Douro Valley - UNESCO World Heritage

In the heart of the wine region

Most beautiful tours through the unique valley landscape

Look forward to a wonderful cycling tour through the Douro Valley, which in its most beautiful section is even classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The journey begins and ends at the mouth of the Douro in Porto with its famous port wine cellars. In the morning you will be transported comfortably by car from Porto directly to Douro wine-growing area to the baroque property Casa de Mateus, where your adventures start with a wonderful bike ride through the vineyards to Pinhão. Here you are in the heart of the wine growing region, in the heart of the Douro Valley. On circular tours through the vast terraced vineyards you will discover the beautiful region along the river. Marvel at the pilgrimage church of Lamego, modern multimedia regional museums, visit an old oil mill or a typical wine farm. Overall, this trip is ideal for all cyclists with good condition. You cycle on small roads and paths through the steep, typical and unique vineyards of the Douro Valley.

1. day Porto Arrival

Porto and the Douro, even the first sight is unique and forms the perfect starting point for this bike trip. The picturesque shore line invites you to stroll, the famous bridge spans the river and the port wine cellars on the opposite side complete the cityscape. The nested old town of Porto is dominated by the baroque bishop's palace and the cathedral and beautiful pedestrian streets invite you to stroll. Here you can go on a discovery tour right on the day of arrival and indulge in the special flair of the beautiful city. From many European airports, there are inexpensive direct flights to Porto and the airport is 30 minutes by metro, directly connected to the old town.

2. day Porto – Pinhao 38 km

Your day starts cozy. After a briefing, you'll be transported to the hilly hinterland of the beautiful Douro Valley to Mateus, giving you the chance to visit the “Mateus Rosé” house. Then start riding on small roads through the quiet countryside until you enter Pinhão, the heart of the Douro vineyards with the amazing and unique views.

3. day Round trip Favios 36 km

Enjoy today's radial tour riding northwards of Pinhão, passing by the „Bread and wine“ museum in Favaios and at the end in Loivos you can visit the olive oil museum - nearby also another great viewpoint!

4. day Pinhao - Peso da Regua 27 km

Today is a day of strolling between Pinhão and Peso da Régua. Wine has been grown here for 2000 years and since 2001 the area has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site! The flat cycle route always follows the panoramic road directly along the shore and offers refreshments on stylish viewing terraces. Visit the modern "Museo do Douro" in Peso da Régua, where history, cultivation and transport of port vine is explained. Enjoy a glass of port with a wonderful view over the river on the museum terrace.

5. day Round trip Lamego 33 - 49 km

Today on the program, a varied round trip through the vineyards. In the morning, slowly but steadily, we ascend to Lamego, considered the cultural capital of the region. The gothic cathedral in the town serves as a bishop's residence, the Rococo chapel with its 613-step double staircase is a major pilgrimage church and the 13th-century keep stands above the old town. After a leisurely descent, the Douro comes back into view and you cycle only half way up the hillside in the midst of the vineyards with fantastic views. Then you cycle on a small side street back to Regua along the Douro river.

6. day Round trip Sao Leonardo da Galfura 43 km

You spend another day between the grapevines in the Douro Valley. From one hill to the next you cycle through terraced vineyards to the most beautiful view point in the Douro Valley, the São Leonardo da Galafura at 640 m altitude. From here you can enjoy a fantastic view over the Douro Valley, far into the Marão Mountains. After a well deserved break, you cycle past the small chapel back to the Douro and Peso da Régua.

7. day Peso da Règua - Porto

In the morning you will be transfered by bus to Lixa. In Lixa you will get on your bikes again. Look forward to a wonderful bike ride along the Douro and a fantastic re-entrance to Porto. Take a break in one of Porto's many port wineries and join an interesting tour through the huge cellars. Let the evening fade away at the Douro in a nice restaurant and enjoy once again the good vines.

8. day Porto departure

By boat, train and bicycle and with many visits and tastings you have got to know the UNESCO World Heritage Dourotal and certainly learned to love it! This unique cultural landscape of Europe will keep you in beautiful memories for a long time!

Worth knowing about your bike trip Douro Valley

Please find more information about the bike trip "Douro Valley - UNESCO World Heritage". If you have any further questions feel free to contact us by phone: 0049 - (0)6421 - 886890.

Accomodations

You spend the night in Porto at the beginning and at the end of the journey, so you can plan your arrival and departure very comfortably. In between you stay three nights in Peso da Regua and two nights in Pinhao. From there you start your bike tours without the hassle of packing bags!

Arrival by plane

Porto can be reached from many German and European airports. From the airport in Porto you will reach downtown Porto by metro (journey time approx. 30 minutes).

Ryanair

Lufthansa

TAP

Easyjet

Swiss

Condition of cycle paths

You will cycle on paved roads, bike paths or small roads. The landscape along the Douro is hilly and characterized by the vineyards. Here are many small, partly single-lane side roads without disturbing traffic. Only on some parts of the route you will cycle on expanded country roads through this sparsely populated region. During three tours you have to manage a climb of several kilometers from the river bank to the heights of the vineyards, but with a moderate increase. These climbs are in the morning at the beginning of each day. Once you have reached the height, the further stage is only slightly wavy and  leads you downhill to the riverside. From Peso da Regua to Pinhao you will cycle along the river without a climb to the top. Altogether the stages are hilly but not to long and therefore feasible for many enthusiastic cyclists. If you are uncertain on the demands, you can choose an E-bike as well.

