Vila Nova de Gaia Free Tour

Meeting at the statue of Vímara Peres — the 9th-century count credited with founding the county that gave Portugal its name — this tour starts on the Porto side of the river before crossing the iron deck of the Dom Luís I Bridge into Vila Nova de Gaia. It's a short walk with a big payoff: from the bridge, the whole granite skyline of Porto lines up across the Douro exactly as it does on every bottle label.

Gaia itself is where the wine goes to age. Your guide walks the riverside lodges of Sandeman, Taylor's and Graham's, among others, explaining why port wine legally has to cross the river to earn its name, how the rabelo boats once carried barrels down from the Douro valley, and which terrace is worth climbing for sunset. The Mosteiro da Serra do Pilar rounds off the walk with the view that made this whole shoreline a UNESCO site.