Northern Portugal: Into the Douro

When Rafa Tonon isn’t on the road as one of the leading food writers working today, he is back home in the town he chose for its vibrant culinary scene and beauty: Porto. This trip is his beautiful vision of life in the north of Portugal. His work has been published widely, from Slate and Eater to The Washington Post and he is the author of books including “The Food Revolutions” (published in Portuguese and Spanish) and “50 Restaurants Over 50 Years Old – 5 Decades of São Paulo Food,” about the traditional restaurants of Latin America’s largest city.

Roads & Kingdoms senior editor Charly Wilder is an award-winning journalist who has spent most of the past two decades in Europe covering travel, culture, and current affairs. As a longtime contributor to the New York Times, she followed the former Silk Road through Central Asia, traced her ancestry into the old Jewish shtetls of Eastern Europe, covered doping in Russia and jaguar conservation in the Yucatán, and was paid to eat her way through numerous European cities.

In beautiful old Porto a stone’s throw from Ribeira Square, Torel 1884 Suites & Apartments is a charming, smartly designed boutique property spread between two buildings from the 19th century. We love the location, the breakfast, and the elegant in-room design, featuring furnishings and textiles by local artisans.

This farm-to-table wine estate and boutique hotel was born from a farmstead dating to 1756. Operated as a family-run winery since 1912, the estate is spread over 15 hectares of vineyards right on the banks of the Douro River with its own private river docks. Nine rooms offer vineyard and river views against a backdrop of rolling green Douro countryside.

A 150-year-old palace was restored as a five-star hotel within the picturesque center of lovely, maritime Aveiro. From the gilded neoclassical facade to the monumental staircase and Moorish design details within, Palacete de Valdemouro gives the feeling of living inside a work of art. We also love the reading room, courtyard terrace, and thermal spa. A perfect, elegant home in the “Venice of Portugal.”