceptional wines that are available by the glass...and if your timing is perfect, you could be one of the first to eat in their new restaurant!
* Book in advance a visit to Quinta Vilar D'Allen - an amazing house which is a time capsule of what life in Oporto was like 150 years ago, and the family are back in the port business and producing what I consider to be the finest 20 year old tawny blend currently on the market.
I've never been to Vinologia or to one of the other port bars in Oporto, but others have told me great things about them, so it might also be worth considering that as an option.
Oporto / VNdG is very easy to get around in. Taxis are easy to find and the metro system is easy to use, just remember to validate your ticket before you travel and when you change lines.
Most of all, please have fun and let us know how your husband's 50th birthday trip goes.
Alex
If you are just visiting Oporto, it is very easy to organise visits to the Port lodges in Vila Nova de Gaia. In the majority of cases, you do not need to book in advance, but can just turn up at the door and pay the entrance fee.
If I was going to Oporto for just 2-3 days, my perfect itinerary (as a confirmed port lover) would be:
* Stay in the Yeatman Hotel, in Vila Nova de Gaia - it is expensive, but it is also a fabulous hotel and is in walking distance of most places you will want to visit in VNdG even if the hills are steep after a day's drinking and eating
* Have at least one evening meal at the hotel, the restaurant is excellent and the view from the bar is really impressive. The port list is first class.
* Book in advance a guided tour of the hotel's wine cellar. I missed out on my last visit and would really like to have done this.
* Visit the C da Silva wine bar on the waterfront and share a glass or two of port with Goncalo Devesas, who developed the idea of the wine bar approach to a Port Lodge
* Visit the Quevedo tasting room, which is a block behind the waterfront, but worth hunting out
* Visit the Ferreira port lodge - right at the far end of the lodges, but a really interesting visit (Sandeman, from the same corporate group, is in the middle of the waterfront and almost as good a visit)
* Visit the Graham's lodge up the hill (there is a mini-bus from the waterfront), take the tour and sample some of the exceptional wines that are available by the glass...and if your timing is perfect, you could be one of the first to eat in their new restaurant!
* Book in advance a visit to Quinta Vilar D'Allen - an amazing house which is a time capsule of what life in Oporto was like 150 years ago, and the family are back in the port business and producing what I consider to be the finest 20 year old tawny blend currently on the market.
I've never been to Vinologia or to one of the other port bars in Oporto, but others have told me great things about them, so it might also be worth considering that as an option.
Oporto / VNdG is very easy to get around in. Taxis are easy to find and the metro system is easy to use, just remember to validate your ticket before you travel and when you change lines.
Most of all, please have fun and let us know how your husband's 50th birthday trip goes.
Alex
Last edited by Alex Bridgeman on 07:10 Sat 01 Sep 2012, edited 2 times in total.
Top Ports in 2023: Taylor 1896 Colheita, b. 2021. A perfect Port.
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2024: Niepoort 1900 Colheita, b.1971. A near perfect Port.
Re: Visiting Oporto
Thank you for all your suggestions Alex - much appreciated - will let you know how we get on. Many thanks Andrea
Re: Visiting Oporto
Disclosure: Distributor of Quevedo wines and Quinta do Gomariz