Exploring Portugal, Porto

Entry Hall of the São Bento Train Station 

Like Coimbra, we first arrived by train to an outer station, Campanha, and needed to switch to another train taking us to the São Bento Station in town. If you travel no further than here, you’ve still seen one of Porto’s most impressive sites, the walls of São Bento. The entry hall is filled with beautiful hand-painted blue tiles (azulejos) depicting historical and folk vignettes from the local Douro valley.

King Pedro IV and City Hall

We began our brief visit by doing a self-guided tour of the town starting at the bottom of Avenida do Aliados at Praça da Liberdade. A statue of King Pedro IV on horseback greeted us along with a dramatic backdrop of the beautiful city hall. Travel guru, Rick Steves, said it is reminiscent of Wenceslaus Square in Prague and I felt the same when I saw it.

Imperial McDonald's Exterior

The striking buildings along the street are a mix of styles but mostly Art Deco and Art Nouveau.

One building stands out because of its occupant, McDonald’s. Usually I hate to see American fast food joints and low-end restaurant chains in the cities of Europe, but this one has an interesting history. Previously housing the Imperial Café, which was an icon in the 1930s, the Art Deco building was set for demolition. McDonald’s came to the rescue by renovating the building and turning it into perhaps the most elegant fast food place in the world, saving the lovely stained glass, chandeliers and façade… can’t feel too bad about that.

Carmo Church

We walked down Rua da Fábrica, with its mélange of funky stores, to a square housing the popular Padaria Ribeiro pastry shop … perfect as we were in need of coffee and a little pick-me-up. We then found ourselves at another tiled wonder, the side of the Carmo Church. But the building’s tiles weren’t the only wonder. Walking to the front we saw there are actually two Rococo churches joined by a very narrow structure. On the left is the Carmelite church, once inhabited by nuns, and to the right is the Carmo church where the monks lived. Who knows what went on in the narrow building in between. ;-)

Continuing downhill we came upon yet another blue tiled church, Santo Ildefonso, and further down a bookstore turned tourist attraction. It is unusual to see a long line outside a bookstore, but this 1906 shop is different.

Lello and Irmão Bookstore

Meticulously refurbished in 2017, the Lello and Irmão Bookstore has a beautiful Art Nouveau interior. J. K. Rowling worked in Porto for a year and it is believed that this Potter-like shop inspired her. Between the striking interior, including a dramatic spiral staircase, and the Harry Potter connection, the store became overrun with tourists. 

The mass of people dropping by to take a peek, rather than buying books, was taking a toll on the small shop. Their solution was to charge an entrance fee to discourage the lookie-loos. The fee (currently 5€ which may be applied toward any purchase) hasn’t seemed to dissuade anyone.

Clérigos Bell Tower

Across from the store is a most interesting and innovative park, the Praça de Lisboa. The park sits atop a parking garage, so instead of seeing an ugly concrete structure in the middle of the historic town, locals rest and play in an enjoyable park bursting with people, olive trees, benches, tables and a trendy bar. This is an example of great urban planning.

From the park looms the bell tower of the Baroque Clérigos Church. The church welcomes visitors but, like most churches, charges a fee to access its bell tower.

Palácio da Bolsa

Back in the lower portion of Porto, at the Praça do Infante Dom Henrique, sits the grand Palácio da Bolsa (Stock Exchange Palace). The Neoclassical palace was built in the 19th century by the city's Commercial Association and has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The interior can be visited by purchasing tickets for a guided tour.

Ribeira

At the bottom of the hill stretches the fun, disorganized and scenic riverfront Ribeira district. Formerly a working port, the colorful area is now a hodgepodge of narrow houses, restaurants and tourist shops. It is a pleasurable place to roam or to join the throngs of people indulging in a drink or bite to eat.

Across the wrought-iron Ponte Dom Luís I bridge lies the town of Vila Nova de Gaia. This is where the famous port houses store and age Portugal’s most popular and well-known beverage. There are numerous port lodges dotting the hills open to the public for tours and port tastings.

Rabelos

Once on the Gaia side we stopped for a late lunch at the Dourum Restaurante. Sitting just inside the door, we enjoyed a view of the the bridge, the river, and the barrel-carrying boats (rabelos) bobbing up and down. We shared small dishes including canned sardines and tuna, along with some local wine. The service was friendly, the atmosphere pleasant, and prices were very reasonable.

Well fed and happy, we had time to visit one port lodge. We chose Taylor for its location and reputation.

Taylor's Port Tasting Room

Located high on the hill, the pretty grounds include nice views across the river to Porto. Short on time we passed on a tour and instead settled in the tasting room to indulge in a glass of fine aged port. We liked the surroundings but found the staff to be a little stuffy, slightly bordering on arrogant.

With our day in Porto coming to an end, we sadly headed to the São Bento Station to begin our journey back to Lisbon.

Porto completely charmed us. I had wanted to visit for a long time and, although we only had enough time to scratch the surface, it exceeded all expectations. 

We enjoyed our entire visit to Portugal and all we managed to pack into a very few days. In fact, we have booked another trip for this spring so we can slow down and further explore all this historical, beautiful, friendly and charming country has to offer.