Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Getting There & Around
BUS
AV Minho
( 258 800 340)
has three daily weekday runs and two daily weekend runs begin-
ning in Monção (€2, 20 minutes) and going all the way to Porto (€9, 3½ hours) via Viana
do Castelo (€6, 1¼ hours).
CAR & MOTORCYCLE
There is free parking in lots just west of the fortresses, though they can fill to capacity at
weekends. If you're spending the night inside, you should be able to find free street park-
ing within the fort.
TRAIN
Five to 10 trains run daily to Valença from Porto (€9.30, 3½ hours), two of which contin-
ue as far as Vigo in Spain.
GOING GREEN IN VINHO VERDE COUNTRY
Outside Portugal,
vinho verde
(literally 'green wine') gets a bum rap, but often for good reason - exports tend to
sit on shelves far too long. The stuff is made to be drunk ' green' - that is, while it is still very young, preferably
less than one year old.
While the wine is made from fully ripe rather than still-green grapes, as is sometimes believed, the straw-col-
oured whites can indeed achieve greenish tints - a visual reminder of the green landscape from which they come.
Served well chilled on a hot summer day, its fruity nose, fine bubbles and acidic bite make
vinho verde
one of the
great delights of travelling in northern Portugal.
Vinho verde
is grown in a strictly demarcated region of the Minho that occupies the coastal lowlands between
the Rio Douro and the Spanish border. There are actually more vines here than in the Douro, but the
quintas
(es-
tates) are subdivided to such a degree that most growers simply sell their fruit, or their wine, to community
ade-
gas
(wineries).
Traditionally the vines are trained high, both to conserve land and to save the grapes from rot, and you can still
see great walls of green in the summer months. Like German wines,
vinho verde
tends to be aromatic, light-bod-
ied and low in alcohol. There are red
vinho verdes,
though you may find them chalky and more of an acquired
taste. White is both the most common and the easiest to appreciate. Alvarinho grapes, grown around Monção, are
also used to make a delightful
vinho verde
.
For more information about the wine, its history and visiting particular regions and vineyards, check out
TOP OF CHAPTER
Monção
POP 2500
