Porto is Portugal’s second largest city located in the North. The old city center clings to the steep banks of the Douro River which ends here after it’s long course through Spain and Portugal. The city doesn’t feel as large and spread out as Lisbon. The city has several beautiful bridges. The Ponte Ferroviaria Maria, no longer used, was a railway bridge built by French engineer Eiffel in 1877. The Ponte Rodoviaria Dom Luis I with it’s two levels is a world heritage sight, built in 1886. The third iconic bridge is the Ponte Rodoviaria Arrabida built in 1963 with a single concrete span of 900 feet.
We arrived from Greece late on a Tuesday evening. To get to Porto, we flew from Naxos to Athens, then Athens to Lisbon. The metro takes just a few minutes to ride to Lisbon’s Oriente train station. It was easy to change our 8pm first class tickets to an earlier train – once we found a manned ticket booth. The train ride was comfortable and uneventful. I had bought the seats about 60 days before our trip when the first class tickets for seniors were half price. From the Campanha station in Porto we took a taxi to the Capim Dourado apartments in Cedofeita neighborhood. Our first night in Portugal, we had Ramen at an Asian restaurant that happened to be still open at 11:30pm. We used both Bolt and Uber during our time in Portugal. Bolt is a little flakey in that they often declined to provide a driver unless you picked a more expensive option. But expensive is relative – most rides ranged between 5 and 7 euros for the entire trip.
Sept 11th in Porto
Our friends arrival in Porto from Pensacola was delayed by 7 hours, where they sat in the Madrid airport all day. So we had a day to check out the city. We found a laundromat to have our clothes washed by sweetest attendant. Our apartment is located on Rua de Cedofeita where a pedestrian street ends. A Brazilian restaurant is just below the apartments – Capim Dourado.
We set out to explore, heading to the historic center. We ended up walking across the iconic Luis I bridge. The upper level of the bridge is only for pedestrians and the lite rail train, no cars. The views of the old city and the Douro river were fantastic on this clear sunny day. We visited the Mercado Municipal where we bought sardines, tried pastel de nata, expensive cheese board, fresh bread and fruits (ripe figs). The markets we saw in Portugal were not that interesting, very modernized and geared to visitors rather than locals – nothing like the ones in Greece.
It was a sunny day and we had great views of the Douro River and the colorful Old Town with it’s red tile roofs. We walked across the bridge to the Vila de Nova Gaia side. On our walk we found the famous Majestic Cafe, with its Art Nouveau decor, where we splurged on an expensive but worthy breakfast. We passed by the famous Lello Bookstore that supposedly was an inspiration for the Harry Potter books. The lines to get inside were ridiculous and those tourists each paid to wait in the line.
Once the Hibs arrived we had a quick happy hour in our apartment with some local grocery store wine before heading out to find a view of sunset. We walked down many stairs and narrow lanes to get down to the bottom of the Dom Luis I bridge for a sundowner drink. The actual sunset is not visible from that side of the river but the setting sun lights up the bridge and buildings on Gaia side. Nighttime on the Ribiera is lovely. Even though it’s very touristy it is still fun. Everything is lit up and there was much live music and outdoor seating for most of the restaurants.
We got a table at Muro do Bacalhau, a restaurant that I found in google maps that had great reviews. It is a small restaurant with outdoor seating for about 20 people. Typically you will have to wait but it is totally worth the wait. The reviews were totally justified. We ordered six sharing dishes. Portions were perfect for four of us. Each dish tastier than the ones before. I particularly liked the mushrooms and the fresh cod. And then the dessert – banana cake. Wow. Great service, beautiful views over river. Would go again, and we did!
Sept 12 in Porto
I had prebooked two tours several months before our trip with Pedro’s Beetle Tours. The first was a three hour driving tour of Porto to see the city’s highlights. The second was a full day driving tour to the Douro valley. Pedro was a wonderful guide and our time with him was fun and informative.
