Vila Nova de Gaia — Day 7 of a 8-Day Trip in Portugal
Vila Nova de Gaia is connected to Porto by the Dom Luis Bridge. It is actually a different city and is home to many wine/port cellars. Port is a Portuguese fortified wine that originates in the Duoro Valley. Portugal has very strict regulations on commercial port, so there are very few wineries that can sell it.
Day 7
Vila Nova de Gaia
To start our day, we walked to the big Porto sign in front of the city hall.
Next destination was Mercado do Bolhau, a market in Porto with fresh fruits, meats, coffee, pastries, and flowers. We stopped for a coffee at one of the shops.
We walked to the Dom Luis Bridge to cross to Vila Nova de Gaia. Right by Dom Luis Bridge is the Muralha Fernadina, which are the ruins of the city walls.
From atop of Dom Luis Bridge, there are great views of both Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia. Just across the bridge in Vila Nova de Gaia is Mosteiro da Serra de Pilar, a former monastery. The monastery was closed at the time of our visit, but it is perched high up so you can gaze back at Porto.
For lunch, we walked to Meet & Taste. I ordered the steak and egg with fries and he got the porco preto (fatty pork) with potatoes and broccoli.
After lunch, we headed to 7G Roasters for coffee, passing by the Half Rabbit artwork. The Half Rabbit is made of recycled materials and trash collected from the city.
At 7G Roasters, I ordered a latte and he got the coffee tasting flight. The coffee tasting flight comes with 4 different drinks and is brought out one at a time. I recommend the coffee tasting flight, especially if you love coffee. However, make sure you have adequate time to enjoy the flight. We were short on time and did not realize how this would be served, so we had to rush at the end to make our wine tour at 2:30pm. Due to us rushing, I did not get any good photos of the coffee unfortunately.
We headed to Graham’s for our port wine tour. We were taken down to the wine cellars, where the guide explained to us the different types of port. In the cellars, there were ports dating back to the 1800s. At the end of the tour, we had the opportunity to taste a few of their ports. From the tour, I learned there are 4 types of port – ruby, white, rosé (less common), and tawny. Ruby ports are only aged for a few years in big oak casks, whereas tawny ports are normally aged for much longer in small wooden barrels. We bought a small bottle of a ruby port to take home with us.
We headed to another port wine tour at Cockburn’s. During the tour, we realized that Cockburn’s and Graham’s are both owned by the same family. The tour was quite similar between the two, only difference is that Cockburn’s has a workshop where they build the oak casks. At the end, we tasted more port.
Afterwards, we took the cable car up the river. The fare is not really worth it, but the ride was nice.
We ventured over the Dom Luis Bridge and snapped a final photo of Porto.
For dinner, we headed to Taberno do Largo. We ordered the olives and dips (olive oil and balsamic vinegar), bread, grilled chorizo sausage, and goat/sheep cheese to share.
For dessert (second dinner), we headed to Pregar to get a steak sandwich or prego to go. We picked the mustard sandwich which was tenderloin steak with mustard. To complete our second dinner, we stopped at the grocery store to pick-up wine. The steak sandwich was delicious and super tender.
Complete Day 7 Itinerary
*Travel times may vary. Check Google Maps for most accurate travel details
9:00am: Visit Mercado do Bolhau. Have pastries, coffee, and fruit for breakfast.
10:00am: Cross the Dom Luis Bridge (11 minute walk from Mercado do Bolhau), observe the Muralha Fernadina. Stop for a view of Porto at Mosteiro da Serra de Pilar.
11:00am: Walk along the river to 7G Roasters for coffee (10 minute walk from Mosteiro da Serra de Pilar). Pass by the art sculpture, Half Rabbit.
1:00pm: Have lunch at Meet & Taste (2 minute walk from 7G Roasters).
2:00pm: Go for a port tasting at Graham’s Port Lodge (19 minute walk from Meet & Taste).
4:00pm: Go for a port tasting at Cockburn’s Port Lodge (14 minute walk from Graham’s Port Lodge).
6:00pm: Walk along the Duoro River back to the Dom Luis Bridge (19 minute walk from Cockburn’s Port Lodge).
7:00pm: Have appetizers at Taberna do Largo (7 minute walk from Dom Luis Bridge), then have a steak sandwich from Pregar (1 minute walk from Taberna do Largo).
16-Day Italy and Portugal Itinerary
Click “Download” below for an excel version of my 16-Day Italy and Portugal Itinerary. Feel free to use the excel file as a planning template for your own trip!
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Travels with Carolyne 