The Douro River is surrounded by beautiful and rich landscapes, both in its delta, in Porto’s Ribeira, where you have the city as scenery, or up in the Douro Valley, close to the border, where the green of the nature takes place. Even though both areas are very different from each other, they were both considered world heritage by UNESCO because of its beauty. To have a full perspective and fully appreciate these breath-taking landscapes we recommend you to do on a boat trip. There are many options to do so:
The 6 Bridges Tour on a Rabelo Boat Rabelo boats are the traditional boats that used to bring Port Wine from the vineyards, in the Douro Valley region, to the cellars at Vila Nova de Gaia, where the wine was stored. Even though nowadays these original boats are not used anymore in the transportation of the wine, it is possible to get one to go on the 6 Bridges Tour. In this tour you see Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia, located in both banks of the river, and the six bridges that link the two cities.
Trips to the Douro Valley Located about 100 km from Porto, the Douro Valley is the region where Port and Douro wines come from. Here, the river meanders through the green mountains, deeply marked by the terraces created by the vineyards. Considered a world heritage site by UNESCO, visiting this region is an experience not to be missed, whether you are a wine lover or not. There are two different types of visits:
1 day trip to Régua: In this tour you will go by boat from Porto to Régua, and then come back by train (or the other way around). Taking two ways of transportation you will have a different perspective of the view.
1 day trip to Pinhão:In this tour you will go by boat from Porto to Pinhão, a city a little bit further than Régua, known for having a lot of Port Wine quintas (producing estates). The return is done by train.