Vila Nova de Gaia port lodges
The port lodges on the far bank, where the wine has aged in cask for three centuries.
Duration
1 hr 30 min – 3 hrs
Best time
In the morning
Open
Every day
Entry price
To confirm
The lodges are not in Porto but in Vila Nova de Gaia, on the other bank: by a decree of 1756, only that side of the river could age and ship port. The wine comes down from the upper Douro, where the vines grow inside a mapped boundary — the first appellation of origin in the world.
A typical visit lasts an hour: the casks, an explanation of the fortification with spirit that stops fermentation and leaves the sugar, then a tasting of two or three glasses. About twenty houses open, and most are booked online.
Getting there
Cross the Luís I bridge on foot along the lower deck from the Ribeira, five minutes. Metro line D, Jardim do Morro station, for the upper deck.
What the price covers
tour and tasting charged, rates varying by house
Rules on site
Visits are booked ahead and English or French slots are limited. The lodges sit at twelve to fourteen degrees all year: bring a layer, even in summer.
Other places in Porto
- Livraria LelloA carved red timber staircase under stained glass, in ten square metres of neo-Gothic.
- Ribeira districtNarrow coloured housefronts on the Douro, under the Luís I bridge.
- São Bento stationTwenty thousand blue azulejos telling the history of Portugal, in a working station hall.
- Clérigos TowerSeventy-five metres and two hundred and forty steps, above the tiled roofs.