LOOKING across the broad River Douro to the opposite shoreline of Vila Nova de Gaia, I can see buildings emblazoned with familiar names such as Croft, Taylor's, Offley and Sandeman, the latter's famous cloaked figure logo a feature here since 1928.

I'm in Portugal's second city, Porto, which straddles the Douro close to where it flows into the A tlantic. It is a place synonymous with port wine, whose trade was dominated by British families for 200 years.

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Visitors come here for the excellent restaurants and to taste the famous "Douro gold" in the city's "lodges", as the port houses are known.

Most are on the south bank of the river on the Gaia side. In the company of my delightful guide, Yenifer, I cross into the area over the 19th-century, arched Luís I bridge.

We drive up narrow, steep hills and past rival lodges until we reach the pretty courtyard, lined w ith purple bougainvillea, of Taylor's lodge, which has graced this site since 1692. In the musty cellars, insulated from the 40C heat by thick stone walls, large v ats of ruby port and smaller casks, known as "pipes", of tawny ports are ageing.

Adrian Bridge, chief executive officer of Taylor's parent company, Taylor, Fladgate and Yeatman, explains: "From contact with the surface area of the smaller pipes, the tawnies take on the brownish colour of the oak.

"The ruby ports, on the other hand, being in larger vats, retain more of their redness."

At the end of the tour, we are given the chance to taste the fortified wine. White port (served chilled), tawnies, rubies, Late Bottle Vintages (LBVs), and a rich 1980 vintage are served. Delicious!

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The grapes are grown and the wine is produced up river on the beautiful schist terraces of the Douro Valley. Until the mid-Sixties port was shipped to the cellars of Gaia in wooden boats called barcos rabelos, which take their name, "boats with tails", from their distinctive long, high-set rudders which are a throwback to ancient Phoenician trading vessels.

Today, port is transported by truck but the port lodges still fly their flags from rabelos moored along the riverbanks, some of which can be hired for short trips.

We board one to cruise the length of the six bridges that span the river until we almost reach the ocean at Foz.

The trip is an ideal introduction to the city itself. Porto is both built on and of a pale yellow granite that frames the doors, windows and pediments of the grander houses.
On the south bank, Porto's newest and most sophisticated hotel, The Yeatman, cascades creamily down a hill, bagging amazing views from the balconies of its 82 spacious rooms.

On the opposite hill is the Episcopal do Porto, a huge building that once housed the city's bishops. Behind it is a square where the old pillory stands, a twisting column far too beautiful for its purpose, along with magnificent Porto Cathedral.

Porto has retained its venerable charm, lurching from the bombastic grandeur of buildings like the old Stock Exchange, with its lofty Arab Hall and elegant vaulted restaurant, to alleys of heart-stopping steepness.

Washing is draped between windows, and satellite dishes proliferate like mushrooms as the 21st century intrudes into the Middle Ages There is an abundance of charm, as well as traditional dishes, at one of Porto's oldest places to eat, the Café Majestic. Situated on Santa Catarina, it was opened in 1921 and has long been a focal point for Porto's artistic community.

Tonight we go to the Cais da Ribeira seafront to dine in the unassuming, though no less delightful, restaurant Dom Tonho.

As we sit overlooking the darkening river, a feast materialises before us: tuna and black beans, succulent roast black pig, the freshest, juiciest sardines and steak of hake, rounded off with a sweet dessert.

The meal and the day are completed, of course, with a glass of this grand old city's most famous export.

GETTING THERE:
Kuoni (01306 747 002/kuoni.co.uk) offers five nights at The Yeatman, Porto, from £925pp (two sharing), B&B. Price includes return TAP Air Portugal flights from Heathrow and transfers.
GoOporto: gooporto.com Portugese National Tourist Office: 020 7201 6666/visitportugal.com