Régua sits on the south bank of the Douro river, a working town of about five thousand people, and it is the capital of the oldest demarcated wine region in the world. In 1756 the Marquis of Pombal, the chief minister of Portugal, set the borders of the Port wine district to protect quality and prices, and the steep schist hillsides terraced with vines around the town have been cultivated for centuries. The landscape, with stone walls rising in steps from the river, was listed by UNESCO in 2001 as an example of a cultural landscape shaped by human labour, and it is one of the most beautiful in Europe.
Port itself is the story. Grapes grown in the upper valley were fermented, fortified with brandy and shipped in barrels down the river on flat-bottomed boats called rabelos to the cellars at Vila Nova de Gaia, and Régua was the place where the wine changed hands. Today a museum in town, the Museu do Douro, explains the history, and boat trips and a railway line along the river give views of the valley. The harvest, called the vindima, in September and early October, is the best time to see the region, when workers pick the grapes by hand and, in some quintas, still tread them in stone tanks.
The Estrada Nacional 2, often described as Portugal's Route 66, runs from Chaves in the north to Faro in the south, about seven hundred and forty kilometres. Through the Douro the road follows the hillsides high above the river, with hairpin bends and views of vineyards in every direction. The surface is mostly good, though some sections are narrow and patched, and trucks and tractors slow the pace. Summers are very hot, with temperatures often above forty degrees, and the best times are spring and autumn.
Régua has fuel stations, supermarkets, and several places to eat, and the road continues to Pinhão, a pretty village with an old station decorated with blue tiles, about half an hour east. Local restaurants serve grilled meat, salt cod and, of course, a glass of Port, though anyone riding should keep to a small one. Many quintas offer tastings and accommodation, so book ahead, especially in September.