Portugal, Part 2: Porto
I had arrived in Porto in late afternoon, so I spent a couple of hours unpacking and taking a nap before setting out for a walk around the area near my hotel. The first thing I saw was the exterior of the 18th century Igrejo de Santo Ildefenso. This was just a few steps from my hotel and is one of many churches whose exterior is covered with azulejos, which are stunning tiles, usually in blue and white. (You’ll hear more about them in the Lisbon write-up.) Decidedly gawk-worthy.
I was also right by Rua de Santa Cantarina, which is the major shopping street of the area. I strolled around, noting the Majestic Cafe which is, indeed majestic, at least for those of us who like art nouveau.
However, the prices are as jaw dropping as the decor, e.g. EUR 23 for a cheese and tomato omelet. I’d still love to have afternoon tea there someday. But I eventually ended up eating at Honest Greens, which is a chain which has more reasonably prices, as well as lots of vegetarian options. Their falafel was good and the setting was lovely. There appeared to be a mix of tourists and locals and I’d definitely recommend it.
In the morning, I set out to run an errand. I walked down a steep path to the Sao Bentao train station to buy my train ticket to Lisbon. (I later figured out that there was a much easier route to the station, by the way. Mapping apps are imperfect at best. And, as anyone who knows me can testify to, I have a terrible sense of direction.) But first, I stopped for breakfast. While you can get breakfast at the hotel, cafes are cheaper and more interesting. After eating, I bought my ticket and then checked out the famous grandeur of the station vestibule, which has 20,000 azulejos painted by the artist Jorge Colaço. They are beautiful, but this is such a famous place that it was also crowded.
By the way, trains to Lisbon don’t leave from this station. They go from the considerably less elaborate Campanhã station.
I had saved a walking tour of central Porto on my phone and set out to follow it. This was made somewhat challenging by a lot of construction work around Praça da Liberdade, mostly associated with the addition of a new metro line. I did manage to find what is said to be the most beautiful McDonald’s in the world, formerly the Imperial Cafe.
I did some more wandering around, notably including the Torre de Clergos and associated church.
I noted the cultural quarter, which has several museums, but did not have time to get to them on this trip. I did wander around the area, which includes lots of cafes and artesan shops (though there was a nice enough artisan market right by my hotel. And my backpack was heavy enough without buying anything). I was meeting up with my friend, Carol, at 2, so headed back up to the Bolhao Market. I got distracted by yet another beautiful church covered by azulejos (Capela das Almas).
And, um, I ended up walking about a mile and a half in the wrong direction. Uphill. ending up with my back killing me. I did manage to limp back downhill to meet up with Carol and a couple of members of her “creative circle.” There are a lot of expats in Porto and they have a lot of activities. Carol is a knitter. Knitting is too bulky to travel with, but I did bring a needlepoint canvas with me. They also have a movie club, a book club, game nights, etc. She seems quite happy living in Porto, as do the other women in the group. Afterwards, I went back to the hotel and stretched out on the bed in a partially successful attempt to heal my back. I got up and had a short stroll, including getting a cheap supper at a kabob place just up the street.
In the morning, I had breakfast at Esquires Coffee Porto, which I highly recommend. Their continental breakfast consisted of an English muffin with strawberry jam, a croissant, and a pastel de nata (egg custard tart) plus a choice of drink. (I got an Americano.)
After that, I found a better way down to the cathedral - both shorter and less steep. I took a picture of the city walls before going over to the terrace next to the cathedral.
I saw the entrance to the Museu do Vitral (Museum of Stained Glass) right next to the Cathedral. This is very much my sort of thing. EUR 8 gets you museum entrance, which includes a glass of Taylor’s port. Because you can’t even think of leaving Porto without having some port. Anyway, there were videos and displays about how stained glass is made along with fine examples of the work of local artists. Those included both traditional and modern themes.
It’s a fairly small collection, but I did find it enjoyable. And I liked the port, also.
Cathedrals are more or less the obligatory thing to see in that part of the world. Outside the Cathedral, there’s a pillory that was used to hang criminals.
To answer a question someone asked me on facebook, it was almost certainly not used to hang “New Christians” (i.e. Jews who had publicly converted to Catholicism but continued to practice Judaism secretly) because there was only one auto da fe in Porto (versus hundreds in Lisbon, Coimbra, and Evora) with 4 people killed, probably by being burned at the stake.
It costs EUR 3 to go inside the Cathedral. The actual chapel where masses are held is fairly small.
The area where you enter and exit, however, is larger, and is covered with azulejos.
There are a number of other things you can see on the Cathedral grounds, including the Episcopal Palace and a Museum of Sacred Art. I opted, instead, for some general browsing among the touristy areas, before heading back up to the Mercado de Bolhão and getting lunch. The offerings include all sorts of seafood, croquettes (I went with tuna), fruit (including smoothies) and so on. There are more formal restaurants upstairs. Carol had given me a list of yarn shops but I decided I could wait until I got to Lisbon for that.
I would definitely like to go back to Porto. For one thing, the construction and scaffolding was annoying, so it would be nice to see the city when all that is finished. And I never made it to the Livraria Lello, alleged to be the most beautiful bookstore in the world. (And semi-officially associated with J.K. Rowling, which is part of why I didn’t go. Along with crowds and a EUR 6 admission fee.) More significantly, I didn’t manage to make it to Museu de Arte Contemporãneo de Serralves, which is out in the suburbs (but reachable by transit). This has gardens and other exhibits, as well as modern art and sounds like it would be worth the better part of a day. There’s also a highly respected photography museum. And, of course, I could have done more port tasting or even a short cruise on the Douro River. Maybe I can do that when I go to Spain in 2026 for the eclipse.
