Barcos Rabelos

The rabelo was built for one job: carrying pipes of port down the Douro from the vineyards to the lodges at Gaia, on a river that before the dams was fast, shallow and broken by rapids. It is flat-bottomed with a shallow draught, square-rigged with a single sail, and steered from a raised platform at the stern with an enormous oar, the espadela, worked by the helmsman standing above the barrels. The journey took days and men were killed on it. Railways in the 1880s took most of the trade, roads finished it, and the dams built from the 1960s drowned the rapids the boats were designed for. The ones moored along the Gaia quay now belong to the port houses and carry their names on the sails - they are advertisements, kept afloat and raced once a year on São João. Modern replicas run tourist trips upriver.

What you actually see

• The hull - flat-bottomed and shallow-draughted for a river of rapids.
• The espadela - the huge steering oar worked from a raised stern platform.
• The moored fleet - port house boats along the Gaia quay carrying brand sails.
• The June race - the annual regatta on São João day.

When to go

Year-round. Thirty to sixty minutes on the quay. The rabelo regatta runs on 24 June, the day after São João.

Honest expectations

The moored boats are branded advertising, not working craft, and cannot be boarded. Tourist river trips use modern replicas with engines. The Gaia quay is crowded and lined with restaurants charging for the view.

Nearby

The port lodges are behind the quay; the Serra do Pilar terrace is above.