Porto is situated at the banks of the meandering Douro river in the north-west of Portugal. It is one of the most picturesque cities in all of Europe. It can be distinguished by its architecture and engineering marvels like the Dom Luis bridge over the Douro gorge. Porto is a bustling metropolitan with a unique blend of colour, culture and heritage. It is no wonder that the historic centre of Porto was declared a UNESCO world heritage in 1996 [source: wikipedia].
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| Porto Riviera, Serra do Pilar in the background |
We landed a little before midnight at the Porto airport and spent the night at a nearby hotel (Solar Antigo hotel Aeroporto). It deserves special mention because of the staff's hospitality, they picked us up from the airport free of charge and also provided port wine and some snacks. Also for the next day, they gave us some tickets which were valid for the next few hours. We took the train from a nearby metro station and headed for the heart of Porto.
We got off at Bolhao metro station as we were staying at a youth hostel in the Rua de Santa Catarina. It was just a stone-throw away from the Chapel of the souls or the Chapel of Santa Catarina. The chapel showcases the distinct blue tile facade which is unique to this region of Portugal. Funnily enough, even though the church was built in the 18th century, it gained popularity when it was tiled in the early 20th century.
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| Left: Chapel of the souls; Centre: Rua da Santa Catarina; Right: Statue of Dom Pedro V |
The entire area around the church is a bustling marketplace and we wandered around it for a while and found our way to Trindade, one of the biggest metro station in all of Porto. From there, we got ourselves day passes (Andante tour) which were valid for busses, trams and metro for 7 Eur each. At this point, we met my school friend, who is a PhD student at the local university and has been staying in Porto for a few years.
From there we headed for the Douro river on foot. I was awestruck by the arched bridges over the river and the contrast between the blue Douro and the red-tiled houses. From West to East there are 4 bridges that we could see, a mix of modern and 19th-century ones. We headed for the most popular of them, the Ponte de Dom Luis bridge. It is a two-level bridge, the bottom lever is for cars and pedestrians. The top-level is for trams and pedestrians.
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| Dom Luis Bridge as seen from Vila Nova de Gaia |
We crossed the iconic bridge to Vila Nova de Gaia and climbed up to the Serra do Pilar Church. It is a great vantage point to take in the panoramic view of the Douro river and Porto. A picture would do more justice to the place than my feeble words.
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| Panoramic view from Vila Nova de Gaia |
At this point, we were super hungry from all the walking. After crossing the river again we zigzagged through the city, visiting several other landmarks. The Porto cathedral and the Sao bento railway station are the ones to be explicitly mentioned.
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| Left: Sao Bento; Right: Porto Cathedral |
We stood in line outside a local food joint as it was packed up from hungry locals and tourists during peak lunchtime. I had the iconic and stomach filling Francesinha sandwich, loaded with melted cheese and fenced in by crispy fries. They were all very delicious but it is not for those who stay away from greasy and oily food.
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| Lunch at Porto; Top right: Francesinha Sandwich |
Next stop: Douro Foz or the estuary of the Douro river. We took the local bus from the Ribiera to the Foz (bus no 500). The bus goes along the river Douro towards the estuary and the Atlantic ocean. It was one of the most scenic bus-drives you can take in Portugal. We got off a bit before the Foz and continued on foot there to soak in the beauty of this place.
We reached the beach "Praia do Carneiro" and I was dumbstruck by the immenseness of the Atlantic ocean. This was my first time observing the second-largest water-body in the world. There were two adjacent lighthouses that provided a great viewpoint. My then-girlfriend Ruma (now my wife) went to use the free washroom adjacent to the beach and told me and my friend to walk ahead to the lighthouse and wait for her there.
Disaster: The lighthouse is built about 100 + meters into the ocean and the waves were thundering against its walls and the wind was strong enough to blow anyone off the wall. I did not notice that my phone was ringing. After 5 minutes when I noticed several missed calls from Ruma and came to know that someone locked the main door of the toilet and she is stuck inside. We immediately rushed there and found no one from the toilet maintenance people around. We realized that the toilet closes at 6.30 pm and the people just locked and left without even checking if someone was inside. We immediately called the police and emergency services and they came after 40 minutes, broke the door and rescued the damsel in distress. It is an experience we will never forget.
Moral: Don't leave your companion in the toilets, wait outside.
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| Estuary of Douro River; Praia do Carneiro |
We barely made it in time for the spectacular sunset. In the dusk, we walked along the coastline as the sky turned from yellow to red, to purple and finally dark.
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| Sunset: Coast of Atlantic Ocean |
We ended up walking so much that our day-ticket was almost unused. I would definitely recommend spending at least 2 days in Porto.
