Terraced vineyards
On the hills.
Vitor Oliveira from Torres Vedras, PORTUGAL — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Vitor Oliveira from Torres Vedras, PORTUGAL — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Vitor Oliveira from Torres Vedras, PORTUGAL — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Joaomartinho63 — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Scott Dexter from Brooklyn, US — CC BY-SA 2.0
Pinhão is a small town on the north bank of the Douro River in the Alijó municipality of northern Portugal, about 91 km east of Porto in a straight line. It sits at the centre of the demarcated Port wine region, surrounded by large wine estates. The landscape around the town is part of the Alto Douro Wine Region, listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The town had about 622 residents in the 2021 census, became a vila in 1991, and receives some 400,000 tourists a year. On 14 July 2022 it recorded 47.0 °C, the highest July temperature ever measured in Portugal. Terraced vineyards climb the steep hills around the town down to the calm river, mirrored in the water on clear days. The town's railway station is known for its 24 blue azulejo tile panels, commissioned in 1937, showing Douro landscapes and the grape harvest. Visitors stroll the riverfront, look over the station's tile panels, and visit the wine estates around the town. Autumn brings the grape harvest and the colouring of the vines, while summer is very hot, so bring water and a hat.
On the hills.
Blue azulejos, 1937.
On the Douro.
Pinhão, Alijó municipality, Portugal
Autumn harvest; summer is very hot.
The tile panels at the railway station.