The Port Wine Lodges
by MarioPortugal
Port, Portugal's most famous wine, ages in the cellars located in Vila Nova de Gaia, Oporto's sister city.
Visitors come from all over the world to visit and taste some of those fine "juices". :-)
For instance The House of Sandeman alone welcomes about 100,000 visitors per year.
In general, all the Port Lodges have specialized guides to guide visitors to their facilities.
Only for the history and also for the symbolism that Port Wine represents, I place the Port Wine Lodges in the Top-10 Tourist attractions of Portugal.
Playing & Swimming in the Douro River
by MarioPortugal
This picture was shot in Vila Nova de Gaia but it could have been taken a similar one in Porto (Oporto), in the other side of the Douro river.
Playing in the Douro has always been a fun hobby for local kids in both banks of the river.
Gaia
by SoulFisher
Gaia, short for Vila Nova de Gaia (New Village of Gaia), is a suburb of Oporto on the south bank of the river Douro.
The name Gaia is probably of Celtic origin and was adopted by the Romans. The junction of the ancient name Cale (Gaia) with Portus (Oporto), originated the name Portugal.
Its proximity with Oporto, right in front of it and across any of Oporto's bridges make many people to think this is Oporto itself.
As any suburb of a big city, Gaia offered cheaper land. Because of that many people from the region of Oporto moved to Gaia, making it the largest city in the north, bigger than Oporto itself.
Besides being a city of commuters, it's also an industrial city, producing urban buses (Caetano) sold to European cities, metallurgic products and textiles.
However what Gaia is famous for is the port wine cellars. They are based in its center by the river Douro, overlooking Oporto.
It's a very short walk from Oporto's Ribeira, across D. Luis bridge, to Gaia's wine lodges.
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Gaia - Portugal
Port wine producers
Igreja de Santa Marinha (Vila Nova de Gaia, Pt)
Bogani Café (Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal)
