Delightful Douro

Porto is one of the most immediately captivating cities in Europe, its World Heritage-listed historic centre rising steeply from both banks of the Douro on a series of hills that give every street corner a view. Arrive and board Scenic Azure at the Porto waterfront, where the Ribeira district’s colourful medieval houses and the Vila Nova de Gaia port wine lodges face each other across the river. Settle into your suite and join this evening’s welcome reception, where the entertainment is a performance of traditional fado music — the melancholic Portuguese song form that was born in Porto’s working-class neighbourhoods and is unlike anything else in European music.

Scenic Azure departs Porto this morning and the Douro Valley opens immediately: the river narrows, the hills rise on both sides and the terraced quintas begin to appear above the waterline. The cruising day passes through some of the most beautiful river scenery in Europe as the schist stone terrace walls of the Douro Valley, built by hand since the 18th century, climb every hillside. Arrive in Pinhão this afternoon, the prettiest village in Port wine country and the location of the railway station whose azulejo tile panels depicting the grape harvest are among the finest examples of functional Portuguese tile art anywhere. The on-board azulejos painting workshop this evening gives a hands-on introduction to the craft that has defined Portuguese decorative culture for centuries.

A morning in Pinhão before Scenic Azure continues upstream. The Scenic Freechoice programme today takes you to Provesende, a charming hilltop village that represents traditional Douro Valley life at its most intact: the guided walk passes through the village church, the old bakery and the historic manor house Morgadio da Calçada, finishing with a tasting of traditional bola bread made in the original wood-fired oven. Local artisans demonstrate the handcraft traditions that have sustained the village economy for generations. Scenic Azure continues upstream toward Barca d’Alva and the Spanish border as the Douro narrows further and the landscape takes on an increasingly arid character.

Docked near the Spanish border at the furthest point upstream on this voyage, today offers one of the most striking excursion choices on the itinerary. The full-day Freechoice to golden-stoned Salamanca, one of the finest university cities in Europe, crosses into Spain through the schist landscape of the Arribes del Duero and arrives at a city of extraordinary Spanish Renaissance and Plateresque architecture, its Plaza Mayor consistently cited as the most beautiful main square in Spain. The alternative Freechoice visits Freixo de Espada à Cinta and its unique silk museum, the only place in Portugal where silk is still processed entirely by hand in a tradition maintained since the Arab occupation of the Iberian Peninsula.

A morning in Pocinho with two remarkable Freechoice options that give very different encounters with this remote corner of Portugal. The Côa Valley Museum is the gateway to one of the world’s most significant archaeological sites: the Côa Valley’s prehistoric rock engravings, over 1,000 individual animal figures carved into the schist outcroppings of the valley over a period stretching from 22,000 to 10,000 years ago, constitute the world’s largest collection of open-air Palaeolithic art and were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998. The alternative visits Freixo Numão and the Casa Painova estate, where almond, olive and fruit products from the Douro’s agricultural interior are tasted in a quinta setting. Scenic Azure cruises downstream toward Régua in the afternoon.

Régua is the commercial capital of the Port wine region and the Douro Museum, purpose-built in the former railway station building, tells the story of the valley’s wine culture with extraordinary depth and visual quality. The Freechoice programme today gives three very different encounters with the Douro’s landscape and culture: the Lamego excursion covers the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Remedies with its 686-step baroque staircase and a traditional bodega tasting; the kayaking option takes you along the Pinhão River past traditional villages inaccessible by road; and the Mateus Palace visit gives access to the baroque manor house immortalised on the Mateus Rosé label and its extraordinary formal gardens. Scenic Azure returns to Porto this afternoon.

A full day in Porto and the programme saves the most distinctive evening of the voyage for the final night. The Freechoice morning gives three excellent options: the guided city tour covering the Palácio da Bolsa and its extraordinary Arabian Hall, and the Bolhão Market; the day excursion to World Heritage-listed Guimarães with its 15th-century Ducal Palace and the medieval town considered the birthplace of the Portuguese nation; or the visit to Quinta da Aveleda, the sparkling wine estate whose fairytale gardens and family winemaking history are among the most charming quinta experiences on the Douro. This evening the Scenic Enrich programme delivers the voyage’s most unforgettable experience: a private classical music concert inside the gilded Gothic interior of Porto’s São Francisco Church, one of the most extraordinarily ornate interiors in Portugal, entirely exclusive to Scenic guests. The illumination cruise along the Douro this evening, passing Porto’s six bridges and the city’s illuminated waterfront, provides a perfect close to a week on the river.

Your Delightful Douro journey concludes this morning in Porto after a final breakfast on board Scenic Azure. From the fado welcome at the Ribeira waterfront to the azulejo tile workshop in Pinhão, the prehistoric rock art of the Côa Valley, the golden stones of Salamanca, the baroque staircase of Lamego, the Royal Port wine estates of Régua and the private concert at São Francisco Church, this seven nights on the Douro has covered the Portuguese wine valley at its most authentic. Transfer to Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport for your flights home, or ask your Cruiseabout specialist about extending your Porto stay.