DireCtions in oPorto anD the Douro 263rooms placed end to end which are used by Port shippers and guests. The meal is served
in one room and then you leave, taking your napkin, and sit at the same place in the
adjoining room where vintage Port can be enjoyed free from the detracting smell of food.
Membership is restricted to British-owned Port shippers who meet at the Factory House
every Wednesday for lunch. At times when no function is arranged, the Factory House is
open by appointment to visitors.
Oporto is connected to Vila Nova de Gaia by a two-tier iron bridge, the Ponte D.
Luíz. The upper tier, now closed to traffic, carries the metro. There is a cable-car linking
the upper part of Gaia with the waterfront. Gaia is best approached from the lower tier
of the bridge that takes you directly to the Port lodges. Some shippers have an enviable
location on the waterfront whereas others are hidden up narrow granite alleyways that
smell of Port (see map 3). Many of the larger shippers conduct regular tours, finishing
with a tasting and an opportunity to buy wine (although don’t expect a bargain). Each
firm has a different atmosphere. Among the most visible, and therefore most popular, are
Cálem and Sandeman, the latter set back from the waterfront in an elegant building that
is frequently flooded in the winter. Outdoor bars and cafes sponsored by the shippers look
across the river to Oporto, and boat trips are available throughout the summer months.
Access to the Douro has improved greatly in recent years. Whereas it used to take a
good three hours to reach the region by car, the vineyards of the Cima Corgo are now a
daily commute, but if you have time to spare you would be well advised to leave the car
behind. This is not for the sake of the Port but because most of the region’s corkscrew
roads traverse the valley and afford few good views of the river and vineyards.
Second only to the cruise boats which ply the river in the summer months, much the
best way to appreciate the grandeur of the Douro landscape is to board the train. The
journey upriver begins at Oporto’s São Bento railway station from where trains leave for
Pocinho, the end of the line. São Bento station itself is worth a visit. Built on the site of an
old convent, its sepulchral concourse is covered from floor to ceiling with blue and white
tiles (azulejos) depicting some of the more glorious moments from Portuguese history.
The journey to Pocinho lasts four hours but it is worth taking the train at least as
far as Pinhão. Allowing for an early start, the return journey can be undertaken in a
day. On leaving the tall suburbs of Oporto, frequently swathed in morning mist, the
train emerges into Vinho Verde county. Pergola-trained vines, often strung with washing,
brush alongside the windows of the carriage but there are no views of the River Douro
until after Marco de Canaveses when about an hour of the journey has elapsed. From
here until the end of the line, the train snakes alongside the river through country that
is so rugged in places that neither mule nor motor vehicle could gain access. On the old
trains when the weather was hot the doors of the carriages were left open so the brave (or
foolhardy) could sit on the steps of the carriage. In places the train runs so close to the
edge of the river that it would be possible to dive from the carriage into the Douro. The
new trains on the line are air-conditioned, so this pleasure is now denied.
It is quite easy to see where the Vinho Verde region ends and the Port vineyards begin.
As the river curves at Barqueiros, hard granite gives way to flaky schist and terraced