Casa dos Varais

Whenever I plan to go to the Douro Valley, my first thought is: “Let’s check with João if he has a room available for me…”. João Castro Girão Azeredo and his wife Ernestina Ferreira are running my preferred place to stay in the Douro: Casa dos Varais. This is a very beautiful old manor house, full of history, owned by João’s mother, that was built in the beginning of the 18th century. However, there had been already a building in the 15th century… and before that, the property had belonged to the Cistercians, which bought in 1142 the HERDADE DOS VARAIS . Many people believe that this property is exactly the place were Port Wine was invented, because it’s known that the monks back then made a very special wine, called “Vinho Cheirante de Lamego” – which might have been the ancestor of today’s Port Wine.

The house has seen interesting days… many noble families have been living here and we can still seen the sign of nobility on the outside of the building: The Coat of Arms, made of stone, is proudly shown on the North-Eastern corner of the house.

The Coat of Arms of the Casa dos Varais - a sign of Nobility — The Coat of Arms of the Casa dos Varais – a sign of Nobility

In 1808 a darker chapter happened, when the troops of Napoleon ransacked the house – but their stay was quite short and before they knew what had happened to them, the French troops lost the war and were quickly kicked out of Portugal. In 1940 a fire destroyed most of the building – it was based on the old foundation and is supposed to be a very identical replica to the original building.

Many years I drove by the building – and it had always triggered my interest. When I saw in the internet that it was possible for tourists to stay in the house, I needed only minutes to book my first stay – which was the start of a fantastic friendship with João, Ernestina and their family. Why have I chosen this place as my favorite place to stay in the Douro? Because for me this manor house is everything that I look for in Portugal – it’s like Portugal in small. It’s a beautiful building , the family is incredible nice, the food is good, the house is full of history, Douro and Port Wine are produced on the property, the location opposite of Regua is great for tourists (easy to reach by car, no curvy mountain road to navigate).

Staying in this house will bring you in close contact with one of the most interesting families of the Douro – and they make you feel so welcome.

However – this is a family house. This is not a hotel. If you feel that you want to call the room service at 3:30 in the morning to order a chicken sandwich… well, then this is for sure not the right place for you. You can of course have the sandwich at 3:30 – but you will have to go to the kitchen and make it yourself. Just go with the flow – you will have an amazing stay and you will learn a lot about the Douro and Portugal and the people. Even if there are some very nice restaurants in and around of Regua – I suggest that you have dinner at the Casa dos Varais. Just sitting in the museums-like dining room is a marvelous experience.

Dining here makes you feel very special - Casa dos Varais — Dining here makes you feel very special – Casa dos Varais

There are only 4 rooms to rent in the property – and especially in the months with a lot of tourism (like September, the harvest time) the house is often fully booked. So please reserve your room early.

If you plan to come during the harvest time, please ask for the date of the “Pousa” – which is a traditional festivity, involving treading of grapes and a lot of music and dance. Alone this party is reason enough to visit to Casa dos Varais. It’s a fantastic idea from João and Ernestina to revive this old tradition of the “Pousa” – it’s good to see that these traditional events are still existing and that they are not forgotten.

Vineyards and a large garden with many fruit trees are part of this property – and as a guest you will love to roam around and to discover many beautiful things. I love to grab a book and I know I will find somewhere a quiet place to sit and enjoy my book, be it under an orange tree or on a terrace overlooking the river and Regua. It’s a fantastic place for a time-out.

I’m also very happy with the location of the property. It’s on the south-bank of the Douro, looking towards Regua on the other side of the river. Most times when I’m in the Douro, I visit Quintas between Regua and Pinhão – and I can do that from Casa dos Varais without going through the center of Regua, which has often quite some traffic. It’s a very easy location that makes it perfect as my “head-quarter” during my Douro trips.