Port in Porto

We finally made it to Portugal and celebrated our third wedding anniversary to boot! We chose Porto after hearing countless good things about it and have been anticipating the trip since June! We took a long weekend, giving ourselves one extra day to tour this dazzling city. 

We tested out Düsseldorf’s Weeze airport for this trip, thanks to our original flight being canceled (you never know which flights will actually work these days). Weeze is a tiny airport that’s an U-Bahn, hour train plus, ten-minute bus ride from Düsseldorf. It’s not very convenient, but our flight was only €20 each, so it made the extra travel time worth it! 

We arrived in Porto on Thursday evening, checked into our cute little Airbnb, then set off to find some dinner. We quickly realized we picked a prime location for our stay in the Cedofeita neighborhood and had several hip restaurants to choose from. We landed at a local Thai joint where the owner greeted us and later explained how to enjoy their “port ice cream” (coconut ice cream topped with peanuts and doused in white port, yes please!). 

We woke early on Friday in anticipation of our first day of adventuring! We stopped at a fantastic little shop for breakfast and enjoyed a fresh acaí bowl and a plate of eggs Benedict, two favorites we rarely get over here! 

We wandered through the small streets, admiring the incredible azulejos (colorful ceramic tiles) plastered on the sides of the buildings and taking more pictures than what was necessary. There was something to see everywhere you looked! We made a pit stop at the Cathedral, first enjoying a city view, then an impromptu hike up the bell tower to enjoy a second view looking over the rooftops. 

Next, we journeyed over the Dom Luis I Bridge (created by a student of Gustave Eiffel, the man who built the Eiffel Tower. Can you see the similarities?) to Vila Nova de Gaia, again trying to take in the incredible panoramic views of the city. The view of Porto from across the river was picture-perfect and a little unreal. The hillside is lined with colorful houses all topped with terra-cotta shingles and accented with homemade clotheslines and graffitied walls. I could sit and stare at that scene all day! But we didn’t have time for that, we had port to taste! 

We walked across the top level of the Dom Luis bridge, which was remarkable, however, it meant that once we were on the other side, we had to make our way down the hill then hike back up again to get to W & J Graham’s for our first cellar tour and port tasting (and one of our favorite parts of the trip). 

During the tour, the sweet smell of port filled the air as we strolled through the cellar, past countless rows of barrels and large vats. As we wandered, we learned about the different styles of port including what goes into making a tawny, ruby, vintage, and “VV” very old vintage. We learned that the barrels influence the flavor and depending on how they are burned, in addition to the port’s exposure to oxygen, they can provide fruity, spicy, or nutty flavors that add to the overall taste. We also learned that a “wine brandy” (essentially pure alcohol, like hand sanitizer) is added to the port soon after the treading phase in order to stop the fermentation, therefore preserving the natural sweetness of the grapes, hence why port is so sweet. Additionally, we learned that some of the cellars use old whiskey barrels, while others make their own barrels then sell them to the whisky distilleries. Fascinating! 

At the end of the tour, we partook in a tasting, and learned that not all ports are super sweet! 

Who knew? Our two favorites were the 2006 Vintage and 20-year-old Tawny. 

Following the tour, we made our way back down the hill and to the waterfront, stopping at a pleasant little market, Mercado Beira-Rio, which offered several options for a bite to eat. We opted for Brazilian cuisine and were not disappointed. 

We strolled through the local street market then found a seat by the river to soak up the sun and enjoy the city views before our next tour at Porto Cálem. 

Porto Cálem's was serious about health and safety. They took our temperatures and required hand sanitizer before we were even allowed to enter the building. #2020 Their tour was similar to Graham’s in that we learned about how port is made and got to see several barrels and vats up close. Overall, we preferred Graham’s tour, but Cálem‘s was still fun. We did however, enjoy Cálem‘s Tawny over Graham’s. 

