Since Jax goes to an International School that follows the British calendar, we had a half-term break last week. It was the perfect time to do a road trip!
Our itinerary also included a stop in Evora and particularly for Ry, surfing hotspots Nazare and Ericeira. I will have to share about those charming places another day, too, but this post is just about our time in the Douro Valley.
I pretty much have wanted to go to the Douro Valley ever since I saw the gorgeous photos my friend Renee and her family took on a recent trip. I had no idea how beautiful it was until I saw her photos so I personally wanted to see it for myself, live and close-up.
Unfortunately, the weather forecast called for rain pretty much the whole day we would be there, but fortunately, it subsided in small time blocks just enough so that we could enjoy some scenic miradouros (lookout points), take some amazing photos, and see four acro-irises (rainbows)!
Located only one and a half hours away from the wonderful city of Porto, the Douro Valley is seriously one of the most stunning wine regions in the entire world! It has the perfect climate and soil for cultivating grapes and producing wines and with a history of 2,000 years of wine production, gorgeous Douro wine region’s beautiful and dramatic landscape was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2001.
I will let my pictures speak for themselves but I must definitely find another time to go back up and visit again, and for a longer time period. With our limited time there, we were only able to hit 2 viewpoints and 1 winery, but it was breathtaking and absolutely heavenly!
Who is in for a wine-tasting and spa-taking trip with me? Let’s organize a trip soon!
Viewpoints:
São Leonardo da Galafura – Close to Régua, this includes the beautiful Marão Mountain in its horizon.
Santo Antonio – This gorgeous viewpoint overlooks the city of Régua and the Douro River.
São Salvador do Mundo – Viewpoint of a sanctuary composed of a set of small chapels and is in the left margin of the Douro.
São Domingos – Admire Mirandela, Vila Real and Bragança.
Casal de Loivos – Considered by BBC as one of the most beautiful landscapes in the world
Wineries/Food/Lodging:
Restaurante Castas e Pratos – We had a lovely lunch here while we let the heavy rains go. A Michelin guide restaurant recommended by our hotel, it was a perfect place to eat and after lunch, the rain stopped!
Quinta da Pacheca – This is the beautiful place where we stayed. We didn’t do any winery tours so I now have a list of wineries below (highly recommended by the Quinta da Pacheca) that I have bookmarked for my next trip:
Quinta do Vallado
Quinta do Seixo
Quinta do Crasto
Quinta da Roêda
Quinta do Bonfim
No Ugly Duckling 