The second largest city in Portugal Porto Portugal has a metropolitan area around 1.7 million people.
Located on the Douro River estuary in northern Portugal, it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. The settlement dates back many centuries when it was an outpost of the Roman Empire.
The city receives 2.8 million overnight visitors and 1.4 million day trippers during any given year. Porto has also been the recipient of the European Best Destination for 2012, 2014 and 2017.
Porto is on the Portugese Way path of the Camino de Santiago and listed as being one of the 'three great pilgrimages of Christendom', along with Jerusalem and Rome, attracting more than 200,000 pilgrims each year.
Over the past few years Porto has experienced a significant increase in tourism which may be partly linked to the Ryanair hub at Francisco de Sa Cameiro Airport.
The airport is located 9 miles northwest of the city center and is connected by the metro line E. Called the "Violet Line" it is a dedicated line that connects the Porto airport to Estadio do Drago in the city Center. There are 21 intermediate stops including stops at Casa da Musica, Trindade Station and Campanha Station. The departures from the airport run every 18-35 minutes depending on time of day and operate from 6:00am to just after midnight. A complete trip will take 35 minutes with a minimum fare of 1.20 euros and the maximum of 1.95 euros. Tickets can be purchased from the ticket office at the airport.
I
didn't purchase one but if you intend to travel on the Metro a number of times
or travel on other public transportation then you might want to consider the Andante Card (tourist card)
There are 2 types of cards available:
ANDANTE Tour 1
24 hours unlimited travel costing 7.00 euros
ANDANTE
Tour 3
72 hours unlimited travel costing 15.00 euros
My arrival into Porto was by bus. I was coming from Sintra to Porto and decided to take the bus so I purchased the ticket online at the Gypsy bus website the day prior to my trip. I booked the 9:50am departure out of Sintra. The bus leaves from the Portela de Sintra Terminal Rodoviario. I called an UBER and the cost was 4 euros.
It made 1 intermediate stop in Lisbon and arrived in Porto at 1:45pm. When Marci and I boarded in Porto we were the only 2 passengers on the double decker bus.
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| Gypsy bus driver from Sintra to Porto |
This changed when we made the stop in Lisbon. We left from Lisbon with the bus totally full. The route went through Fatima but we did not make a stop.
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| Countryside along route to Porto |
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| Self provided snacks and drinks on the bus |
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| Local architecture in Porto |
The bus terminated in Porto at Terminal Intermodal de Campanhã Porto aka Campanha Bus Terminal. From here I had to get myself to the Holiday Inn Express Porto City Center. I called an UBER.
The pickup point for my UBER was a bit of a walk from where our bus parked so I missed my first UBER call. Once I finally got to the pickup area I called a second UBER and he arrived within minutes. The actual driving time to the hotel was quick, around 5 minutes, and the cost was 5.20 euros.
The Holiday Inn Express Porto City Center turned out to be an excellent location. I used IHG Reward points to book the room so I only paid 8 euros for the city tax (4 euros per person) upon check-in. I was assigned room #304.
From the Holiday Inn I
walked down R.
De Santa Catarina street. This is a main street
in the city center and is mostly closed to foot traffic. My arrival just happened to be the day after
Thanksgiving so the street was packed with folks taking advantage of
"Black Friday" specials. It
was a very festive atmosphere with street vendors selling their products,
musicians performing on street corners and every store and
restaurant open for business.
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| View walking down R. de Santa Catarina from the hotel |
My restaurant pick was Pizza Il Latini. As the name implies their specialty is pizza and it did not disappoint. Pizza and beer for 2 came to 20 euros and they accepted credit cards. I enjoyed spending time at this restaurant as there was a group of performing musicians right across the street.
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| Street performers across from restaurant |
It was finally time for me to move on so I continued walking down R. De Santa Catarina Street. A couple photos from my walk.
The following morning the Holiday Inn Express provided a complimentary breakfast. It's located on the ground floor next to the reception area. I enjoyed the variety of breakfast offerings as well as the many types of coffee and juices.
After breakfast on day two I made my way down R. De Santa Catarina Street and turned left on Rua de Fernandes Tomas Street. The Balhao bus stop is located right in front of the entrance to La View Porto Baixa Shopping Center.
