Today we wrapped up our two day visit to Portugal with a stop in Porto, the nation’s second largest city, where my goal was to find out why the place is so popular with tourists and expats alike. And if today’s weather was any indication, I may have been on to something already. Bright sunshine and a high in the upper 70s made for a perfect day to be out and about investigating Porto’s attraction.
Unlike yesterday, when we walked our legs off in Lisbon, today’s excursion provided a nice mix of bus touring and free time walking. We were actually docked north of Porto in Matosinhos, so our tour began with a thirty minute ride south to Porto and across the Douro River into Gaia, where an overlook offered a wonderful view of Porto, the river, and a bridge designed by the folks in Gustav Eiffel’s office. You’ll recognize the style when you see the photo below. We lingered for fifteen or twenty minutes, enjoying the view and taking way too many photos, before piling into the bus, crossing back over the river, and heading to Porto’s old town.
The first thing I noticed when we arrived there was that there were none of the narrow, winding pedestrian streets and walkways we’ve come to expect in the European cities we’ve visited. The streets in the old section of Porto are wide affairs with heavy traffic, and getting around involves looking for the nearest crosswalk and waiting for the light to change. That being said, Porto has some gorgeous old buildings, and the eighty minutes we were allotted to explore them weren’t enough.
We did see our top priority though, which was the train station. The train station, you ask? Yes indeed, because the interior has some of the best Portuguese blue tile artwork you’ll ever see. We spent quite a bit of time there, admiring the works on the station walls and trying to get photos without too many people in them. It is a busy, working train station, and it was full of people coming and going.
Eventually we broke ourselves away and marched up a good sized hill to the Porto Cathedral. The Romanesque and baroque exterior is beautiful, and we would have loved to see the interior, but cost (it wasn’t free) and time constraints made that impossible. However, the views of the city from the church grounds are impressive, and we did take some time to enjoy them and take some nice photos.
Then it was back down the hill and up the next one to get back to our meeting point. Did I mention that Porto is very hilly? Well, it is, so get in shape if you plan to do a lot of walking here. Anyway, we got back with just enough time for Michele to dash over to a famous bookstore whose interior was an inspiration for Harry Potter’s Hogwarts. Did you know that J.K. Rowling lived and worked here for a time? Unfortunately, the line to enter the bookstore was long and time was short, so Michele didn’t get to see for herself.
We had one more stop to make, at Crystal Palace Gardens. I’m not quite sure why it was part of the excursion, but it was a nice enough garden, and there were peacocks and chickens running around the place, which was fun. There was also a large domed building that dominated the premises, but getting anywhere past the first floor saloon to see what it was all about was pricey, so we passed. We did have a voucher for a free espresso though, which we enjoyed in a separate library building nearby. The Gardens are also on a hill, so we got to enjoy more nice views and take a few photos.
And then it was back on the bus and back to the ship. My enduring memory of Porto will be of gorgeous, old, lovingly designed buildings and pretty views from hilltop vantage points. And of wishing I’d had more time here. Time to see the interiors of the Cathedral and bookstore, time to relax at a cafe and enjoy a glass of the region’s famous port wine, and time to get outside the city and see the countryside. Who knows, maybe next time.
Tomorrow we’re in Vigo, Spain, just across the border from Portugal, where we’ll do some sightseeing, visit a winery, and sneak back across the border into Portugal to visit a charming little village. Stick around, because I’ll be back with a full report.
Porto on the right, a little bit of Gaia on the left, and the Douro River in the middle. We crossed the bridge in the background to get to Gaia.
Me blocking a lovely view of Porto. 😂
Can you see the influence of Gustav Eiffel in the design of this bridge?
Back across the river into old town Porto. This is the Clérigos Church, a beautiful baroque building. Its 240 foot bell tower is visible from all over the city.
I really liked this building, which appears to have no name or be of any particular significance.
About the closest thing to the kind of narrow pedestrian streets we’ve seen in other cities.
City Hall is certainly an impressive structure.
There’s nothing special about the exterior of the train station, but once you get inside, wow!
These are the famous Portuguese blue tiles.
The scenes depict significant events in Portuguese history.
I admired this one for quite a while.
I couldn’t get enough of them.
Last one. Aren’t they great?
Climbing the hill to the Cathedral.
The Porto Cathedral. I wish we’d had time to go inside.
Monument on the Cathedral grounds. When I have more time I’ll look up its significance.
Looking down from the Cathedral grounds.
Like I said, you can see the bell tower of the Clérigos Church from all over the city.
Another view from the same location.
Don’t know why, but I liked this photo.
I liked this one even better.
I mentioned in yesterday’s post that Lisbon had shops selling nothing but sardines. Well, on our way back from the Cathedral to our meeting point in Porto we passed one. Walls of nothing but sardines. Different years, different varieties, etc., in a carnival-themed shop. Sardines have been a part of the cultural and culinary fabric of Portugal for centuries.
Entering the Crystal Palace Gardens.
This dome, sponsored by Super Bock beer, dominates the Gardens. You can pay to go past the bar, where they have Super Bock beer on tap, and up inside, but I have no idea what’s up there.
They have peacocks in the gardens, though.
And peahens and chicks.
And roosters.
Michele enjoyed this bench.
And her espresso.
We found some pretty flowers.
On our way back out of the Gardens.
Waiting for the bus to take us back to the ship, we noticed this small church across the street. Many houses and small buildings in Porto and Lisbon are decorated with traditional Portuguese blue tiles.
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