Highlights Of The Douro Valley & Salamanca River

One of Europe’s best kept secrets in one of its most undiscovered corners, explore the sleepy villages and medieval towns unchanged for centuries, amongst the breathtaking rolling hills and terraced vineyard slopes of the stunning Douro Valley.

Commencing in the Roman city of Porto, the home of Port wine, Portugal’s once wild river Douro has been tamed by locks into resembling a series of finger lakes, adding greatly to the valley’s ambience. Leaving behind the Atlantic influenced greenery of the coast, you are soon immersed in a Mediterranean land of olives, vines, and picturesque, medieval hilltop villages. Our destination is the higher reaches of the valley from where we visit Salamanca – home of one of Europe’s oldest universities, two of its finest cathedrals, Spain’s finest city square and even the Inquisition!

You will adore the away-from-it-all experience and visit some of Iberia’s most beautiful medieval towns, monasteries and vineyards, and feel you have been away for months!

One of Europe’s best kept secrets in one of its most undiscovered corners, explore the sleepy villages and medieval towns unchanged for centuries, amongst the breathtaking rolling hills and terraced vineyard slopes of the stunning Douro Valley.

Commencing in the Roman city of Porto, the home of Port wine, Portugal’s once wild river Douro has been tamed by locks into resembling a series of finger lakes, adding greatly to the valley’s ambience. Leaving behind the Atlantic influenced greenery of the coast, you are soon immersed in a Mediterranean land of olives, vines, and picturesque, medieval hilltop villages. Our destination is the higher reaches of the valley from where we visit Salamanca – home of one of Europe’s oldest universities, two of its finest cathedrals, Spain’s finest city square and even the Inquisition!

You will adore the away-from-it-all experience and visit some of Iberia’s most beautiful medieval towns, monasteries and vineyards, and feel you have been away for months!

The Castle of Castelo Rodrigo is a medieval castle in the civil parish of Castelo Rodrigo in the municipality of Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo, district of Guarda.

Salamanca, in northwestern Spain, is the capital of Salamanca province, part of the Castile and León region. With a history dating back to the Celtic era, it’s known for its ornate sandstone architecture and for the Universidad de Salamanca. Founded in the 1100s and a key intellectual center in the 15th-16th centuries, the university continues to add to the city’s vibrancy with its international student population.

Lamego is a city and municipality in the Viseu District, in the Norte Region of the Douro in northern Portugal. Located on the shores of the Balsemão River, the municipality has a population of 26,691, in an area of 165.42 km².

Guimarães is a city in northern Portugal. It’s known for well-preserved medieval buildings like the hilltop, 10th-century Guimarães Castle, with its sweeping city views. The restored Dukes of Bragança Palace, built in the style of a French chateau, has a museum showcasing furniture, tapestries and weapons. Between the palace and the castle is the Romanesque São Miguel do Castelo Church, built in the 13th century.