Wines in the Ribeira, glasses on the quay, a sommelier on a stone street and the bridge to go to bed.

Porto has its wine on the other bank: the port cellars are in Vila Nova de Gaia, closed by the time the city starts drinking. In the evening, the wine stays on this side, in the Ribeira and the stone streets that climb from it. This plan is for walking them, from glass to glass, without having to think about getting back: you dine nearby, cross the Luís I Bridge when it is already night and climb up to sleep in a wine hotel at the top of Gaia.

From the wall to the bridge

15:00 · Wine Quay Bar. The Muro dos Bacalhoeiros is the wall that runs above the houses of the Cais da Ribeira, and on it, with the terrace overlooking the Douro and the bridge to one side, is this bar, which presents itself as the city's first wine bar. Portuguese wines and a few from elsewhere, with cheeses, cured meats and tinned fish. It takes no reservations: arriving when it opens, at 15:00 in winter, is the way to get a table at the railing. Closed on Sunday.

17:15 · Prova. Five minutes' walk away, on Rua Ferreira Borges, the street that runs down from the Palácio da Bolsa. It is run by the sommelier Diogo Amado, and the point is to let him choose: you tell him what you like and he serves you wines from producers you would not find yourself. There are cheeses and cured meats to go with them, and tastings and pairings that are booked by phone. It opens at 17:00; its website does not say which day it closes, so confirm on 916 499 121.

19:30 · Dinner at Cantinho do Avillez. Ten minutes towards Rua Mouzinho da Silveira, the street that runs down from São Bento to the Ribeira. It is chef José Avillez's informal restaurant, open every day until 23:00: Portuguese cooking with a twist, from the duck curry to the scallops with avocado. Book.

21:30 · The Luís I Bridge from below. Go back down to the Cais and cross to Gaia on the lower deck of the 1886 bridge, a few metres above the water, with the Ribeira lit up behind you.

22:00 · The Yeatman. Twenty minutes uphill through Gaia, among the port cellars, and you reach the hotel. It is a luxury wine hotel: every room has a terrace over Porto, with a wine spa, pools and a restaurant with two Michelin stars. The view of the city from your terrace is the last glass.

The next morning

Taylor's is on the same Rua do Choupelo as the hotel. It opens at 10:00: a self-guided visit with an audioguide in Spanish on your phone and three ports at the end, a Chip Dry, an LBV and a 10-year-old tawny. It is the logical finishing touch before collecting the car.

On a smaller budget

For dinner without a reservation and for little money, Casa Guedes, on Praça dos Poveiros, serves its roast pork sandwich every day until 23:00. And if The Yeatman stretches the budget, sleep in the centre and walk back from Prova.