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Porto & the Douro Valley
Nights: 4
Day 1: with a day and a half in the city, you have plenty of time to explore. Porto's intriguing Old Town – designated a Unesco World Heritage Site – clings to the steep north bank of the great Douro, its jumbled streets seemingly all leading down to the quayside. Five bridges, including one by Eiffel and a spectacular two-tiered construction, link to Vila Nova de Gaia, the heart of the port wine trade, where you can visit one or two of the wine lodges. (If you are in Porto on a weekday between May and September we can pre-book a free visit of Graham's Port Wine Lodge, where you can learn about port production and then sample the wines.) The Old Town's two main landmarks are the cathedral (Sé) and the panoramic Clérigos Tower. Visit the Stock Exchange (Bolsa) and the church of São Francisco to admire their ornate interiors. Art lovers will like the contemporary art museum, and don't miss the wonderful shops, either – traditional emporiums and designer boutiques stand side by side with old-fashioned shops selling port wine and dried, salted codfish.
Day 2: today you have more time to explore before catching the afternoon train eastwards. The second part of the journey is a real highlight of the break, as the train makes its way along the impressively engineered railway which clings to the sliver of land between the River Douro and the steep slopes above. By the time you alight, you are in the heart of port-wine producing country. Accommodation: Casa do Visconde de Chanceleiros (3*), Chanceleiros. This lovingly restored nobleman's house is a delightful place to spend your last two nights – especially given the first-rate hospitality of host Ursula. The bedrooms are in separate buildings throughout the grounds and cluster around charming terraces and the swimming pool. The food here is excellent, and our arrangements include white port, wine and liqueurs.
Accommodation: Casa do Visconde de Chanceleiros, as above. Prices & travel 2008:
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The valley of the
Rio Douro (‘river of gold’) is striking in its
tranquillity – and its rich colours. Fertile
hills neatly striped with green vines and
silver olive trees are reflected in the
mirror-like waters, as are the painted
long boats which ply the river, and the
region’s tiny, untouched villages of white
houses with red roofs. It is here, at the quintas (wineries) dotted across the slopes, that
port wine is produced, the late-September harvest bringing a pleasant bustle to the valley, when the workers sing late into the night as they pick the grapes and tread them by foot. To set the scene, you begin with two nights in
Porto, friendly capital of the port-wine trade, before
discovering the timeless landscapes where the wine
originates, thus showing the great contrast between
the bustle of the historic sea port and the slow,
traditional ways of life upriver. 
Starting point: Hotel Pestana Porto (4*), Porto. Behind the handsome yellow façade of this historic building lies a stylish hotel, the friendly owners of which pride themselves on the high levels of comfort and service. We include bedrooms at the front so that you can appreciate the superb views across the River Douro to the city's famous port lodges, and provide you with recommendations to help you decide on a restaurant for dinner (pay locally). 
Accommodation: Hotel Pestana Porto, as above. 
Day 3: stroll down to the River Douro to contemplate its calm waters. Here, you can also visit Quinta de la Rosa (entrance fee included), where the grapes for their wines and ports are still trodden by foot, and then either continue into Pinhão to find a restaurant for lunch or enjoy a boat trip along the river (pay locally in both cases). The walk to Pinhão via the Quinta is 5km, and you can either retrace your steps back to Chanceleiros or, if you have bought wine at the Quinta, travel back by taxi (pay locally).