Why this ride
A natural corridor of river bends, cliffs and historic settlements. It also links naturally to Alto Douro Wine Region.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Douro N108
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 94 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 16
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Access context
Check wildfire closures, heat and local road works. Specific flag: traffic.
Seasonal context
Mar-Nov
Scenic road chapters
Estrada Nacional 2
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For 8 km this is Estrada Nacional 2, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 8 km
- Named road
- Estrada Nacional 2
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Porto
Porto is not a place you pass through quietly. It spills down the north bank of the Douro in a jumble of tiled facades, steep alleys and church towers, with the river at the bottom and the double-decker Dom Luís I bridge arching overhead. That iron bridge, finished in the 1880s, was designed by a pupil of Gustave Eiffel, and it carries a metro line on the upper deck and traffic on the lower. Across the river are the port wine lodges of Vila Nova de Gaia, where the sweet fortified wine is aged in cellars and barrels.
Read the complete Porto write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Porto sits at 0 km, early in the day. Next is Mesão Frio.
2. Mesão Frio
Mesão Frio means Cold Big House, a curious name for a town that looks over one of the warmest wine regions in Portugal. It sits on the steep north bank of the Douro, high above the river, at the point where the valley starts to be planted with terraced vineyards in earnest. The Douro region was formally demarcated in the eighteenth century, which makes it one of the oldest regulated wine regions in the world, and the stone terraces climbing every slope are the result of centuries of back-breaking work.
Read the complete Mesão Frio write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Mesão Frio comes up 35 km in. Next is Peso da Régua.
3. Peso da Régua
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.
Read the complete Peso da Regua write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
94 km in you reach Peso da Régua.