Hi Everyone,
My wife and I are looking to escape Thanksgiving this year and instead travel to Portugal. I know it’s not the ideal time of year, but it’s when we have time off and can make it happen.
What are thoughts on Visiting Portugal during Thanksgiving time? Weather? Will Quintas be open? Etc.
Thanks in advance! Got a ton of help from other threads on places to stay, things to do, restaurants, etc , but any new ideas are welcome!!
We went between Christmas and New Years a few years ago and the weather was perfectly pleasant. You certainly aren’t running around in shorts but nice weather for touring, walking and drinking wine. The average high temp in December is 60 degrees.
George
The Douro Valley in the winter can get really cold, as in snow depending on the time. Oporto will be cool but not bad. Actually for drinking Port it should be perfect.
As for what’s open; In the Douro Valley you’re options will be very slightly limited in winter. A few close and most scale back hours a little for the winter months but with the proliferation of tourism you should be able to find plenty of things open with no issues. You just may not get everything open when you want.
Down in Oporto/Gaia area most Lodges will be open but slightly reduced hours. However, given how many tourists now come to Oporto things don’t close down like they did even 5 years ago so you should be just fine.
Have fun and if you need any other rec’s just hollar.
Thanks for the info! Super helpful.
We have tentative plans as of now:
Chicago > Lisbon - 3 days @ international design hotel
Lisbon>Porto> Douro - 3 days @ Quinta de la rosa
Douro> Porto - 3 days @ The Yeatman
We are wide open on activity, restaurants, wineries, etc. all suggestions are welcome. We both love port but admittedly do not know a ton. Looking for direction for sure when in the Douro and Porto.
Yeatman is awesome. You’ll love it. Dicks bar has a great list by the glass. And the views from it, the pool, and your room will be amazing. I’ll be there in a couple weeks.
Quinta de la Rosa is a good central place to be that makes getting around easy. Check out Quinta do Bomfim (picnic lunch is amazing). Quinta d. Carvalhas - take the tour to the top for amazing views. I’ll give some more when I’m at a proper computer.
Thank you so much Andy. Can’t tell you how much I appreciate it!
Check to see if Wine & Soul is now taking visitors. They were still doing some additions last year so not sure if they will be up and running for tourist by the time you go. Very close to de la Rosa (ok close for the Douro that is LOL).
Quinta da Roeda is good to visit and next door to Bomfim.
Sadly the bistro at Quinta do Tedo will be closed by then, it’s a great place to eat lunch. As in one of the best last time I was there. However, still worth visiting for their Ports and Douro wines.
If you have time, take the train up river to the last stop. Hang out for a bit then come back on it. Worth the several hours to see how fast things get remote and it’s just beautiful. And you’ll see some very famous quinta’s (Vesuvio, Taylor’s Vargellas, Cockburn’s Canais, Dow’s Senhora d. Ribeira, Roriz, Graham’s Malvedos, and a bunch more). Last time I hung out at the last train stop a local gave me some wine he made. I’ll just say it was rough around the edges, but the experience will last a lifetime.
I assume you’ve seen the other Douro thread so if you need more up river things just ask.
As for back in Gaia/Porto. Yeatman is perfectly situated to get around very easily to all the major Lodges. And a moderate walk across the bridge to Porto.
For dinner, I’d recommend Opaparico. Tell Sergio I sent you and be prepared for a long and wonderful meal. Plus they’ve got a killer wine list you can chose from or ask Sergio to just pair some things with the dishes. My all time favorite place. If you go door will be locked when you get there, just knock. You need to make a reservation 30-days out (they don’t allow any prior to 30 days) as it will book up fast.
Yeatman…has a killer and I mean killer wine list. Mostly Douro wines and Ports but other things as well. Some pricey some well priced, by the glass or bottle. And the hotel itself is just amazing. Oh and one of the only places for 100 Euros where you can get a glass of Scion in case you want a very special old Port.
Of course Vinum restuarant at Graham’s Lodge is great.
Ferreira Lodge has great historical stuff in it worth the few Euros entry.
if you need more just ask.
I just have to say: I love the (apparent) newfound enthusiasm wine geeks have for the Douro. It seems like there’s been a lot more “visiting Douro” threads the past couple years.
I think (anecdotal) there’s a huge boost to tourism to Portugal. It’s like the new “it” place to go for Western Europe. I don’t know why but I hear how awesome it is. At least that’s why we are going 
And if u go to Portugal and u have even a remote interest in wine, you gottaaaaa go to Douro?
Yes it is becoming the new in place for Europeans to vacation at. Mainly as it’s hasn’t experienced any terrorist activity, yet. So it’s considered a very safe place to vacation at. Sadly, if it continues to expand this fast something is bound to happen in time.
The uptick in people is amazing. There are new hotels, Airbnb, and food places popping up everywhere. And the crowds are off the charts. Grahams lodge is now reservation only they get so many people per day. The plus side is it’s spread out enough and there are enough lodges and places to eat it doesn’t feel like Disneyland on a sold out day…yet.
Portugal had always attracted a good amount of tourism long before now. The main selling point, from what I gather, and in addition to the beauty of landscapes in the northern part, was and still is the lower costs of travel and tourism activities, relative to all of western Europe. 4-star hotels and 3-star types of restaurants for the price of 1-or-2-star ones everywhere else.
Have to add that for the freshest and tastiest of seafood, it’s tough to beat local ones that specialize.
Portugal is the hidden gem of Europe.
So excited for the trip and only now starting to wrap my head around winery visits in porto and the douro. Given my location in both - any “must sees”? I would love to start to reach out now in order to give ample “heads up” for our visit.
Any Lisbon recs would be appreciated too!!
In Porto, get reservations for Taberna dos Mecadores. It’s a tiny place close to the river. Only seats about 20 and only has two servings for dinner. They’re also open for lunch. Everything is fantastic, but their seafood really shines. Decent wine list as well.
I understand that for the entire last year, Porto had a greater than 90% hotel occupancy rate.
Just got back from a few days at the Yeatman in Porto. It really is a fabulous hotel with incredible views. We had a superb dinner at Vinum/Grahams. Fortunately, that part of Portugal seems untouched by the horrific forest fires that have devastated large areas around Coimbra, only an hour south east.
looking for any other suggestions in the douro area, primarily pinhao. Restaurants, quintas, etc.
Thank you!
Thanks Michael!! Quinta Nova is on our list. Looks gorgeous and from what I hear, great wines and olive oil. Hoping the restaurant is open when we are there too.
Go eat at DOC. IMO the best restaurant in the Douro. Never had an off meal there. Make a reservation as it can get busy depending on the day. It’s a short bit east of Regua (between Regua and Pinhao).
The setting alone is worth the trip there. Very nice folks too. See if you can get a tour.