Porto & Lisbon, Portugal

Europe

15 Mar

Written By Simon Campbell

Historic port cellars, river cruises through the Douro, and Atlantic links golf.

At sunrise you tee off at Estela, a links course just north of the historic city Porto. Eight holes cling to its Atlantic border, and you play amid the dunes with a front nine designed to awaken your golf senses, and ensure you’ve earned the indulgence that lies ahead. Then, it’s about the main event, a cruise down the iconic Douro River, into the valley famed for its steep wine terraces, stopping at historic towns and private wine estates.

At the quintas [estates], you can sample the rare wines too good to share with the wider world that are, instead, kept back for visitors to sample where and how they were intended, on a terrace overlooking the UNESCO-protected Douro Valley while trying the best local food of this rich, fertile region of Portugal. Then, it’s Lisbon, where you’ll find not only a vivacious food scene, but the best golf course in the country, Oitavos Dunes.