Porto is where you will find centuries-old architecture, beautiful tiled churches and buildings, and of course port wine! Located on the banks of the River Douro, Porto is one of Europe’s oldest cities. The origin of Porto dates back to the pre-Roman period and as you can imagine, is full of history. It is the second largest city after Lisbon and the name Porto had influence in the name of the country Portugal.

It was a 3 hour drive from Lisbon to Porto and we had 2 nights scheduled. That would give us a full day to explore the city. We had scheduled two separate tours, a morning walking tour of Porto Old Town and then an afternoon Porto WineTasting tour. But before we get to that part let’s talk about where we stayed.

We arrived early afternoon and thought we would do a little exploring when we got there but after arriving at the hotel our plans quickly changed. We stayed at The Yeatman Hotel and let me tell you, this place was magnificent! After walking through the doors to our room we decided Porto could wait and instead we were just going to enjoy an evening at this wonderful hotel!

The Yeatman

The Yeatman, is a luxury wine hotel and spa in Porto with panoramic views over the River Douro and spectacular views of Porto Old Town. This hotel is nestled on a hill on 7 acreas of land with each room enjoying their own private terrace and balcony with views over Porto. As a member of the prestigious Relais & Châteaux collection of hotels and distinguished with two Michelin Stars, The Yeatman Hotel is widely regarded as the best hotel in Porto. This hotel is a unique and distinctive landmark in the world of classic luxury hotels.

Each room is themed and decorated after a well know Portuguese wine producer. We stayed in the Palacio da Brejoeira room. It was so much fun to learn about the history of this wine estate and of course we had to try a bottle of their wine. We liked it so much we have a case of it headed back to the states!

The restaurants at The Yeatman were great – and we didn’t even get a chance to try the one with the Michelin Stars. And the service was top notch! But the most spectacular part was the view from our private terrace. The experience staying at The Yeatman is one we will not forget and if and when we return to Porto, we will definitely hope to stay here again!

Here is a quick video overview of how we spent one full day in Porto!

Walking tour of Porto

We used Contex to book a half day walking tour of Porto. We really enjoyed walking through the old part of Porto and felt like the half day tour was plenty of time to see the entire city. Our guide had studied architecture and it was wonderful to learn about the history of Porto from his perspective. He even had a backpack full of books and magazines with references for us to see how Porto has evolved over history.

Sao Bento Train Station

One of the highlights of our walking tour was the São Bento train station. The station is located in the center of Porto and attracts hundreds of tourists daily. Before the train station was built in the 19th century, there was a monastery on the same spot. The inside of the station hall is completely covered with tiles painted by the painter Jorge Colaço. The history of northern Portugal is depicted in beautiful tiles so you want to take your time to really admire the amazing artwork throughout the station. In addition to the blue and white tiles, there are also colored works of art by the same painter.

Porto Wine Tasting Tour

We spent the afternoon on a wine tasting tour that we booked through the same company, Context. Our guide was a chef by trade and we began our tour at the market. We learned not only about Portuguese wine but also Portuguese food, specifically fish and the relationship and history that the Portuguese have with cod and sardines. We ended the tour with a stop at Portus Wine shop where we learned even more about Portuguese wine, the different wine regions of Portugal and of course, port wine!

Port Wine (also called Porto)

Introduced in the 1600’s, port wine originated by a need to preserve Portuguese wine during transport from Portugul to England. Brandy was added to the wine to help maintain the quality during transport. Because of this, some say that port wine was invented by accident.

Did you know that port wine (also called porto) isn’t even made in Porto? The famous Portuguese Port wine is produced in the beautiful Douro Valley. This region is just about 80 km (50 miles) from Porto. (Unfortunately we didn’t have time to visit the region so that is still on our to do list for next time!)

So what is port wine and why is it so special? Much like how Champagne can only be called Champagne if it’s from the Champagne region of France, only wines produced in the Douro Valley can be labeled Port. All grapes must be grown and processed in this specific region under specific conditions.

Port Wine is a fortified wine, as defined in EU legislation. It is produced in the Demarcated Region of the Douro under very specific conditions resulting from natural and human factors. The winemaking procedures, based on traditional methods, include stopping the fermentation of the must by adding grape brandy (benefício), making up lots of wine and ageing the wine.

https://www.ivdp.pt/en/wines/port-wines/introduction/

There are actually four different varieties of Port: Ruby, Tawny, White and Rosé. And if you asked me my favorite I wouldn’t be able to pick, they are all delicious!

Portuguese are among world’s biggest wine drinkers

At an average consumption of 72 bottles of wine per person per year, the Portuguese are, according to the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV), among the biggest wine-drinkers in the world.

https://www.theportugalnews.com/news/portuguese-among-worlds-biggest-wine-drinkers/45494

Vinho Verde – Portugals “Green Wine”

While port wine is what most think of when you think of Portuguese wine, that is not the only wine that Portugal is famous for. With over 80 different varieties of grapes grown throughout Portugal, there are a variety of different types of wines produced here. You may be familiar with the more traditional types like red, white, rosé or sparkling, but Portugal is also well know for its green wine (vinho verde). And just to get this out of the way, this wine is not actually green in color.

Vinho Verde literally translates to “green wine”, but it also in general terms known to mean “young wine”. This special type of wine is produced in the far-north regions of Portugal. And after researching a little on the history of vinho verde, some say that the “green wine” name comes from the lush green vegetation from the historic region of Minho, where the grapes are produced. Today this region is called the Vinho Verde region and is one of the largest and oldest wine regions in the world. Others say it gets it name because the wine is a “young wine” or consumed without aging the wine which is also true because these wines do not need time to mature or age and are meant to be consumed soon after bottling. Portuguese green wines typically will have a mouth-zapping acidity, subtle carbonation, and lower alcohol content – making them a great choice for summer. So regardless of where the name comes from you can bet they will be by my lounge chair this summer!

There is lots to do in Porto – things we didn’t get to do but would recommend if you had time would be the WOW (world of wine) museums, ride the cable car and take a tour out in the Douro Valley wine region.

We only had one full day in Porto and we didn’t have time to do everything we wanted so I guess that means we will have to make a return visit some day!