Portugal

Expert View: The Douro Valley

The conditions you need for great wine – warm days, clean air, cooling onshore breezes and undulating landscapes – just so happen to combine to create seriously good walking and cycling country too. The UNESCO World Heritage Douro Valley is a land of vertiginously terraced valleys rising above the sinewy river below, this is Port country. After some easy cycling through sun-dappled villages and extensive vineyards, stop for a glass of the local tipple or a leisurely meal of several courses….

“One of the highlights of this trip is the stunning accommodation, from a traditional olive oil estate to a Douro manor where you can help out in the kitchen!” says Product Manager Gina Eckersley. Of course, there’s no obligation to help out in the kitchen at all!

“They've been handpicked to showcase the very best of the area,” Gina says, adding that many offer their own produce for dinner – such as delicate Portuguese wines, olives, home-baked bread and picked-that-day salads. “The route loosely follows the Douro river as the terrain changes from highland plateau, almond and olive groves, and becomes lush terraced vineyards.”