The Magical City of Porto, Portugal

I am part Portuguese. For all of my life, I’ve been told we were related to Portuguese royalty. Turns out my grandmother had a very wealthy great aunt who left her some money in 1952. It wasn’t a lot, but my grandmother said it certainly helped while they were raising their family. So much for royalty, but a pretty cool story! Needless to say, I was very excited for my first trip ever to Portugal. We started our trip in none other than Porto, the world capital of Port Wine.

We took the train from Santiago de Compostela Spain to Porto. The train is a great way to travel around Europe. But, it does take some research to find the best routes and prices. There are many apps, and some work better in various countries than others. We found moving from one country to another, as in this case, booking directly with the train Renfe, was the best way to go. It was about a 3 hour train ride. (as of May 2022, masks are still required on public transportation in much of Europe)

The other thing about train travel is that you find some of the best cappuccinos and croissants right in the train station. And the cost is about 1/3 of our local Starbucks!

More beauty of train travel is that you move at a very high speed, but you get to see the beautiful countryside along the way.

After dropping our bags at our hotel, we quickly got out on the town. The first thing you notice are the beautiful tiled buildings. These tiles are called “Azulejos” with roots dating back hundreds of years. Azulejos is derived from the Arabic word, “zellij” meaning polished stone. While they probably were originally designed to show wealth, the tiles also proved a practical use in they help insulate the buildings.

This church is called “Capela das Almas” or Chapel of the Souls. It was originally a smaller chapel built of wood but in the early 1800’s it was expanded and the beautiful tile added. All things considered, this was a pretty young church.

A few more shots inside the church which was equally as beautiful. You could spend an entire trip just visiting these beautiful tiled churches as they are everywhere. While not a student of architecture at all, I just can’t help appreciate all the magnificent detail in these beautiful old buildings.

Just a few blocks away from the Chapel of the Souls, we came upon the more famous, Igreja de Santo Ildefonso. Interesting fact about this church, the tiles were actually added in the 1930’s making it a bit on the newer side. Ok that’s it, you get the idea, there are so many beautiful tiled churches to see.

Now we realized we were hungry and went in search of lunch.

We made our way down to the Cias da Ribeira (River Pier) where many of the restaurants are. It sits along the Duoro River. A beautiful view from above. Just on the other side of the river is Vila Nova de Gia, home of all the wonderful port houses. We will visit that area soon.

Once on the pier, there were many restaurants to choose from. Not a bad view for lunch!

But here’s the story; we weren’t that hungry but we wanted something authentic to Porto. Shrimp are a big deal here (the Atlantic borders Porto), so we thought we’d order some shrimp and a salad. We asked how many shrimp came in an order that cost 15 euros (about 15USD). The waitress said 2. She must have seen the look of shock on our face. Because she went to the tank with the fresh shrimp and pulled one out. It was the size of a small lobster!

We humbly said “we’ll take just two orders to share.” They were delicious and learned a big lesson about not assuming American standards when ordering elsewhere in the world. Oh and they came with fries. Yum!

Time to walk off the lunch so of course we headed to the highest point in Porto,Torre dos Clérigos. A bell tower attached to the Church of the Clerigos . First, we had to climb back up the hill. A few more shots by the river. It was a beautiful day.

A view of the Dom Luis Bridge, which we will cross via the metro train tomorrow.

And now up the stairs we go.

And up the hill.

Until we found the Torre dos Clérigos or Clerigos Tower. Guess what was next? We were going to climb the tower!

This 246 ft tower is a part of the Clerigos Church and was built in the 18th century. It is said to be a very traditional Baroque architectural style popular during the time it was built. It was a beutiful day to hike to the top.

Once we paid just a few euros the hike begins. What’s really cool about this hike to the to the top is you actually circle the chapel itself on the way up. This unique chapel is very long and narrow. Construction was completed on the chapel and dome in 1749. It was very beautiful.

The great organ

There are actually two organs in this long narrow chapel. It was very cool to get up close and see the intricate work.

We made it to the top! It was a very narrow walkway along the top but it provided incredible 360 views.

We looked back down at the Duoro River where we had lunch. Across the river is Vila Nova de Gia, the Port tasting region. We also looked over the city to the East.

There’s the Atlantic Ocean! The Duoro River spills into the Atlantic just outside of Porto.

It was a beautiful first day in Porto!

Estrela do Lima Restauante

Our hotel was about a mile from the river area of Porto where a lot of the restaurants were. We did not want to walk back in the evening so our hotel recommended this little family owned restaurant, right around the corner.

We are so glad they recommended it. Everything was delicious and the staff outstanding. Best of all, it was very inexpensive!

For my first dinner ever in Portugal I wanted something very traditional. Fortunately, they had just the perfect thing: Bacalhau à Braga. Fried Cod with Chips and Onion Sauce. It was topped with a salty ham. It was delicious!

For dessert we shared an apple cobbler, complete with a smoking cinnamon stick on top. What a great meal to finish our first day in Portugal!