Porto, Portugal

At a glance · 5 reasons to go

Why Porto, Portugal.

1. 1

   Porto rises in tiled tiers above the Douro, its Ribeira waterfront a UNESCO World Heritage Site of stacked, laundry-strung houses best seen from the Dom Luís I iron bridge at dusk.

2. 2

   Across the river in Vila Nova de Gaia, the port-wine lodges (Taylor’s, Graham’s, Sandeman) offer cellar tours and tastings of the fortified wine the city gave the world.

3. 3

   The Livraria Lello — a neo-Gothic bookshop with a crimson staircase said to have inspired Harry Potter — and the azulejo-tiled São Bento station are the photogenic set pieces.

4. 4

   Francesinha (a gloriously excessive sauced sandwich) and fresh seafood define the local table; the food-and-wine value here beats almost anywhere in Western Europe.

5. 5

   The Douro Valley, the world’s oldest demarcated wine region, begins an hour upriver — terraced vineyards reachable by a scenic train or river cruise.

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