Miradouro de São Leonardo de Galafura

The Miradouro de São Leonardo de Galafura, above the Douro, is one of the great balconies of the river: from its wall of stone, the view runs over the valley where the Douro twists between the vineyards of the Alto Douro Vinhateiro, in a landscape that the poet Miguel Torga called his own. It is one of the places where the Douro shows itself entirely — the river, the terraces and the light.

The viewpoint

The viewpoint lies on the high bank of the river, near Galafura, above the great bend that the Douro makes between the hills of the wine country. Around it, the slopes are covered by the vineyards and the walls of schist of the oldest demarcated region of the world, and the river opens below in one of the most celebrated panoramas of Portugal — a place dear to Miguel Torga, whose words about the Douro are kept beside the viewpoint.

What to see

• The great bend of the Douro, seen from the viewpoint.
• The vineyards and terraces of the Alto Douro Vinhateiro.
• The sunset over the valley, in the late afternoon.
• The roads and quintas of the wine country around Galafura.

Visiting

The viewpoint is reached by the roads of the Douro, near Peso da Régua and Covelinhas, in the wine country of the north; it is a place to stop on a journey along the river, especially in the hours of the sunset, and the conditions of the roads follow the official information of the region.

Nearby

Le Vallée du Douro et l’ Museu do Douro are the great companions of a day in the wine country.

Information: visitportoandnorth.travel.

Image credit: The Douro from São Leonardo de Galafura, by Turismoenportugal, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.