Porto

Porto, Portugal

Port wine, one of Portugal’s most famous exports, is named after Porto, since the metropolitan area, and in particular, the cellars of Vila Nova de Gaia, were responsible for the packaging, transport, and export of fortified wine. To get there (in a hurry) we crossed the bridge and made our way to the Port Wine District. Most tourists flock to this side of the river for obvious reasons, and we were no exception.

A Port in Porto

The History of Port. Grapes have been grown in Portugal since antiquity. Inhabitants of the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula were already drinking wine two thousand years ago. The Romans, who arrived in Portugal in the second century BC, and remained for over five hundred years, grew vines and made wine on the banks of the Douro River, where Port is still produced today. The period of prosperity which followed the establishment of the Kingdom of Portugal in 1143, saw wine and port become an important export, port particularly because it transported so well. The first wines known by this name were shipped in the second half of the 17th century.

Porto is the second-largest city in Portugal. In the 14th century, the city became an important port. Prince Henry the Navigator was born here in 1394.

He led 200 ships to explore and pillage the west coast of the African continent. Apart from conquering the land, he became a slave trader which brought him enrichment and glory.

Porto is on the Portuguese Way, a part of the Camino de Santiago. In English, it is called the way of St James. It is a network of pathways leading to the Saint’s burial place in Santigo, Galicia, Northwestern Spain. From Porto, the pilgrim’s walk would have been a distance of some 200 km.

River Douro

Downhill all the way to the 2nd most famous spot in old Porto, The Douro River. Although we didn’t see many that day the river is host to many cruising tourist vessels. Porto also has a cable car ride over the city but we didn’t like the large crowds waiting to board. When we hit the river we headed upstream to the Luis 1 Bridge – an impressive iron structure.

The river Douro runs through the city, a popular choice for river cruises and apparently an incredibly beautiful region of Portugal to explore. The old historical city of Porto is one of the oldest in Europe.

Accommodation, when we don’t bring our own with us, is budget, so we look for reasonably priced accommodation. Our hunting grounds for good places is mainly Kayak and Airbnb. We also look for parking to be included but if you want to stay close to the center then you will undoubtedly have to pay for it. And we did but this time we got lucky and it was right beside our little guesthouse.

Walk Around Porto

Our hotel wasn’t that far from the old town. Walking shoes on and off we go map in hand. Fabian has a terrible sense of direction (it’s ok … she knows 🤣), so I usually take charge of the city tours. This first set of photos took us through a number of streets before we hit the town hall with the lovely blue sign outside. The first thing I noticed was the beautiful mosaic tiling on some of the buildings.

Porto, The Old Town

As we walked down past the city hall and main square we came into the old town of Porto. This was mid-June 2019 and moving into the busiest time of the year. Just more and more beautiful streets, beautiful buildings with lots of bars and restaurants.

Luis the First Bridge

The top tier of the bridge is for trains and pedestrians and the bottom pedestrians and road traffic. Designed by German architect, Téophile Seyrig (1843-1923), a business partner of French engineer Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (of Eiffel Tower fame), the Ponte Dom Luís I had the longest span of any metal bridge in the world when it was completed in 1886.

You can see the Mosteiro da Serra do Pilar just right of the Luís I Bridge in the picture below. The former monastery dates back to the 1500s, set on a hilltop and known for its round church and cloister.

Porto Railway Station

A must-visit we were told was the Mosaics at the Porto railway station. So on our way back to the hotel we got lost and found it, LOL 😂 Seriously, we did get a little lost, stopped to look at the map, looked around, and there it was, straight across the road. And it was worth it. Truly an amazing piece of art – all made of tiles and pretty popular place for taking photographs as you can see.

Must Taste a Francesinha

Francesinha is probably the most famous sandwich in Portugal and an iconic Porto dish. It has become so famous that now you can even find it in restaurants all over the world. Francesinha is called by many – the queen of sandwiches. Why? It packs wet-cured ham, linguiça (a Portuguese sausage), steak or roast beef, inside two slices of thick bread and everything is covered with melted cheese and a special tomato and beer sauce. It can be served with a fried egg on top and french fries so that none of that delicious sauce goes to waste. Do you have what it takes to down a whole Francesinha? We managed to share one

The Famous Portuguese Sandwich. Yes definitely need a Knife and Fork

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