One of the highlights of going to Porto was visiting the Serralves Contemporary Art Museum and Gardens. The art deco style house is part of the gardens and was built in the 1930’s. You can go inside and do a tour of the property and see the influences of some of the leading architects of the time.
Rosa et Al
During my time in Porto I stayed at Rosa et Al, a townhouse boutique hotel in the Bombarda district of Porto. It’s convenient location made it easy to get around to all the different places I wanted to visit. There is also an excellent restaurant and deli on the main floor. The founders live across the street so if you ever need anything they are never far away.
Breaking Waves
Between Porto and Lisbon I spent a few nights in the surf town of Ericeira. It has charming traditional architecture and is renowned for breathtaking ocean vistas and over 10 local beaches to visit. Ericeira is officially a World Surfing Reserve, meaning it has become the permanent home for many world surfing champions. It is equally loved by lisboêtas who come here for a weekend getaway.
A little further south along the coast is the picturesque town of Azenhas-do-Mar. A 30 minute taxi ride from Ericeira it has great food options and spectacular views. Seeing the crashing waves against the rock pool reminds you that this wild patch of Portugal is more Atlantic than Mediterranean. If you’re looking for a place to stay in the area, Areias do Seixo sits between blonde beaches and a forest of pines.
Wine Route
By some stroke of luck I was able to book a last minute reservation at Quinta Da Côrte, a small vineyard and hotel high in the Douro valley. Once you reach the property the views are breathtaking. The French architect Pierre Yovanovitch recently restored the 17th century winery and house, and added adjoining buildings.
The public transport trek from Porto involves catching the Douro train from Porto to Pinhão and taking a taxi up the mountain. Or if you are clumsy like me and stand at the wrong platform in Porto, and miss the train, you can catch another train to the town of Marco de Canaveses and hop on the Douro train from there.
The bedrooms spare no detail from the embroidered pillow shams to the art from Etel Adnan. You can sign up each day for dinner and the option is typically between meat or fish 3 course meals. I also found a new-to-me soap brand Castalbel that I brought home from their store in Lisbon.
They have a wine tasting tour of the property that goes over the extensive history of producing wine in the Douro region. Both the new modern winery addition to Quinta da Côrte and the original (1800’s) winery are visible to view. Unfortunately living in Ontario means you can’t ship the wine back because of the LCBO monopoly on sales in the province.
The other winery’s nearby to check out are Quinta do Vallado and Quinta do Bomfin. Alternatively you can sit in the pool and enjoy the stunning views over the Douro region.
Olà
I was quite lucky to end my summer 2022 travels with a 48-hour jaunt in Lisbon. I have been to Portugal before and now after this second visit, I'm more than ready to explore more. I mean, how could I not want to spend more time in a place where I can get a glass of port for €4? And walk into any old shop off the street and have the best seafood of my life? Or find a gelato shop serving my favourite seasonal fruit flavours (and, you guessed it, charging way under typical prices for it)? I could talk your ear off about the seafood and the wine and the piri-piri chicken, but I'll let you feast on some photos instead.
