Location: Vila Nova de Gaia
Top Things to do in Vila Nova de Gaia
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The 10 Best Hidden Gems Things to do in Vila Nova de Gaia, Northern Portugal
Vila Nova de Gaia, or simply Gaia (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈvilɐ ˈnɔvɐ ðɨ ˈɣajɐ]; Proto-Celtic: *Cale) is a city and a municipality in Porto District in Norte Region, Portugal. It is located south of the city of Porto on the other side of the Douro River. The city proper had a population of 178,255 in 2001. The municipality has an area of 168.46 km². and a total population of 302,295 inhabitants (2011), making it the most populous municipality in Norte Region. Gaia together with Porto and 12 other municipalities makes up the commonly designated Porto Metropolitan Area.
Restaurants in Vila Nova de Gaia
1. Seg4All
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 47 reviews
Seg4All is a Portuguese company based in Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia, which promotes fun, safe and environmentally friendly walks and tours through the Segways.
2. 3+ arte
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 100 reviews
3+ arte - Cooperativa Artistica e Cultural is a Cultural project that aims to boost the arts in Vila Nova de Gaia. Art Gallery, Handicraft, Coworking, Port Wine... And more... Much more!
Reviewed By D3689FAjohnb - Northampton, United Kingdom
An "alternative" little gallery, set in an old warehouse in the heart of "port-land". We went for the port tasting and found a welcoming host and a fine sample of ports and cheeses. We chose the "basic" and "advanced" selections to share, along with two rustic cheeses from northern Portugal, tastefully presented. Our six ports, with the cheese cost approx 16 euros. We then browsed among the ethnic craft items, created by unassuming local arists and craftspersons, and bought presents for the family. Difficult to find but do persevere - such a friendly, welcoming ambience, as with so much of Porto.
3. Porto Augusto's
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 1,396 reviews
Reviewed By Alberto1102002 - Las Rozas, Spain
Fantastic, great experience and highly recommended. Our guide Sandra explained everything very warmly and solved our doubts. Best part is the final taste. The only thing is that Spaniards always like to eat something while drinking
4. Pocas Vinhos
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 184 reviews
Pocas lies in the hands of the 3rd and 4th generation, being one of the very few Port Wine company that was born Portuguese and still belongs to the same Portuguese family. The Old Tawny Ports have built Pocas’ reputation but DOC Douro wines have been proving their own quality over the last 30 years. Recently, Pocas received the award of “Fortified wine producer of the year 2018” by the Portuguese magazine “Revista de Vinhos”. Additionally, welcoming about 28 000 visitors per year, our Visitor Center has been also distinguished with the Tripadvisor Certificate of Excellence. We have plenty of different reasons for inviting you to be part of a true family atmosphere, to feel the unforgettable aroma of the noblest wines, and to see up close a real day-to-day cellar routine.
Reviewed By johnmodesto - Modesto, United States
Pocas is far from the maddening crowd, located in a non touristy part of the city, you can take a bus there or walk up from the river. The cellars and tasting room are lovely, the guide friendly, with excellent English and willing to answer questions, she provided a detailed explanation of the different Port styles, this house also produces dry wines which you can try. The basic tour and tasting is 8 euros, for my wife and I we upgraded to a 12 and 15 euro tasting, 3 pours each, which meant we could try six different wines by sharing. The highlight was a 20 year old Tawny, but all the wines were tasty. A world class wine tasting visit and experience.
5. Cantinho das Aromaticas
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 132 reviews
The Cantinho das Aromaticas is an urban organic farming project, unique in Europe, which produces aromatic plants from seed to final product. The entire productive garden can be visited, and it is possible to wander freely around the farm, or, if you prefer, ask for a guided visit for groups. With an area of 10 hectares, we have 3 hectares under cultivation with over 180 different herbs. In our herbal tea house you can taste several different organic herbal teas.
Reviewed By Joanalc
Definitely recommend to visit Cantinho das Aromáticas. It´s a beautiful quite big farm, the surroundings are simply breathtaking! It feels like you are travelling around the world with aromatic plants, the smells, the flavours, amazing! An unique experience just 10min. driving from Porto center. You are in the city, but completely outside. For nature lovers. Bought a lot of spices there that I use a lot for cooking.
6. Cockburn’s Port Wine Lodge
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 705 reviews
The Cockburn’s Port Lodge holds the largest quantity of Port in oak barrels and wooden vats of any cellar in the historic area of Vila Nova de Gaia. This is where Cockburn’s Ports are aged, in particular its famous Special Reserve.