Although we had tasted several ruby, tawny, vintage, and even a white port by this time, there was still one more we wanted to try, the “new” Rosé port. Luckily, Cálem had a unique bar area where we could sit amongst the vats, and finish off our own personal tasting with the Rosé. Rosé port was first introduced in 2008 and has a unique, berry-esque flavor that tastes a bit like summer in a bottle. Yum! 

With our port tastings compete and now having a greater knowledge of port itself, we departed Vila Nova de Gaia and made our way back across the bridge to Porto, walking on the bottom level this time. As we made our way back up the hill to find a place for dinner, we found a hidden staircase that popped us out at Miradouro da Vitória, another area with a fantastic overview of the city. After snapping a few more photos, we continued our journey, snaking through several more teeny streets and back to the Cedofeita neighborhood where we found a highly rated restaurant serving the famous “Francesinha“ (a very meaty sandwich topped with cheese and doused in a spiced tomato and beer sauce). It was definitely worth trying, but I don’t think I need to eat one of those again... 

We started Saturday off at Livraria Lello, one of the oldest bookstores in Porto, opening in 1906, and where, rumor has it, J.K. Rowling gained some inspiration for the Harry Potter series. Regardless if that’s true or not, the staircase alone looks like it is straight from the wizarding world! 

Following the bookstore, we took a quick peek at Igreja do Carmo and Igreja dos Carmelitas, two churches that look like one, however, if you look a bit closer, you will see a tiny, one-meter-wide house between the two. This house was built to separate the two churches and prevent any contact between the nuns and monks who used to live there. #socialdistancing

We also stopped by São Bento train station to admire the 20,000 white and blue azulejos depicting different scenes and battles from Porto’s past. 

Next, we set off to see the Atlantic Ocean! We chose to head to Foz do Douro, which was the area recommended by our Airbnb. Sailboats and cargo ships lined the horizon, and up close the waves splashed against the rocks. We took off our sandals and walked along the beach, letting the coarse sand squish between our toes and the waves splash over our feet. We even took a minute to wave to our neighbors in NYC. 

We walked over to the old lighthouse and saw where the Douro River meets the ocean, then pulled up a seat on the rocks to watch the fisherman. To our disappointment, no one caught anything... I guess the fish knew there was an audience. 

Eventually, we hopped back on the bus and made our way back to town, enjoying the riverside drive as we went. 

Back in the heart of Porto, we continued our lazy stroll and window shopping, plus a detour to Confeitaria do Bolhão, a 120-year-old patisserie. Here we tried the arrufadas (a scrumptious sweetbread) and a Bola de Berlim (a Berliner donut filled with cream). Delicious! 

As the rain approached, we ducked inside Almada Minha, a quirky little bar, and had our first sip of Portugal’s white sangria. We waited for the storm to pass, then hit the town (again) in hopes of watching the sunset over the city... unfortunately, all we got was fog and more rain... maybe next time! 

We decided to take it easy on Sunday and started the day off with a good old fashion brunch at the local cafe near our Airbnb. We followed brunch with, you guessed it, more walking through the streets. We weaved our way through new passages and down to the riverfront, where we found a bench to relax on while watching the city wake up. 

Not having a plan for the day, we decided to head back up the hill and across the bridge for one more view of the city. While looking out over the city at all the different port cellars, we realized we had time for one more tasting before we needed to head to the airport. So, we made our way back down the hill, this time on the Vila Nova de Gaia side, and then up again, ending our trek at Taylor’s tasting room. We really should have planned our day a little better to avoid all the ups and downs! #morningworkout 

At Taylor’s, we sat out in the rose garden, watching the peacocks and rooster stroll about while sipping our port and soaking up the last bit of sun before heading back to Düsseldorf. 

As we were planning our trip to Porto, I told Jeff that I bet this would be a city we would want to return to, and now after being there, my assumption was correct! I would love to take a trip to the Duro Valley, cruise along the river, tour the local vineyards, and ultimately discover more of this charming country!