Douro Valley

The world’s oldest demarcated wine region

The Douro is a river carved into a mountain, terraced wall-to-wall with vineyards since the 18th century, when the Marquês de Pombal drew the world’s first demarcated wine boundary here in 1756. UNESCO lists the whole landscape. Port wine has shipped down this river for three centuries; in the last twenty years the dry wines of the Douro DOC have become equally serious.

The practical anchors are Peso da Régua, the rail-and-river hub, and Pinhão, the postcard village where the river bends through the steepest quintas. Above them, the Douro International stretch toward the Spanish border is wilder, with miradouros over hundreds of metres of river.

Visiting works in three classic ways: the historic train from Porto through the valley, river cruises from one to seven nights, or driving the EN222 between Pinhão and Barca d’Alva — regularly voted one of Europe’s great drives. Quintas increasingly offer rooms and restaurants, and several now run serious cooking and harvest programmes.

As a place to live it is rural and demanding — hills, narrow roads, thin services — but the wine economy draws international buyers to quintas and small properties, particularly British, Dutch and Brazilian.

Best time to visit

Late September–October for the harvest; May–June for green terraces without heat.

Don’t miss

• The EN222 river drive
• Quinta tastings around Pinhão
• Historic Douro train to Pocinho
• São Leonardo da Galafura viewpoint
• Casa de Mateus in Vila Real