Saturday 26th May 2018

After a rather rainy Friday spent at the campsite the sun appeared and we took the opportunity to visit Porto, the second largest city in Portugal.

Neither of us had ever been so we had no idea what to expect other than Porto sits on the River Douro, has a well known football team and is the home of port wine.

We took the car to one of our nearest metro stations, Modivas Centro (red B line) and made the 35/40 minute journey to Trindade station in comfort.

The station was modern and clean with ample parking on the cobbles. Tickets are available from the machine on the platform and there are different types of tickets for any journey. We chose the blue Andante Azul ticket, which is rechargeable with any kind of travel. Porto doesn’t really have a metro system that covers the whole of the city so it suited our purpose for travel in and out of the city. (Just remember to validate your ticket each time you make a journey).

Trindade is one of the underground hubs where it is possible to connect to other metro lines within the city. We chose this station so we could stroll about the central area of the city and then make our way towards the historical centre of Ribeira on the Douro.

We made our way south and stopped at one of the four tourist information offices on Rua Clube dos Fenianos. Armed with a map, and there were plenty to choose from, we continued to the impressive City Hall building, Paços do Concelho which stands proud at the north end of the Avenida dos Aliados.

Each side of this pedestrianised avenue was lined with elegant, old buildings, which were now mostly hotels.

At the end of the Avenue stands the Statue of Dom Pedro IV. The city was extremely busy with tourists in every direction and not what we were expecting.

Continuing south we followed the over ground metro line along Avenida de D Alfonso Henriques to the French Beaux-Arts railway station known as São Bento, famous for the magnificent display of azulejos ceramic tiles in the main entrance hall.

These superb blue and white tiles depict Portugal’s past in spectacular style, including its wars, royalty and transportation history.

From here we headed up the steep road towards the highest point of the city and Porto’s Cathedral, Sé do Porto.

The cathedral is in Batalha, close to the city walls and is a mix of architectural styles. The cathedral sits on a square which offers impressive views over the city, the Douro River and the waterfront on the Vila de Gaia.

Making our way down some wide stone steps we followed the city walls passed the Bishop’s Palace, Paço Episcopal, along the narrow streets until we reached the Escadas das Verdades, a set of very steep steps which lead down to the banks of the Douro.

As we wanted to walk across the upper level of the bridge of Ponte Luis I we headed back up the Rua de Dom Hugo, passed the Casa Museu Guerra Junquiero to the main avenue which passes over the bridge.

The views from this spectacular bridge are stunning! The double deck metal arch bridge spans the Douro. The top deck is for pedestrians and the yellow metro line, which runs down the centre of the bridge.

You can also walk along the lower deck, but the paths either side of the road carrying the main traffic are incredibly narrow and it is difficult to pass with the volume of pedestrians using the paths.

On reaching the other side of the Douro we decided to take the easy route down to the Cais de Gaia as the walk down to the riverside is steep.

The Teleférico de Gaia, a gondola style cable car offers one way or return tickets. At €6 for a single or €9 return, it is a little on the expensive side but does offer great views over the UNESCO historic centre of Porto, the Douro River and Vila de Gaia and the wine cellars.

Along this section of the river there are numerous restaurants, bars, river cruise trips and the famous port wine cellars.

After walking along the river bank, admiring the enormous River Cruisers moored up we paused for lunch before heading off for our own river cruise and a visit to one of the port cellars.

€12.50 each paid for a 50 minute trip along the Douro on one of the small quayside operators. As it was much later in the afternoon, (4.30 pm) the boat was uncrowded. We were treated to views of all of Porto’s six bridges, as well as views of Porto and Gaia in both directions.

On disembarking we headed to our pre-booked tour at Ferreira, one of the many Port Houses or Lodges. We really didn’t know which port house to choose but had read that this is the only big house of Port Wine that has remained in Portuguese hands since its foundation in 1751.

Nevertheless it is worth pre-booking your tour, as the tours can become booked quickly and not all are in English.

Our tour was the last of the day and cost €12 each, including 2 port wine tastings. Our guide was a very well spoken young lady who was very knowledgeable and keen for everyone to ask questions.

The tour lasted approximately an hour and we got to see the huge cellars where the wine ages in large vats or barrels depending on the port wine type and learn about the history of the house and port wine production.

The icing on the cake was the tasting at the end of the tour, which took place in a delightful high vaulted tasting room seated at long wooden tables with other members of our tour.

It would have been rude not to have then visited the shop and purchased a couple of bottles to sample later at our leisure.

Another cable car ride back to the upper level would eventually lead us to metro station Jardim do Morro on the yellow line and back to Trindade, where we could change lines to head back home.

Our visit to Porto was over for today but we were already looking forward to revisiting tomorrow.