Our Porto tour was scheduled for 2 pm giving us plenty of time to do some exploring on our own in the morning. We just walked and walked, visiting some sites along the way. We meandered to the viewpoint of Miradouro da Vitoria with hazy views of city buildings, bridges and the river below. The neighborhood of Vitoria was once part of the old Jewish quarter. It is a popular place to watch the sunset. From Vitoria there are stairs leading to the lower streets.
The Sao Bento train station is touted for its tiled walls in the main entry hall. We peeked in to take a few photos of the hand painted tile scenes showing historical and folk scenes from the Douro region. Portugual is known for its use of tiles – on exterior of buildings, on walls and floors of buildings, and on the streets and sidewalks. The Time Out Market is connected to the train station. We took a quick look but it just looks like any American food court and we opted to find a more local restaurant.
The Sao Francisco Church offers two parts to explore – the extravently decorated church and the catacombs below. The interior is stunning with elaborately carved chapels covered in gold leaf. The most memorable chapels were the Franciscan Martyrs and the Tree of Jesse showing the ancestors of Jesus. Below the church in the crypt the walls and floors are covered with tombs.
We went on a hunt for the traditional Portuguese pork sandwich, the bifana. The place I took us to (on Google maps) had long lines and we don’t do lines. We opted for a little place near the Praca de Dom Joao I. And the bifana was outstanding. It is a traditional Portuguese sandwich comprised of a bread roll filled with marinated pork cutlets in a tasty marinade. I am going to try making this when we get home.
Our guide picked us up in his vintage Volkswagen beetle. The weather was lovely for an open air ride. His car is 50 years old and has been carefully restored. With the top down we were whisked around town to see the major roads, plazas and iconic views. We stopped at the now closed Mosteiro da Serra do Pilar. A huge terrace outside the former Monastery/fortress has views of Porto side of the Douro river.
The Douro River ends in Porto when it dumps into the Atlantic Ocean. We rode out to see Porto’s elegant beach community (Foz do Douro) with elegant homes and views over the Atlantic Ocean. It was blowing hard and chilly at the beach, prompting me to cancel a coastal ebike ride I had booked through viator for the next day. We stopped at Largo Santa Catarina near the beach to see more views and have a little Port wine and the famous Pastel de Nata custard tart because Port is best sipped with a sweet.
Sept 13 – Douro Valley
Today was a full day driving tour to the Douro Valley with Pedro. It was a beautiful drive through windy roads with views of lush terraced vineyards, across iconic bridges, a boat ride and wine tastings. It is possible to visit the Douro Valley independantly but you won’t see as much and will be dependant on public transportation. There are also group tours through Tripadvisor and Viator but then you are crammed into a van with someone in the middle of every row. For four people, our cost wasn’t really much more than an organized tour.
The first wine tasting was at Quinta D’Orgem where we sampled three wines, olive oil and local honey followed by a tour of their wine production. We liked their white wine best and bought a bottle. Loved a sign that said “one more glass of wine and I’ll tell you what I really think”. Their red wine is still 100% crushed by feet for a better taste – these wine crushing days are really social events where 8 to 9 people work for several hours at a time.
We took a one hour boat ride along the river where we could see the terraced vineyards and many different Quintas – each with their name on a large sign. We stopped at a quiet restaurant for lunch – Cais da Foz in the town of Pinhao. There were not a lot of people and the food was reasonable and tasty.
The second wine tasting was at Quinta do Seixo which is owned by the Sandeman company, one of the biggest players in Portugal wine industry. Their Quinta is high up on the mountain with sweeping views of the other estates. We tried three different ports – tawny, ruby and one other. I preferred the Ruby best – but it needs to be used within a few days while the others can be recorked, chilled and will last for months. We started the tour standing in the Sandeman Poster Collection. Each year they sponsor a contest for that year’s poster. The winners’ artwork is framed and displayed in a gallery. Bright, colorful and creative artwork depicting the icon Sandeman, the Douro Valley, Porto and more.
