A small bar on the Largo Misericórdia in the old centre where the spirits list runs to gin, rum and whisky and the wines poured by the glass come from the Dão.
The list: Gins, rums and whiskies alongside a rotating pour of the region's own wines, in a small room on the Largo Misericórdia.
Tip: This is the easiest place in the old town to taste Dão by the glass without committing to a bottle at dinner.
Address: Largo Misericórdia 24, 3500-155 Viseu, Portugal, Dão
Two restored floors on an old-town corner with a terrace looking at the cathedral peak. The ground floor serves dinner late and the upstairs bar pours regional wine with small plates.
The list: Regional wines by the glass alongside sangrias and a list of more than thirty gins, poured in the upstairs petiscos bar.
Tip: Eat downstairs, drink upstairs. The upstairs terrace looks straight at the cathedral.
Two restored floors on an old-town corner with a terrace looking at the cathedral peak. The ground floor serves dinner late and the upstairs bar pours regional wine with small plates.
The list: Regional wines by the glass alongside sangrias and a list of more than thirty gins, poured in the upstairs petiscos bar.
Tip: Eat downstairs, drink upstairs. The upstairs terrace looks straight at the cathedral.
A minimal room down at the Ribeira with a terrace built for every season, pouring a selection of wines with boards of regional cheese and charcuterie.
The list: A selection of wines poured alongside boards of regional cheese and cured meats, on a terrace that changes with the season.
Tip: Order the cheese and charcuterie board with a Dão white; the cheese here is the regional one, not a generic plate.
A Rua Nova bar that keeps a wine list next to its gins and cocktails and serves tapas and snacks with them, staffed by people who take the pouring seriously.
The list: A wine list alongside gins, cocktails and tapas, run by a bar team that trades on technique rather than volume.
Tip: Ask what is open by the glass before you order a cocktail; the wine list is the quieter half of the offer here.
A cocktail and wine room in Marzovelos with a terrace, built for the hour between the end of the afternoon and the start of the evening rather than for the small hours.
The list: A drinks-led list built around cocktails and wine, poured indoors or on the terrace in the Marzovelos neighbourhood.
Tip: Go early. This one is built for the end of the afternoon and the start of the night rather than the last round.
A contemporary wine and gin room out by the Nelas roundabout at Quinta da Saudade, with petiscos, a serious sound system and a regular calendar of DJ evenings.
The list: Wine, gin and petiscos are the house list, poured in a minimal contemporary room with a sound system and a standing programme of DJ nights.
Tip: It is the one Viseu room built around wine and gin together; the DJ nights run late and the kitchen keeps sending petiscos.
After hotel pickup in Coimbra, we take direction to activity start in Viseu. Day dedicated to bicycle touring on an old railway branch that has 130 years of transpor...