Available rental bikes

We provide hybrid bikes (females/men's) and electric bikes (unisex) with freewheel and different frame sizes. The bikes are equiped with a pannier and a lock.
Rental bikes

Your contact person at location

In Porto we offer a reliable all-round service as well. Our english- and german- speaking, born in Porto, local partner is available daily. He welcomes you when you arrival, takes care of the rental bikes, knows all routes personally and helps if necessary, with insider tips and everyday information.

Navigation with your mobile phone

It is not difficult to find the routes on this trip, as there are not many roads in the Douro valley that could lead to confusion. Therefore our tour book with maps and directions is sufficient to get to the destination without detours.
However we can send you GPS files free of charge by email. You can save all day tours on your mobile phone to follow them easily.

On request, we will also provide a GPS device with the files on site for a rental fee (50.00 EUR). GPS device is subject to availabilty, so please contact Velociped at least 1 week before your journey starts.

A short video for handling can be found here tutorial.

Travel times

Starting in March, daytime temperatures are well suited for cycling and from April on you can expect balmy evenings. From May on is high season and in June shady areas are already sought. During summer it is hot in the Douro valley, because the cooling effect of the Atlantic Ocean does not reach the interior. Only in September the temperatures are comfortable again for cyclists and October is a good month for a bike trip through Douro Valley.

Extra costs which are not inculded in the price

The ferry ride in Porto on day 7 costs approx. 3.00 EUR and has to be paid locally. A possibly applicable city tax is not part of the price and has to be paid at the hotel.

7 days hotline service

Just in case the bike chain is broken, flooding makes it impossible to continue your tour or any other nasty surprise: you can reach us seven days a week and we will do anything to help you as fast as possible.

Passport and visa requirements, health regulations

For EU citizens, there are no special passport or visa requirements and no health formalities to be considered for this trip.

Corona travel information:
Before booking your trip, please inform yourself about the measures in place to contain the Corona pandemic.

An up-to-date overview of applicable measures and travel and safety advice regarding Covid-19 for all countries in the EU and Switzerland can be found here:
https://reopen.europa.eu/en/

You can also find more information on our website at:
Corona virus and holiday planning

Travel insurance

The tour price already includes the statutory insolvency insurance. In addition, we recommend that you take out travel cancellation insurance upon receipt of your travel confirmation in order to protect yourself against financial disadvantages in the event of travel cancellation, interruption of travel, illness or accident.

Old town of Porto

Known as the Ribeira the old town of Porto starts right on the river banks of the Douro and is since 1996 part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. In addition to numerous winding streets and alleys, there are especially many Baroque churches in the old town, that is why Porto is also known as the baroque city. The special feature of the old town is that it is less influenced by individual interest, but rather by their contiguous charm. This becomes clear especially from the other side of the riverbank, from where you have a beautiful view over the old town and thereby the overall pictures from buildings, roads and churches is shown. At the same time there are today many shopping streets and cafés in the old town, which invite you to a long stroll.

Ribeira

Port wine cellars

Portos best known export product is the Port wine. The vineyards where the grapes are grown for this particular sweet wine, extending inland along the Rio Douro. Since 1756 only grapes may be used for the production of Port wine which come from a area that is precisely defined by law. From there, the wine is brought to Porto to the numerous Port wine houses with their famous cellars where it is processed and matured. Visitors can spend days visiting the cavernous cellar at the riverside (there are more than 50, from which you can choose), where you can taste dozens of excellent Port wines.

Port wine

Bookstore Livraria Lello a Irmão

The Livraria Lello & Irmão is considered one of the most beautiful bookstores worldwide. The business is actually unique and also not bookworms, should have a look. Already in 1869 the bookstore was opened in order to allow the inhabitants of Porto access to both domestic and foreign literature. The building has two floors, each with large bookshelves. Both the ceiling and the bookshelves are worth seeing. The highlight is the sweeping staircase in the middle of the first floor, about which the elongated stained glass roof is. On the first floor there is a small bar with wines among others. Also striking is the bright exterior facade, which was built in neo-Gothic style.

Livraria Lello e Irmao

Douro Valley and wine growing

The Douro Valley is divided into the lower Douro valley west of Porto and the upper Douro valley "Alto Douro" further east and is characterized by grapevines.

The Alto Douro is the oldest wine-growing region in the world and an outstanding example of a wine region where wine has been produced for more than 2000 years. In 1756, 13 communities at the Douro joined to form the "Companhia Geral da Agricultura das Vinhas do Alto Douro", creating the first legally protected wine region in the world.

It is also the home of port wine, which is world famous for its quality. Only the wine grown here may be called "port". The wine barrels were shipped down the Douro on "Rabelos" to the port wineries in Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia. This long tradition of viticulture has produced an exceptional cultural landscape. Since 2001 the entire region has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Douro Valley

Lamego

Lamego is a charming and historic city in the north of Portugal, which was once fought over by Moors and Christians. We recommend a trip through the steep and picturesque streets of the city, where the houses are partly merged with the medieval city walls. You should not miss a taste of the ham and a glass of "Raposeira".

Lamego

Santuario Nossa Senhora dos Remédios

In Lamego, an imposing Baroque staircase, consisting of nearly seven hundred steps and elaborate tiles and statues, leads to a hill to the Sanctuary of Santuário de Nossa Senhora dos Remédios. The surrounding terrain consists of a thickly wooded park with mystical paths and gardens. In the church, at the entrance of the nave, there is the tomb of Canon José Teixeira Pinto. The Santuario Nossa Senhora dos Remédios is one of the most important pilgrimage places in Portugal.

Santuario Nossa Senhora dos Remédios

Lamego Cathedral

Another attraction in Lamego is the gothic Cathedral Sé. Various architectural styles of several eras can be admired on the façade and inside the cathedral, as well as impressive ceiling paintings by the Italian architect Nicolau Nasoni.

Cathedral