Portugal, Spain & the Douro River Valley 2013
(Cruise Only)

Day 2: Porto, Bitetos
Featured Excursions: Choice of Porto city tour OR Ribeira District walking tour

Birthplace of Henry the Navigator, who launched Portugal’s voyages of exploration, and longtime hub of the trade in Port wine, Porto combines well-preserved historic buildings with cutting-edge architecture and a booming cultural revival. Your tour will take you to the 19th-century Palácio da Bolsa, with its famous Moorish Revival-style Arab Room; the austere hilltop cathedral with its amazing views of the city below; and the vivacious pedestrian shopping street, Santa Catarina. If you prefer, you can explore the UNESCO-designated Ribeira district on foot; the colorful heart of the old port city entices you with Medieval lanes and zigzagging stairways. After lunch, stop by the prestigious Port wine cellars in Cais de Gaia for an introduction to the country’s namesake wine. Then it’s all hands on deck— or perhaps in your luxurious stateroom—as the ship sets sail up the Douro for Bitetos. (BB, L, D)

Day 3: Régua, Pinhão
Featured Excursions: Mateus Palace and Gardens, Douro Museum, and dinner at Quinta da Avessada

Today you enter Port wine country. The Douro River winds through 100 miles of granite mountains, carving out a valley whose steep slopes hold terraces that were cut by hand into the rocky soil and planted with grapes centuries ago. A stop at the Douro Museum in Régua will introduce you to the oldest delimited wine-growing region in the world, while Mateus Palace and Gardens, with one of the most beautiful gardens in the country, shows you what Port can build. These are exciting times in the Douro region, as a group of dedicated winemakers are rapidly shifting the focus from Port to table wines, producing bottles of premium red—and even some white wines. Is the Douro the next great wine region to be discovered? Taste and decide for yourself. Begin your discovery of the region with a tour of the family-owned Quinta da Avessada, which produces premium Moscatel.  Tramp between the vines with the vineyard’s owner, who will tell you how he cultivates the grapes he grows, and pause to look out over the lovely hillsides at the river far below. Inside the old stone walls of the winery, which was founded in the 1750s, partake in a rustic local dinner, complete with live traditional music. It’s a merry evening, capped off by a glass of fine local wine. (BB, L, D)

Day 4: Pinhão, Vega de Terrón (Spain)
Featured Excursion: Wine tasting at a local quinta

Pinhão is the epicenter of the Port winemaking, so it is only fitting you visit a quinta to learn the history of, and sample, the country’s most celebrated beverage. In the afternoon, enjoy the breathtaking scenery while sailing the remote Douro Valley. (BB, L, Captain’s Dinner)

Day 5: Vega de Terrón (Salamanca, Spain)