Don & Kully's World Cruise on Viking Neptune

5/2/2024

Porto, Portugal — Day 131 of 138

Porto holds a place of great traditional importance for Portugal as the town lends its name to the port wine produced in the region and throughout the nation. Located along a rocky embankment of the Douro River, the city boasts picturesque neighborhoods, fashionable restaurants and lively markets. Like Lisbon, Porto has a rich past; its historic center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site of narrow cobblestone streets brimming with romantic buildings spanning the centuries and a Romanesque cathedral. At the riverside, small barcos rabelos, boats once used to transport casks of wine, paint a charming scene.

We docked in the town of Leixoes which is at the mouth of the Douro River, and a short drive to Porto. The city offers great views of the North Atlantic.

We took one of Viking’s optional tours, “Walking Tour and Port Tasting”. We boarded our bus for the short ride to Porto enjoying the beautiful scenery along the way.

There were a few clouds as we drove into the city, but as soon as we got off the bus to begin the walking portion of the tour, it began to rain, so picture taking was a little challenging today. The tour began near the Clerigos tower a prominent monument, dating back to the 18th century, that is the symbol of the city. We walked along the Praca Da Liberdade enjoying the beautiful architecture.

We stopped at the Sao Bento Railway station famous for the azulejo tile mosaics inside the building that depict the history of Porto.

We continued our walk through the city center along the Rua das Flores (Flower Street) with its shops, cafes and restaurants.

We rejoined our bus and headed across the river to the town of Vila Nova de Gaia the home of most of the regions port wine cellars. We visited the Pocas family wine cellar for a presentation on port wine making, followed by a tasting of their wines. Port wine is a wine fortified with Brandy giving it a slightly higher alcohol content than other wines. Most port is red, but there are white and rose’ versions as well. We had samples of their white, ruby and tawny. The tawny was our favorite, but we were also impressed with the white port.