Port Tasting in Porto

One of our favorite trips over here has been to Portugal, so this past weekend we flew with my mom to Porto!

Porto is the second largest city in Portugal and home to delicious Port wine. It's a coastal town in the Northwest part of the country with narrow, cobblestone streets and lots of hills. The area has two sides: Porto which consists of the old town with many restaurants, cathedrals, shops and bars, and Gaia on the other side of the river where many of the famous port wineries lie.

We were staying on the old town (Porto) side, so we arrived to our guest house and went to grab lunch. Then we walked down towards the waterfront where we stopped for a small taste of Port out of a chocolate cup (delicious). After, we walked across the Luís I Bridge from which there are stunning views of both sides of the river as you cross it.

We made our way to the riverfront on the Gaia side and grabbed a drink overlooking the beautiful Porto side. We had roasted chestnuts from a local vendor and then did a Porto tour at Cálem. Many of the port wineries have production facilities and tasting rooms staggered along the riverfront. They have huge signs with just their title name spelled out in letters that can be seen from the Porto side.

Founded in 1859, Cálem was recommended to us by our guesthouse because they have a tour of the facility with a tasting while listening to the traditional Portuguese music, Fado. On the tour, we learned about the three main types of Port: tawny, ruby and white. We actually had no idea that there was white port until our tour, but it makes sense since there's white wine! And it was delicious. The whole experience of being in a cave-like setting listening to beautiful Fado music and sipping our different port wines was very serene.

Afterwards, we made our way back to the Porto side and found dinner along the waterfront. We dropped my mom off at the guesthouse and Aaron and I went out for a nightcap. We had heard that Porto was like Spain- people wouldn't go out until 11pm and bars were open until 4am, clubs were open until 2am. Still, Aaron and I went out at 10pm. The popular street for bars that our guesthouse recommended was empty when we went. But when we left at about midnight, it was packed by then!

The next day, we got up and walked to the train station and bookstore, which were both places that inspired JK Rowling for the Harry Potter books. The bookstore has a crazy, intricate staircase that loops into itself and looks like part of it is almost floating. It just feels 'magical' and I can see how it would be an inspiration for Diagon Alley, Oliver's Wand Shop or the moving staircases at Hogwarts.

Then we went to Palácio da Bolsa also known as the stock exchange palace. In 1850 the Palace was built to house the commercial association of Portugal and impress those that saw it. My favorite areas were the grand staircase leading up to the second floor (with huge chandeliers and impressive marble) and the Arab room which is a beautiful, detailed, ornate room. It's hard to describe and my pictures don't do it justice, but it really was breathtaking.

We finished touring the palace and walked back to the waterfront for a glass of Port. Then we headed to a local shop that had a port tasting and went for tapas that night.

We left the next morning to head back for a full day of packing. Our movers were coming the next day, so we had a lot to do before then! This was our second to last trip before moving home, and after two trips to this country, we've decided we love Portugal!