Douro River becoming popular European cruise attraction
Cosmopolitan Lisbon is Portugal’s biggest and best-known city. The river cruise lines, however, are focusing on Porto, the second biggest city and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, even as they discover the merits of the Douro River. The river traverses the Douro Valley, allowing the lines to begin and finish on the Douro in Porto, which has the good fortune to be near the end of the river where it pours into the Atlantic.
If you feel like a lazy day of sitting in the sun, enjoying good food and port wine (port is a fortified red dessert wine) then head to the colourful Ribeira or riverfront district along the embankment of the Douro. From there, you can see across the river to the Vila Nova de Gaia. Cross the famed Dom Luis I Bridge and you’re in the place where the major brands offer samples of port. Maybe it’s a good place to start the day.
But back to Porto. The city’s topography is up and down and around, but I found plenty of streetcars and hop-on, hop-off buses to take you up and down those hills.
Shopping? Rua Santa Catarina is the street you’re looking for and where you’ll find the 94-year-old Majestic Cafe, which doesn’t appear to have changed much over almost a century. Peeking through the window, I thought it looked grand and pricey, but not so — the tab for our table (four specialty coffees) was around $15.
From there, I walked over to the Lello bookstore, one of the most famous in the world with its art nouveau facade. A short walk later and I am at the Torres Tower, where you can climb 75 metres for a 360-degree view of Porto.
One of the best places to buy port and Portugal wine, is a store called Garrafeira right at the base of the tower.
There are historic churches and museums, of course, and beautifully tiled walkways but I was there to learn more about the Douro and find out why it has become a fast-growing, popular river cruise.
Viking, AMA Waterways, Uniworld and CroisiEurope are here and next year Scenic Cruises will bring its new ship, the Scenic Azure, with its all-inclusiveness to the Douro. With big-ship amenities, these riverboats are smaller than you will find on the Danube and Rhine due to the smaller size of the locks, leaving the Azure with lots of public room on board with only 48 staterooms carrying 96 passengers.
Of them all, only the Azure is complete with balconies. With Scenic’s 2016 arrival in Portugal, comes a host of itinerary choices but if you want to keep it simple, the 11-day Douro cruise that begins and ends in Porto is the way to go.
This cruise leisurely winds through the Douro Valley below spectacular socalcos, stonewalled, terraced vineyards, carved into the steep slopes where they’ve been making wine and port for 2,000 years. I remember, decades ago, drinking another dessert wine, the well-known Mateus Rose and, on this trip, you can go to the Mateus Palace that’s depicted on the labels.
Along the way, there is tasting at Quinta Avelada and a visit to Guimaraes, the seat of Portugal’s first king, plus stops at many places that are symbolic of old Portugal. The cruise concludes with two days to enjoy Porto.
While the city and the Douro Valley certainly are well known, the river cruise lines, such as Scenic Cruises, will enhance and promote the region bringing a whole new audience to this area of Portugal.
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