Bus #300 (Circular
Hospital De S.João - Aliados) offers
a circular loop that looked interesting so I decided to take that one. I boarded at 9:50am paying the driver 2 euros. The end of the line is the Hospital area. I was going to simply stay on the bus and
take it back to the Balhoa bus stop but the driver made me get off and wait for
the next bus which was 30 minutes later and, of course, another 2 euros.
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| Sights on bus #300 |
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| Sights on bus #300 |
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| Sights on bus #300 |
Along my walk down to the Balhao bus stop, on the left just before you make the left hand turn onto Rua de Fernandes Tomas Street be sure to stop and check out Capela das Almas de Santa Catarina aka Chapel of Souls. The chapel dates from the early 18th century and was restored in 1801. In 1929 the outer facades were faced which included 15,947 tiles by Eduardo Leite. On the inside the altars are in Neoclassic style and they house an 18th century image of Our Lady of Souls.
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| Entrance to Chapel of Souls |
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| Inside Chapel of Souls |
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| Inside Chapel of Souls |
I made a quick stop for a bite to eat on my way back to the room after my bus #300 adventure. Once I was back in the room I took a short 30 minute nap, freshened up and then ordered an UBER for a 2:15pm pickup in front of the hotel.
I had reservations with BBDouro Sailing Academy for a 3pm sunset sail on the Douro River. My check-in time was 2:45pm at Douro Marina Pontoon D. I didn't know it at the time but this activity proved to be a highlight of my stop in Porto.
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| Douro Marina Pontoon D entrance |
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| Our boat |
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| Ready to board |
BBDouro was founded in 2012 by Diogo Barros, an Olympic sailing coach (London 2012 and Tokyo 2020) and professional sailor with the collaboration of Tiago Morais, an Olympic sailing hope. BBDouro is now the largest sailing academy and nautical events company in Norther Portugal with a fleet of 18 sailboats, including the first sailing boat for people with reduced mobility.
The boat sailed out of Douro Marina with 7 aboard, a crew of 3 and 4 passengers. The crew was outstanding. Knowledgeable, safe and funny all at the same time.
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| The Crew |
The crew from Left to Right:
1. Gonçalo Lacerda
2. José Pina
3. Gonçalo Fonseca
Captain Fonseca guided us out of the Marina at 3:15pm and proceeded east up the Douro River and underneath the Ponte da Arrabida bridge. This landmark arch bridge was inaugurated in 1963 and was designed by Edgar Cardoso, a Portuguese Civil Engineer and university professor. The bridge spans 270 meters (890 feet) and was, for some time, the longest reinforced concrete bridge span in the world. It sits 70 meters (230 feet) above the average water level and, like Sydney, Porto offers guided tours to 'climb the arch'. This was nothing I was interested in.
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| Heading east to Ponte da Arrabida bridge |
Here's just a few things that caught my eye.
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What I especially liked about this trip was the intimacy and quietness. With only 4 passengers aboard I felt more like royalty sailing on my private boat given plenty of time to soak in all the sights. Several other boats passed us but the thing I noticed most was that every other boat was packed with between 50-100 guests. I loved the uncrowded feeling of being aboard the BBDouro boat, not to mention the delicious sparkling wine served as we glided lazily along.
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| Enjoying life |
As we continued east the bridges lowered to the point where Captain Fonseca was required to turn us around and head west, back toward the Marina. We passed the Marina and headed straight to the Farolim de Felgueiras lighthouse, a 19th century hexagonal structure dating from 1886, measuring 10 meters (32 feet) in height and constructed of granite. Before being deactivated in 2009, the light had a range of 9 nautical miles and issued a red light every 5 seconds. It currently only has the sound signal.
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| Heading to the lighthouse and open water |
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| Getting closer |
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| The lighthouse |
Typically this trip would not pass the lighthouse, cross the breakwater and head to open sea but Captain Fonseca made a special concession. What I really noticed was the immediate and intense rocking of the boat after crossing the breakwater. It was obviously noticeable after being in the calm waters of Felgueiras quay. The sun was beginning to set so the Captain turned us back east past the lighthouse and crossed back into the calmer waters of the quay.
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| The other coupon on-board |
We
docked back at the Marina a few minutes after 5pm, making it a perfect ending
to my 2 days in Porto. I called an UBER to
take me back to the hotel. Tomorrow
would be a full travel day. A flight to
Rome and a train to Civitavecchia. I
would be embarking on the Island Princess for my trip back to the United States. I hold beautiful memories of the people, the sights, the food, the drink
and my time spent in Portugal.
