First travel to Portugal

[beastiefan]

Hello all,

I am traveling to Portugal in July for the first time. I will be staying in Lisbon, renting a car to drive to Porto, staying in some of the beach towns in between, and taking some day trips to other sites/cities.

I am a big fan of Vintage Port but basically enjoy it by myself and share with friends when possible. So, I am not in the scene (don't have a community, don't know much about the individual makers, and based on the pics I see here I cannot come close in my collection) but have wanted to visit Porto (and Lisbon) for a long time.

Would love to know what are the most worthwhile experiences (bars, wineries, etc) for Port.

And also happy to hear about any other worthwhile experiences I should consider for my trip.

TIA

[Alex Bridgeman]

Are you travelling on your own?

[beastiefan]

With the wife (a DD if needed).

[Alex Bridgeman]

I’ve been thinking about what to recommend as my two top tips for Porto.

But first, when you’re in Lisbon I recommend visiting all three branches of Garrafeira Nacional and sampling what they have available by the glass.

When you’re in Porto, I recommend booking yourself onto a tour of the Graham’s lodge combined with the best tasting you can - and if time allows also have lunch or dinner in Vinum after the tour.

And my other top tip would be to book a tasting in the Kopke tasting room on the waterfront. They have an amazing range of Colheitas going back to 1935 but are also able to put together tastings to suit most budgets.