I was also right by Rua de Santa Cantarina, which is the major shopping street of the area. I strolled around, noting the Majestic Cafe which is, indeed majestic, at least for those of us who like art nouveau.
However, the prices are as jaw dropping as the decor, e.g. EUR 23 for a cheese and tomato omelet. I’d still love to have afternoon tea there someday. But I eventually ended up eating at Honest Greens, which is a chain which has more reasonably prices, as well as lots of vegetarian options. Their falafel was good and the setting was lovely. There appeared to be a mix of tourists and locals and I’d definitely recommend it.
In the morning, I set out to run an errand. I walked down a steep path to the Sao Bentao train station to buy my train ticket to Lisbon. (I later figured out that there was a much easier route to the station, by the way. Mapping apps are imperfect at best. And, as anyone who knows me can testify to, I have a terrible sense of direction.) But first, I stopped for breakfast. While you can get breakfast at the hotel, cafes are cheaper and more interesting. After eating, I bought my ticket and then checked out the famous grandeur of the station vestibule, which has 20,000 azulejos painted by the artist Jorge Colaço. They are beautiful, but this is such a famous place that it was also crowded.
By the way, trains to Lisbon don’t leave from this station. They go from the considerably less elaborate Campanhã station.
I had saved a walking tour of central Porto on my phone and set out to follow it. This was made somewhat challenging by a lot of construction work around Praça da Liberdade, mostly associated with the addition of a new metro line. I did manage to find what is said to be the most beautiful McDonald’s in the world, formerly the Imperial Cafe.
I did some more wandering around, notably including the Torre de Clergos and associated church.
I noted the cultural quarter, which has several museums, but did not have time to get to them on this trip. I did wander around the area, which includes lots of cafes and artesan shops (though there was a nice enough artisan market right by my hotel. And my backpack was heavy enough without buying anything). I was meeting up with my friend, Carol, at 2, so headed back up to the Bolhao Market. I got distracted by yet another beautiful church covered by azulejos (Capela das Almas).
And, um, I ended up walking about a mile and a half in the wrong direction. Uphill. ending up with my back killing me. I did manage to limp back downhill to meet up with Carol and a couple of members of her “creative circle.” There are a lot of expats in Porto and they have a lot of activities. Carol is a knitter. Knitting is too bulky to travel with, but I did bring a needlepoint canvas with me. They also have a movie club, a book club, game nights, etc. She seems quite happy living in Porto, as do the other women in the group. Afterwards, I went back to the hotel and stretched out on the bed in a partially successful attempt to heal my back. I got up and had a short stroll, including getting a cheap supper at a kabob place just up the street.
In the morning, I had breakfast at Esquires Coffee Porto, which I highly recommend. Their continental breakfast consisted of an English muffin with strawberry jam, a croissant, and a pastel de nata (egg custard tart) plus a choice of drink. (I got an Americano.)
After that, I found a better way down to the cathedral - both shorter and less steep. I took a picture of the city walls before going over to the terrace next to the cathedral.
I saw the entrance to the Museu do Vitral (Museum of Stained Glass) right next to the Cathedral. This is very much my sort of thing. EUR 8 gets you museum entrance, which includes a glass of Taylor’s port. Because you can’t even think of leaving Porto without having some port. Anyway, there were videos and displays about how stained glass is made along with fine examples of the work of local artists. Those included both traditional and modern themes.
It’s a fairly small collection, but I did find it enjoyable. And I liked the port, also.
Cathedrals are more or less the obligatory thing to see in that part of the world. Outside the Cathedral, there’s a pillory that was used to hang criminals.
To answer a question someone asked me on facebook, it was almost certainly not used to hang “New Christians” (i.e. Jews who had publicly converted to Catholicism but continued to practice Judaism secretly) because there was only one auto da fe in Porto (versus hundreds in Lisbon, Coimbra, and Evora) with 4 people killed, probably by being burned at the stake.
It costs EUR 3 to go inside the Cathedral. The actual chapel where masses are held is fairly small.
The area where you enter and exit, however, is larger, and is covered with azulejos.
There are a number of other things you can see on the Cathedral grounds, including the Episcopal Palace and a Museum of Sacred Art. I opted, instead, for some general browsing among the touristy areas, before heading back up to the Mercado de Bolhão and getting lunch. The offerings include all sorts of seafood, croquettes (I went with tuna), fruit (including smoothies) and so on. There are more formal restaurants upstairs. Carol had given me a list of yarn shops but I decided I could wait until I got to Lisbon for that.
I would definitely like to go back to Porto. For one thing, the construction and scaffolding was annoying, so it would be nice to see the city when all that is finished. And I never made it to the Livraria Lello, alleged to be the most beautiful bookstore in the world. (And semi-officially associated with J.K. Rowling, which is part of why I didn’t go. Along with crowds and a EUR 6 admission fee.) More significantly, I didn’t manage to make it to Museu de Arte Contemporãneo de Serralves, which is out in the suburbs (but reachable by transit). This has gardens and other exhibits, as well as modern art and sounds like it would be worth the better part of a day. There’s also a highly respected photography museum. And, of course, I could have done more port tasting or even a short cruise on the Douro River. Maybe I can do that when I go to Spain in 2026 for the eclipse.