Tour Itinerary

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Day 1 Porto to the Douro Valley    September 14, 2024

Please deposit All luggage at Reception prior to breakfast.

Breakfast at the hotel

Early departure 8:45 am (post breakfast) from the Hotel Vincci Porto for our first full day in the Douro Valley. Enroute once we leave the city and its environs behind us, we begin to climb.  Take in the beauty of the landscape as it shifts from verdant forest to steep stone terraced vineyards.

Our first destination is a very innovative winery created by the man considered by many to be the country's finest next generation winemaker. Their approach to wine production and promotion has been ground-breaking and their wines excel. In addition, their very creative graphics program has won them international acclaim. Here we will enjoy a winery tour plus a unique informal lunch with wine pairings where we join winery staff for their midday meal.

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Our final destination for the day will be our beautiful, award-winning winery and intimate wine-experience hotel where we will occupy all eight rooms in their award-winning new wing, designed by Porto-based Menos E Mais Arquitectos (Less is More). Enjoy the wonderful lounge, patio, grounds and pool, before embarking on a tour and tasting at the winery and an evening dinner at the hotel's excellent restaurant.

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Day 2 in the central Douro

Breakfast at the hotel.

Depart at 9:30 Today we  move northward to destinations in and around Vila Real, where we meet well-known locally-based architect António Belém Lima who will personally lead tours of two of his projects, including a small, but very special Archeological Museum, as well as his creative and sensitive  additions to a historic winery that hugs the Douro River. At this picturesque locale, we cap our visit with a delicious wine accompanied lunch at their excellent restaurant perched just above the Douro River.

Note: An added special treat...if she is in residence, we will meet the charming, characterful, and knowledgeable winery owner, who will bring an added dimension to the visit.

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In between these two architecture destinations we punctuate our morning with a visit to a rare working ceramics studio--one of only six that still practice the unique traditional Black Pottery of the region. This disappearing craft has been recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Meet the artist, and see a demonstration of his work (some of which is available for sale).

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Literally around the corner from our lunch at the winery, is the picturesque river town of Pinhão, where we briefly stop for a photo-op at the quaint hand painted tile facade of the train station and cross the Gustav Eiffel designed bridge enroute to the small but very impressive Museu do Vinho (housed in an architectural gem), that features exceptional exhibition design, and a top-notch introduction to the colourful history of Douro viticulture. 

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Enjoy a couple of hours R+R at the hotel before dinner at the hotel restaurant. 

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Day 3 

Breakfast at the hotel.

We begin the day with a visit an acclaimed Quinta for a tour and wine-tasting where the farm is beautiful, the wine is delicious and sustainable,  and the winery building is designed by Alvaro Siza Vieira, Portugal's most renowned architect.

Next is a winery tour and lunch at a legendary Douro Quinta nearby. Our tour guide will meet us at the administrative office/shop and provide us with an introduction to the winery, and the farm (history, behind the scenes tour of their wine production, culminating with a visit to the most incredible view of the Douro River and Valley as framed by Pritzker Award Winning architect Edouardo Souta da Moura's infinity pool. All of this is followed by a sensational 'al fresco'  lunch on the Quinta's Farmhouse Terrace, accompanied by a selection of their award winning wines.

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After lunch we return to the hotel for some R+R before our final Wine Architecture + Gastronomy dinner at the Michelin listed DOC restaurant, created by celebrated Chef Rui Paula.

(Group Pictures)

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Day 4 return to Porto                                     September 17

Please deposit All luggage at Reception prior to breakfast.

Enjoy a leisurely breakfast, then join together for a final  Group Picture before returning to Porto.

The return trip will take approximately 90 minutes. The coach will make three stops in Porto.

The Hotel Vincci Porto for those participating in the Textiles and Fine Craft Tour or who simply want more Porto!, as well as the Campanhã Train Station (departure station for the high speed train to Lisbon), and the Porto International Airport (for International and regional flights).