Porto and Douro Valley, Portugal

By Ashley Rudolph

Portugal is hot right now, the country just nabbed the top spot as Travel + Leisure's 2016 Destination of the Year. Portugal won my heart before it won that honor, here's a few reasons why I love it so much.

Food and wine

Porto and Douro Valley Top 5

Breakfast on The Terrace at Six Senses (Douro Valley). Nothing beats overlooking the Douro and the property's insane infinity pool while soaking up the sun and munching on fresh fruits, yogurt, and made to order breakfast items. Six Senses is one of my favorite hotel properties in the world, they just get it right.
Lunch at the Yeatman (Vila Nova de Gaia). The #views of Porto just don't get old and the Yeatman has arguably the best view of Porto from Vila Nova de Gaia. I've heard dinner at the Yeatman's Michelin star restaurant is incredible but if you can't squeeze that in (like me), lunch is still a treat.
Dinner at O Paparico (Porto). We walked in knowing we wanted the three course chef's tasting with wine pairings, but seven courses and wine pairings later, we floated out of O Paparico on cloud 9. Every course was delicious and the sommelier knew exactly what wines to pair with whatever the chef surprised us with. Be forewarned, the chef's tasting is a 4-5 hour ordeal and was designed to ensure that you savor every single sip and bite.
Dinner at Castas e Pratos (Douro Valley). A visit to Castas e Pratos is worth it for the wine list alone (spoiler alert: it's a textbook). Yes, the wine list is intimidating but go with whatever recommendation the staff offers up on food or wine. That's what we did and their suggestions were 100% on point.
Dinner at The Vale De Abraão Restaurant (Douro Valley). If you stay at Six Senses, you'll find yourself here on one or more nights and you'll enjoy their seasonal menu and extensive wine list. In addition to the food being amazing, I loved the farm to table feel and that they use herbs from their garden in the restaurant and bar.

What to do and where to stay

Top 5 Experiences

Visit a quinta. We were able to arrange a private tour of a neighboring family-owned quinta (Quinta do Mourão) through our hotel. We spent over an hour hearing about the history of port making in the owner's family and, of course, tasting really good port wine (some were more than 50 years old).
Sail down the Douro River with Pipadouro - vintage wine travel. The two hour cruise down the Douro River was awesome. We lucked out, had the boat to ourselves, and spent the full two hours lounging, taking in the scenery, and enjoying a glass of port. It's not a tour - your captain won't narrate your journey, but that's exactly what we wanted.
Drive from Porto to Douro Valley. If you can, rent a car and drive the N-222 to Douro Valley. You won't regret it. The N-222 was voted the best road in the world and I couldn't help but whip my phone out at every twist and turn to try and capture its beauty.
Visit the port cellars. I visited Sandeman, Taylor's - right next to the Yeatman, and Croft. When you visit the cellars, you can choose to either do a tasting OR do a tour of the cellar and a tasting. We did a mix of both: tours and tastings at Sandeman and Taylor's and just a tasting at Croft. Each cellar does tours in multiple languages and we were able to snag spots in the last English tours of the day at Taylor's and Sandeman. We managed to squeeze in visits to three cellars in about 3 hours - there's a chance they might tell you this isn't possible, but it is!
Walk the Ribiera. You can't visit Porto without walking the Ribiera. The crowds, salesy restaurant hosts, and tour operators can make it feel touristy, but it's worth it - spend as little or as much time taking in the scenery there.