A tour on the Douro

On my way to the travel agency to join the day tour, I passed Cats. Looking it up, it's a hostel with no mention of actual felines. Might have been better value than my Airbnb accommodation for less privacy.

It was raining by the time we set off but we hoped that it would not be where were were headed, east of the coastal range.

Our first destination was the picturesque village of Amarante, on the banks of the Tâmega River which is a tributary of the Douro River.

The old Ponte de São Gonçalo.

And the Igreja de São Gonçalo, well, one wall of it.

Part of the town near the bridge.

The view upstream towards the new bridge.

And downstream.

On the south bank, the main part of the town.

With winding cobblestone streets.

And the Airplane Restaurant.

There was time to take a litle walk along the path on the south bank.

One thing that I noted was a cinema. A town with one deserves respect.

The town has the Municipal Museum Amadeo de Souza Cardoso.

Just in case you're unsure of the town's name. I wondered if in future I could spend a few days in this charming town. A search on an accommodation site shows quite a few properties so I'm not the only one the idea has occured to.

A hour and a bit of driving later, we arrived at one of the main destinations, the winery of Quinta de São Luiz. The view over the Douro was amazing.

Vines cover the slopes.

We could take a walk among them.

The main building.

If you look at a map, the area is full of estates (quintaes).

The assistant is explaining the vintages of port.

There are some really old vintages. If you are a connoisseur and collector they can take care of shipping to you. Of course you need deep pockets.

The wine tasting, with 3 varieties, increasing in flavour.

Another hour later found us boarding the cruise boat at the town of Pinhão.

The bridge was built by Eiffel.

We went under the bridge and upstream.

The Douro is the boundary between the Vila Real and Viseu Districts.

A panorama of the view.

Another of the many wineries on the Douro.

After about an hour of cruising, we returned to Pinhão.

After another 45 minutes we arrived at our final stop in São Martinho De Anta for a late lunch. It was both a winery and a restaurant.

The accompaniments to the meal.

The chef explaining how the roasts we would be getting are made.

What we had. The cuts were quite yummy. The blob is the enhanced potato mash.

A toast for everybody.

After that we boarded the bus and were taken back to our starting point. And that was the end of a lovely day out around the Douro.