Food Tours · Tour

Charcuterie, a Custard Tart Bakery, and Casa Guedes

Three hours through the historic centre, starting at the Arnaldo Gama statue beside the surviving stretch of medieval wall above the river, which is a quieter meeting point than the ones every other tour uses. The eating starts with charcuterie and cheese from the north, cured meats and mountain cheeses laid out together and drunk with Douro DOC wine, which is the pairing that makes the case for the region's still reds better than any explanation. Bolhão comes next. The market has been the city's fresh-produce hall for generations and reopened after a restoration by Nuno Valentim that kept the building's identity rather than converting it into a food court; the stalls still sell to people cooking dinner. There is a pastel de nata bakery where the tarts are made on the premises rather than delivered, and Casa Guedes, whose roast pork sandwich with Serra da Estrela cheese melting into it has a queue outside most afternoons and deserves it. With the time left after eating, the walk takes in Rua de Santa Catarina and then São Bento station, which holds one of the largest tile collections in Portugal, each panel a piece of national history painted onto a working railway concourse. Water, alcohol and the meal are included. Up to fourteen travellers, in English. Gluten-free, lactose-intolerant, vegetarian and vegan diets can all be catered for, which makes this the most flexible food tour in the city, but the operator must be told in advance: without notice they assume no restrictions.