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Portugal Another Lovely Trip to Portugal! Vila Nova de Gaia Vila Nova de Gaia
Vila Nova de Gaia
It's just across the Douro River, but this is not Porto!
Vila Nova de Gaia is a big city "stuck" onto Porto, which many confuse as being Porto "on the other side of the river".
This is where some of the most famous Port Wine tasting facilities and wine cellars are located.
Vila Nova de Gaia or simply "Gaia" is a big city of more than 300,000, but to me it felt much smaller - especially if arriving from Porto, it's natural to feel this way.
The cable car (or aerial tramway) made my walking distance shorter, as it allowed easy descent from near the Luís I. Bridge to the port area.
Lots of restaurants, and wine cellars, places for tasting the famous Porto wine awaited me there...
Vila Nova de Gaia was also a wonderful place for admiring Porto, which appears as an imposing big city on the northern bank.
A large number of boats, ships embark and disembark their passengers here at Vila Nova de Gaia...
It's rather the area close to the river is that's appealing, so I didn't even go further.
I took the cable car all the way down to Vila Nova de Gaia's port area, then headed almost straight to the wine cellar for a bit of wine tasting.
More info and some photos of my cable car trip, in this article...
Wine Tasting in Vila Nova de Gaia
I picked a single wine - the "Ruby" wine, which is the most extensively produced and cheapest red wine. I loved the wine so much that I couldn't help buying a smaller bottle of it.
With thick protection, I managed to fly it back home and enjoy it!
In English, its name is "Monastery of Serra do Pilar". It's a 16th century convent, located on a mountain top in the proximity of the Luiís I. bridge.
It's not that interesting in comparison with Porto's churches, but I was able to enjoy a different view from up there - towards Porto.
Watching the Ships, Boats in Gaia
Replicas of old cargo boats were lined up along the river bank. Modern and old-looking replica ships kept sailing up and down.
I don't know which bank of the river has more intense traffic, honestly...
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Travel Slang Dictionary
Guide to my personal travel slang vocabulary, which seasons my content...