The true spirit of Porto
This beautiful city has a remarkable history and gave the world one of its finest wines.
I am sipping a fine, ice-cold white port in a spacious loft-restaurant. We are a few feet above a 150-year-old winery. A few feet from me, a woman sings melancholic fado, backed by the distinctive ta-rang, ta-rang of a Portuguese guitar.
Outside, the late summer sun has set the wide Douro river ablaze with colour as it sinks slowly beyond the higgledy-piggledy riverside houses and into the Atlantic.
This is Vila Nova de Gaia, and we are in the Calém winery on a port tasting visit. It is a winery founded all those years ago by businessman António Alves Cálem who wanted to sell the luscious drink to Brazil rather than the traditional British market. Today, his adega continues to produce some very fine ports.
On the other side of this river is Porto, which gave its name to the most famous export from this part of the country. On my side you are in Vila Nova de Gaia, where they do most of the hard work of blending, bottling and storing the stuff for shipment.
White port, by the way, is a revelation. It is rich, golden, and beautiful on the palate. Less like a sherry, it is more like a fine dessert wine, but rarely so sweet as to compete with one.
Porto itself is rich with heritage and beautiful architecture. The best way to see it is on one of the pleasure boats that play the river and pass under the many bridges, including the beautiful iron bridge of Luis I.
On the other hand, you can just sit by the riverside and sip on a nice cold port and watch the world go by. That’s the Porto way.
How to get there
By air: Porto is well served by major airlines including British Airways, Easyjet, Portuguese airline TAP and RyanAir.
From Lisbon by train: Services are frequent and cheap - less than €25 and can include the high speed Alfa Pendular. Travel from Lisbon Oriente station and arrive at Porto Campañha.
By road: Major roads in Portugal and Spain are generally of very high quality. Backroads can be mixed depending on your route. But there are great routes into Porto from central Spain including Extremadura and the scenery is specacular, especially in the Spring and early Summer.
Port tasting: The Calém Tour with fado costs around €25 per person - but there are cheaper options. There are also many other Port Houses that offer tours and tastings, so do look around.
Other things to do: Take a boat trip on the Douro river to see the waterside in all its glory along with the impressive bridges that cross it - the iron Luis I bridge is my personal favourite.
When to go: Avoid the peak summer months when crowds make part of Porto almost unbearable. Springtime and late autumn are probably best times to visit.