Flavors of Portugal & Spain

Northern Portugal is known for its port wine – enjoy opportunities to taste this local favorite at more than one tasting. The city Porto is known for this wine – which is alluded to in the wine’s name. The Douro River Valley is also famous for its green hills and port wine grapes.

Home to seemingly endless rows of flourishing grapes, the Douro River Valley is a prominent wine region in Portugal. This UNESCO World Heritage Site has been producing wine for an estimated 2,000 years. However, it wasn’t until the 18th century that the region started creating its famous port wine. Traditionally, the barrels of wine were transported down the river by means of a wooden rabelo boat. These flat-bottomed boats would carry wine from the vineyards into the surrounding regions.

Salamanca is a city in northwestern Spain, and is the capital of the Province of Salamanca. It sits 120 miles west of Madrid and 50 miles east of the Portuguese border. Salamanca is one of the most important university cities in Spain and attracts many international students. The university, the University of Salamanca, founded in 1218, along with tourism are the primary sources of income in Salamanca.

Pamplona is the historical capital city of Navarre, in Spain. Pamplona is located in the center of Navarre, in a rounded valley, that links the mountainous North with the Erbo valley. It is 37 miles from Bilbao and 253 miles from Madrid. The historic city center is on the left bank of the Arga River. Pamplona is most famous for the running of the bulls during the San Fermin festival, which is held every year from July 6th to 14th.

Bilbao is a borough and the capital of the province of Biscay in northern Spain. Bilbao is situated in north central Spain 8.7 miles south of the Bay of Biscay. The borough of Bilbao was founded in the 14th century. Bilbao as a city was not an emerging tourist destination until the late 1990s with the inauguration of the Guggenheim Museum. Bilbao is also a popular destination for business tourism with its new conference and exhibition centers.

The Guggenheim Museum is a museum of modern and contemporary art located in Bilbao, Spain. The museum is built alongside the Nervion River, which runs through the city of Bilbao. The museum Is one of several belonging to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and features permanent and visiting exhibitions of works by Spanish and international artists. The museum was designed by Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry. The museum was inaugurated on October 18th, 1997 by King Juan Carlos I of Spain, who was the king of Spain at the time.

San Sebastián is a coastal city and municipality located in the Basque Autonomous Community in Spain. It lies on the coast of the Bay of Biscay, 12 miles from the French border. The main economic activities here are commerce and tourism, and it is one of the most famous tourist destinations in Spain partly because of its picturesque shoreline. San Sebastián was chosen as the European Capital of Culture for the year 2016.