Yes, the answer is Downtown Gaia! Its where you find the new World of Wine cultural quarter and Cais de Gaia, an area by the Douro river, in front of Porto, where old docks, and dockyards, were once located. Nowadays, Cais de Gaia is the place where restaurants, bakeries, bars, and many other services and businesses are established.
WOW
World of Wine
World of Wine (WOW) is the new cultural quarter located in the heart of the historic area of Gaia, which combines culture, gastronomy and history. A vast area created from the renovated Port Wine cellars where museums, restaurants, bars, cafes and shops are now found, a whole block full of new experiences and a wide square overlooking the Douro River, with a privileged view of the city .
Museums are dedicated to the city – Porto Region Across The Ages; to wine – The Wine Experience; to the glass ritual – The Bridge Collection; to cork – Planet Cork; to chocolate – The Chocolate Story; and to the textile industry and fashion – Porto Fashion & Fabric Museum. In addition to culture, we can enjoy a total of six experiences, as well as explore gastronomy in nine restaurants and cafés. There are also shops, a wine bar, a Wine School, an exhibition space and several event spaces.
Up river
River Cruises
In Cais de Gaia you have a great choice of Douro river cruises. Most of them will take you to Régua or Pinhão where you can visit a Quinta, a vineyard of Douro and Port wines, and eat their delicious dishes and drink their marvelous wines.
These Quintas were built around Palaces or Manor Houses where you can feel the noble Portuguese families way of life and admire the craft and art of this places.
There are many kinds of cruises, with a great deal of choices in terms of duration (one day, two days, more), return transportation (by bus, by boat, other), amenities included, and so on. Just go there, choose the boat you like and ask for the services provided. I’m sure it will be a trip to remember.
Bykes, buses, classic cars and segways
Tours
In Santa Marinha (Gaia) as well as in Porto you have a wide range of tours to choose. There are many meeting points where you can go for a guided tour.
There are walking tours, bike tours, segway tours and vintage cars through the streets of the historical centres of Porto and Gaia. There are also site seeing bus tours throughout the city and its surroundings.
Some tours take you to visit the monuments, the churches, the palaces, and other interesting sites of the city. Some others are thematic tours: delicious food tours; historical tours; religious tours; artistic tours; and so many others.
Pick one to start discovering this vibrant city and, especially, its people.
WHERE TO EAT
Restaurants
In Cais de Gaia, in front of the river, 100 mts from the flats, there are many restaurants, pastries, bakeries, bars and coffee shops.
From Portuguese cuisine to Brazilian, African, Indian, Chinese cuisines, the difficulty is to choose. I recommend to start with Portuguese cuisine. That’s the one you can’t find anywhere else.
Bacalhau (codfish) dish, in its various forms, is a must try. And accompanied with Douro wine, I’m sure you’ll never forget. And francesinha (little french girl)! You should try francesinha – it is a delicious Porto typical dish.
And don’t miss the many kinds of soup Portuguese cuisine has: from chicken canja to caldo verde and sopa de pedra. They are almost a complete meal in itself.
where to drink & snack
Bars and Cellars
In front of Cais de Gaia is the Avenue Ramos Pinto. There you can find several Port Wine Cellars. In fact you can find Port Wine Cellars all over the neighborhood around the Flats. You are just in the middle of it. Choose one and go for a taste. It is really a marvelous wine.
But you are not limited to wine cellars. You have bars, coffee shops, typical pubs (called tascas) all around, either in Santa Marinha or in Porto. Go and have a glass of wine, or beer, water, juice, whatever you like, and taste a Portuguese petisco (snack) at the same time. Have you ever ate moelas? Or pulp in green sauce? Or ameijoas à Bulhão Pato? Or goat cheese with honey? Go ahead!
Enjoy!