Headed to Portugal with a small group of folks in November. We are doing 3 days in and around Lisbon, 3 days in and around Porto and 2 days in Douro (staying in Pinhao).
From wineries to hit, dining to daily activities, any suggestions would be much appreciated! Thanks in advance!
Did this exact trip over Thanksgiving with my wife last year. One of the best times of our life.
So many recs, I’ll keep it short:
Cerveceria Ramirez (lisbon) - you will get lots of recs to go here for seafood. Go.
Red Frog Speakeasy (lisbon) - if you are into cocktails - this is a great spot
quinta de la rosa (pinhao) - HIGHLY recommended. We walked around the town and saw most the spots to stay and were very happy with our choice. Just a gorgeous place. Breakfast is great, dinner was the best we had in Pinhao. Winery walks are breathtaking.
The Yeatman (porto) - do not even hesitate. best hotel i’ve ever stayed at, not joking.
Taylor Fladgate (porto) - right next door to The Yeatman. Interesting tour, though touristy. But the lunch we had at their restaurant was execptional.
Tapabento (porto) - prob our favorite restaurant in Porto, thoght we didnt have a bad meal the whole time.
Eat several pastillas de nada per day! I’d keep it to one francesinha though! LOL.
Have a great time! I can poke back here with more recs as I think of them,.
Fantastic! Those are exactly what we are looking for, thank you. We are very stoked.
Thanks. I read that with interest too as I may go to Lisbon next year.
All great spots. we did it last year. If I had it to do over, I would have spent more than an overnight up the Duoro. It’s beautiful, but takes a while to get around, but also plenty of spots within reach of Pinhao.
Regarding Douro - I go 2-3 times a year and have visited nearly all the spots. Feel free to dm me and I’ll line you out. There are a couple that don’t get all the attn that ROCK. for instance -
quinta S. Jose which u can get to by boat taxi in pinhao. Also between regua and villa real is -
Alves de sousa.
I have taken 100 winemakers to Douro valley in last 10 or so yrs and these are 2 favorite producers of many of those winemakers.
In Porto - it’s more commercial but I think the best place to go to understand the port trade and history + do a great tasting is go to grahams.
Went last year as well. My thoughts/recommendations…
Lisbon
Porto
Been to Portugal twice, absolutely adore Porto.
Lisbon:
Porto:
We did this trip a few years back. The Douro is magical. Porto is fun. Lisbon, while interesting, came in third to the other two for us.
The Douro is hard to get around in a timely manner. We used a combination of walking, cars and trains to access everthing.
We stayed, ate, drank here. http://www.quintanova.com/pt/galeria/ Can’t recommend it enough. Awesome place.
I would see if you can access a guide. There are very remote vineyards with a Roman ruins and a Port muesuem, deep into the Douro that we took 4WD vehicles to. Spectacular stuff, but I am not sure how you would access without local knowledge.
Going this summer, marking thread–thanks to all!
Make sure you research and go to experience the Fado music. Unbelievably moving, even if you do not understand the language.
Several threads on this same topic in the Travel forum. Here are a few:
Excellent! Thanks for all the recs! Clearly Cerveceria Ramirez is a must. Beyond excited.
What would you all recommend for transportation in Douro/Pinhao? Right now we are planning on hiring a driver/car for a full day and spending the other relying on our feet and local transport.
We used a guide who provided transportation for touring the vineyards. Otherwise we walked down to the tiny local train stop below Quinta Nova and took the train to Pinhau.
The Douro is incredibly rural, with few services and fewer bridges. You sometimes have to back track just to get over the river.
We went to Portugal at the end of May and had a fabulous time. We flew into Lisbon and immediately drove to Sintra for the night. The next morning we headed to Pinhao for three nights, then Guimaraes for three nights, then Algarve for two nights, then back to Lisbon to make the dreaded trip home.
In Pinhao we stayed at the Vintage House Hotel. It is in the town of Pinhao and convenient for walking around and catching the train. I kind of wish we had stayed at a winery like Mr. Martin did, but we will try for that the next time. We only tasted at Quinta do Crasto as most of our European trips are more about hiking and trail running than tasting. But it was an excellent experience and the lunch was awesome.
Went last November.
In Porto–
This is not like Napa. Easy to forget how high the ABV is.
Take a tour at Cockburn’s… we had the entire place to ourselves. Only place that has its own coopers in house for barrel making.
Definitely d dinner at O Paparico…
Train to pinhao is super easy and scenic. You might even mix with some locals.
Quinta do Bomfim highly recommend. Their ‘cousins’, Graham’s, in Porto is very good, too. Make sure you book ahead. Try other houses in Gaia (Porto), too.
Lots more to do in Porto, so I’d stay there ahead of up the Douro.
To second it, O Paparico in Porto had excellent food and was one of the most welcoming restaurants I’ve ever experienced.
The roads through the vineyards above the douro are gorgeous. Incredibly serpiginous. If you have time, spend at least a day touring the area by car. I drove but for appreciating the scenery, it’s all the better if someone else drives.
In the Pinhao area, ry to arrange a tour of a vineyard/crush facility (we did Graham’s). Remember that unlike most wine regions, the Port lodges are far from the vineyards.
Just to add a little:
At Quinta do Bomfim you can taste the whole range of Symington Family Estates wines: Graham’s, Warre’s, Dow’s and Cockburn’s. It’s good to compare the VPs of these brands in the heart of the Douro. There are lots of tasting options and the Somm. was fantastic.
It’s less than 5 minutes walk from Pinhao train station.
By tasting at Graham’s in Gaia, too, you get to see both ends of the equation.
Check out Roy Hersh’s forum website on Portuguese travel. WWW. FTLOP.com.
In Porto, Taberna dos Mercadores. Tiny restaurant. They don’t take reservations anymore because they became too popular. Wait long before they open for lunch or dinner. Vinologia is no more. Now there is Portologia a block away. Bacchus Vini is a terrific wine bar by the bridge. Both specialize in small producer Ports. Grahams Vinum restaurant is pretty good as well. For high end modern, Euskalduna Studio is run by a student of Ferran Adria. Up river, DOC restaurant. Quinta Vallado and Quinta Portal both have good restaurants. New places are opening up every month, it’s hard to keep track.
