My sister Juliet and I were in Porto, the centre of the port wine industry, and had just been for a welcome afternoon’s tasting after exploring the city’s sites. We spent several happy hours traipsing around the warehouses of famous names like Croft, gawping at the biggest barrels we had ever seen, learning about tannins and vintages and guzzling tawny, ruby and white beverages to our hearts’ content.

As we staggered out into the sunlight, bemused and blinking by the river’s edge, we noticed a strange display taking place. In a square nearby, two people dressed in white outfits were doing what looked like a kind of martial arts dance while a circle of onlookers clapped, beat the ground with sticks and cheered them on.

Being naturally nosy, we wandered closer to see what was going on. Before I knew it, I was up in the centre of the square, weaving backwards and forwards, (sort of) in time with my opponent. I had no idea what I was doing, but it was fun anyway. This was capoeira, a Brazilian fight-dance, game, and martial art developed by enslaved Africans in the 19th Century, and still popular with Brazilians and Portuguese alike.

I had taken my younger sister to Portugal as her 21st birthday present. Looking for somewhere a bit different, that would be cheap enough for me to pay for both of us, I felt I had struck gold with Porto. With a UNESCO world heritage site and gorgeous tiled houses along its riverfront, the city is beautiful and historically interesting, but has enough to keep the young folk happy too. A few miles from the coast, it has fantastic seafood (and of course wine) at inexpensive prices – brilliant if you’re paying someone else’s tab too!

In spring, there was enough sun to feel warm, but it was still quiet with very few tourists around. Waiters were attentive, and brought us free desserts, which always scores big points! There’s a real concept of giving proper customer service in the city, and we were greeted like Princesses everywhere we went – the perfect way to be treated on your 21st birthday.