Cheers leader
Colleen Smith raises her glass to the new World of Wine in Porto
We were promised a WOW moment with a glass in hand... it stands for World of Wine in Porto, Portugal’s second city.
WOW is one of Europe’s biggest new tourism projects and is part of the transformation of a place which has quietly been enjoying a renaissance as a holiday destination during the last decade.
With a name like that it better not disappoint, and thankfully I was suitably wowed.
If Porto has slipped under your radar, you’re missing a treat. It’s more than a great long-weekend city-break destination. It’s also a perfect place for sun lovers and beach-loving families.
To get to the beach you can hop on a bus, but the two-mile walk along the River Douro is nice, with little cafes along the way. The jetty at the end sits above churning water as the 557-mile long Douro runs from deep within Spain and out into the Atlantic.
The city is rarely thought of by us Brits as a beach destination, but it lies at the heart of the Costa Verde, a rugged coastline of golden beaches, rocky headlands and dramatic natural scenery.
But back to the city’s WOW factor. The World of Wine is in Vila
Nova de Gaia, across the Douro from the main historic centre of Porto and reached by the iconic double-deck Luis I Bridge.
Further upstream lies the striking Maria Pia Bridge and if it reminds you a little of the Eiffel Tower that’s because it was designed by the very same Gustave Eiffel (one of his students created the Luis I).
All the famous old port families still offer wine tastings in their Gaia lodges, but WOW is something on a far bigger scale.
Built over the five years before the pandemic and costing more than £100million, it covers a huge area of land on several levels. It’s the brainchild of Adrian Bridge, whose family have run the Taylor’s Port company there since 1692.
The original premises of Taylor’s remain alongside the World of Wine. And as modern wine cooling