Reviewed By ElmParkRoyal - Reading, United Kingdom
After a lot of deliberation and comparative research on TA and company websites, we chose the Cockburn's Tour and subsequently felt that we had made absolutely the right choice. We had booked in advance, although, on the day, there was only Mrs EPR and I for our particular timeslot. Consequently, we had our own personal tour which was very thorough and informative. It was conducted by a very personable young guy who had a wealth of knowledge about the company and its product and was able to answer any question with aplomb. The 90 minutes we spent was well-structured and unhurried and took in every aspect of production, as well as Cockburn's history and its development. We concluded with a three port tasting session, alone again, in the clubby upstairs lounge. Certainly a good glassful in each case, with our guide explaining the nuances of each one then leaving us to conclude at our leisure. Earlier, we had travelled from Porto city centre to Vila Nova de Gaia by water taxi (3 Euros, less than 5 minutes duration) and walked up the very steep hill to the Cockburn's property. On return, we walked back down to the riverside to get a cable car up to the Pont Luis Bridge. From there was a brisk walk across the bridge to find the nearby funicular railway to get back down to the Douro waterfront again. A good morning's work for the enthusiastic tourist; every aspect highly recommended.
7. Casa-Museu Teixeira Lopes
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 45 reviews
Reviewed By AussieMarisainPorto - Lanark, United Kingdom
Wow, what a relaxing, exquisite home ‘far from the madding crowd’ of Portuguese-famous Antonio Teixeira Lopes. Serbian multilinguist, Alexandra, our tour guide, made it all come alive with a commentary that kept us fabulously informed & waiting for more. Get outa that awful hop on hop off bus and make the effort to schlep up the hill (or cheat and take the metro, hopping out at Camera de Gaia for a big, fat 1.50 euros one way), it was one of the most adorable & informative hourlong tours we did in our 12 days in Porto. The statues will dwarf you and his artistic talent will tantalise you (ask about his personal life too, quite a hedonist, knocking about with nobility). What a guy, then he gave the whole flippin’ house away to Gaia’s City Council for nicks. And for this, you get to walk in the front door and partake of his amazing home for free - a gift beyond description.
8. Capela do Senhor da Pedra
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 612 reviews
Reviewed By AkoSiAys - Bonn, Germany
This little chapel sits on some rocks on the beach. One reason enough to visit it! We reached the place by bike from the Luís I Bridge. It was a nice bicycle ride as there are good bike paths along the beach promenade. The chapel is actually simple but the location made it really unique. It is quite peaceful and hearing the waves while there is really calming. The view from the chapel is also nice. You can go around it and stay on the rocks behind the chapel to enjoy the breeze.
9. Churchill's
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 283 reviews
Nestled into a narrow side street of the ancient customs zone of Vila Nova da Gaia, tucked away from the bustle of the Gaia promenade, you’ll find Churchill’s — a working port lodge and visitor’s centre showcasing our world class port and table wines. At the Lodge, we invite guests from around the world to experience the buzz and tranquility of the lodge. Groups frequently break ranks for passing forklifts and new inductees into port find themselves lost in thought amidst the rows of aging barrels in the cavernous vintage tawny storage house. Come for a taste, stay for a tour, and lose yourself in the energy of the port trade in action.
Reviewed By moonflower59 - Gosford, Australia
This is at Porto dockside. We spent 2 hours here on a winery tour and tasting. Very pleasantly surprised. Great, informative and friendly tour with wines to taste at the end. My highlight was the dry, cold white port....yum as an aperitif.
10. Quinta dos Corvos
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 793 reviews
Reviewed By Camper281294
We generally don't take up the offers of those who hand out "great deals" but this person was not pushy and was sincere and passionate about Quinta dos Corvos. After a short walk we found ourselves returning to this Port House. Our tour guide, Maria was very knowledgeable and also passionate about the process of Port production, the types of Port, the best pairings of food. Her enthusiasm was infectious. She did let us know about a 5 Euro discount if we purchased and more importantly that we would be eligible to have the VAT portion of the cost (14%) returned at the airport....( Just remember to ask for the paper work to be filled out before you leave.) All in all we saved about 18 Euros!!! Maria is also fluent in 5 languages. All in all a great way to spend part of an afternoon, met a couple of nice people from Scotland and came away with a vintage bottle of red wine and a rare 20 year old bottle of White Port. Obrigado Maria