At the end of our tour, we were dropped off on the Vila Nova de Gaia side of the river so we could watch the sunset from the rooftop bar of Port Cruz. The elevator wasn’t working but we are getting stronger with all the hiking and walking the hills of Porto. The rooftop bar was a happening place for young people with a DJ playing lively music. We were a little old for the scene but had fun nonetheless and got our sunset views. We took a chance on another restaurant using Google Maps reviews – Barris Do Douro Restaurant. They tried to seat us on the ground floor which felt claustrophic and a bit warm. We were able to get a table near the windows upstairs overlooking the river. It is a touristy restaurant but the food was suprising good – especially the seafood rice.
Sept 14 – Last Day in Porto
I had a list of things I wanted to try and see on our last day in Porto. We walked to the Bolsa Palace to get tickets for later in the day. They only have timed entries and typically when you arrive, the next few tours are already sold out. And they do not sell online tickets. We hiked back up the hills planning to see the Porto Cathedral but when we arrived, it was very crowded and the lines to get in were long. The plaza was full of groups and the skies were very smoky from fires that had popped up the night before. We opted to skip the Cathedral and kept walking.
Lucky for us, we stumbled on another church and museum with not a soul around. Museu do Tesouro da Sé do Porto is a church with adjoining museum of sacred art. The bell tower is accessible by many steps and had us gasping for breath as we rounded the narrow curved staircase. At the top were massive bells and 360 degree views with signs explaining the buildings in view. Definitely a worthy stop on a hot day.
Our next stop was the jewelry shop owned by tour guide Pedro and his wife. She has some pretty jewelry pieces with the tradition Portuguese filigree design. I loved the filigree pieces – pendants and earrings mostly. Filigree is a very old design going back thousands of years. The jewelry are finely woven strands of gold and silver, and are made in Portugal. The Viana Heart is a popular design and was originally made for queen as a religious symbol.
The colorful Rooster of Barcelos is found throughout Portgual in the tourist shops, made into wine stoppers, toothpick holders and figurines. There is a legend behind the rooster.
It all started in the 15th century when a Galician pilgrim passing through Barcelos was accused of a crime he didn’t commit. Despite his protests, he was sentenced to hang. In a last-ditch effort, he asked to see the judge, who was having a meal. The pilgrim pointed to a cooked rooster on the table and declared that the rooster would crow as a sign of his innocence. Skeptical but intrigued, the judge pushed aside his meal. As the pilgrim was led to the gallows, something miraculous happened—the roasted rooster stood up and crowed, proving the man’s innocence. Astonished, the judge rushed to the gallows and found the pilgrim alive, saved by a poorly tied knot. The pilgrim was freedd and the rooster became a symbol of faith, justice, and good fortune. Years later, the man returned and created a sculpture, the Monumento do Senhor do Galo, to honor the Virgin Mary and Santiago. Over time, this story became a part of Portuguese tradition.
Lunch at Terroir to try Franchesina sandwich, a cholesterol bomb. Good location in the old town but this meat sandwich didn’t appeal to me. In the late afternoon we came back to this square to see a fado performance, in honor of a celebration of the nearby church . I enjoyed listening to the Fado singers, especially a duet with a man and woman. I could not understand but their expressions and laughter showed they were teasing each other. Audience were locals enjoying the performance.
The tour of Bolsa Palace (aka Stock Exchange Palace) was somewhat interesting with an odd guide who fancies herself a drama student. It’s the home for the Chamber of Commerce and has been for over a hundred years. The exquisite wood floors and the ornate Arab room were the most interesting parts. Glad it was only 30 minutes and not sure why Rick Steves rate this as a 2 star sight.
We so enjoyed our first night’s dinner at Mura de Bacalau restaurant that we went back again, even though we had to wait 30 minutes for a table. We stayed for 2 hours, watching the activity of sunset boat tours and the setting sun casting a glow on the Vila de Nova Gaia buildings on the other side of the river. The moon is about 3/4 full and rose before sunset. The smoke we saw in the morning had dissipated by afternoon. It was a lovely end to our short stay in Porto. We enjoyed the music coming through our open windows from the Brazilian restaurant below our apartments as we drifted to sleep.
Porto has been a great start to our two week in Portugal. In the morning we head out to the airport to pickup a car and begin our exploration of the smaller towns.