It seemed strange as we were looking for lodging how booked up everything in Porto was. We now understand. This was the weekend of the Porto leg of the Rally de Portugal, an auto race that takes place on public roads and streets (blocked to the public during the races of course). The 1.85 km leg in Porto is in the center of the old city. Fences were erected, temporary bridges crossed streets, and there were huge TV screens all over the place.
Viewing area seats built alongside the street
We were able to find a place a little ways out, and it wasn’t a huge disruption.
Porto is a coastal city in northwest Portugal second in size only to Lisbon. It is known for its bridges and the boat tours all take great pride in showing them to you. It is also known for the Port wine production of the neighboring areas. The River Douro is lined with the old boats that were used to transport the port.
Boats used for shipping port
Across the river – port houses and boats. Many of the Port houses you would recognize like Taylor, Grahams, and Calem
We did quite a bit of walking around and there is much to see. The medieval Ribeira (riverside) district, is filled with cobbled streets, tile covered buildings, and cafes. Tiles are a big deal here, and in particular the Azulejos, or hand-painted variety can be found in churches and buildings everywhere.
Azulejo tiles in the central train station
Tiles on a rock
Detail from train station
Tiles on front of building
We took a boat cruise up and down the river where we met Aubrey and Rich from Los Angeles. They are a lovely couple and we hit it off quickly, and not just because they offered us a sip of port in their riverside room.
Rich and Aubrey
We checked out the São Francisco church together. It is known for its lavish baroque interior with ornate gilded carvings. It’s no longer a consecrated church, but still has over 11 kg of gold leaf covering its interior. Centuries ago, there were 200-300 kg of gold.
Rich and I took in the 19th-century Palácio de Bolsa, formerly a stock market, that was built to impress potential European investors, and, in my opinion, as an icon to how wealthy they were.
Here are some shots of Porto:
