Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Mesão Frio to Régua. From there, you'll cross to the south bank (on the middle of the
three bridges) to continue on N-222 into the valley to Pinhão (where you'll cross back to
reach the town). The 17-mile stretch of river covered in this chapter is about a 30-minute
drive. Everything I've mentioned is no more than a few minutes' side-trip from the river.
When passing through Amarante, it's an easy and logical pit stop to detour into the
town center to check out the old Roman bridge and impressive church and convent of São
Gonçalo.
If you're driving from Coimbra to the Douro Valley, you'll save time and mileage by
coming directly through the mountains (via Viseu and Lamego), rather than taking the ex-
pressway up the coast to Porto and then over.
Quintas
Tours and Tastings
The main attraction of the Douro Valley is touring the
quintas,
the farms that produce port
and table wines. It's an informal scene and easy for drivers; simply pull into any
quinta
listed here (or any marked
rota do vinho do Porto
), and ask for a quick tour and a taste.
Even if they have a specific time for tours (listed below where applicable), you can often
get a shorter, less formal tour at other times. Ideally, call ahead and ask when you should
show up.
Each
quinta
(KEEN-tah) works differently; most tours and tastings are free. The tours
of big companies'
quintas
are slick, but feel like stripped-down versions of the tours
you'll do in the port-wine lodges back in Porto (with the happy exception of Quinta do
Panascal). The smaller, independent
quintas
are more intimate, and offer a chance to meet
the people who have devoted their lives to making the best wine they can. At
quintas
op-
erated by big companies, it's fine not to buy. But if a family-run place gives you an in-
depth tour, it's polite to buy at least a token bottle.
These are the best
quinta
experiences on this stretch of the Douro. I've noted the best
options for non-drivers.
