We arrived i
n Porto without any dramas and made our way from the airport to the hotel on the tram. After checking in we headed out to have a walk around. This started in the Praca General, the main square near our accommodation Pensao Avenida. We visited the town hall which is a grand old building with an exhibition on the Popes recent visit to Porto. We also saw a nice old church and the clock tower behind the town hall. The city is very nice, many grand old buildings, although some look a bit run down and empty. We then wandered down to the river Douro which runs through the city.
There is a big bridge with a road crossing the bottom of it and a tram line across the top. We crossed on the lower path and found a bar on the waterfront for beer, sangria and nibbles. Mum was happy as she got to see traditional boats shipping barrels of Port along the river. We visited one of the Port cellars on the waterfront and did a (rather limited) tasting. It was nice and we did try a White Port which we hadn’t seen before. We hung around and bought a glass of 40 year old Port, which was Very Nice! We finished the evening with a seafood dinner in a restaurant on the river.
Keen as mustard, we were up at 8am the next morning for breakfast and good
coffee in the hotel before heading out for a big day walking. We started visiting the grand train station which has a lot of old ceramic tiles, a local fish and veggie market, the grand cathedral Se and a small tourism office which had roman ruins displayed under the building. We then crossed the bridge on the upper tram line and found a café for coffee and cakes.
Over the river we found another church with nice views back over the bridge and city. We had a half hearted look for the Port Caves but gave up and headed back over the river for lunch.
We visited an amazing bookshop. The interior of the shop was all wood and looked a bit like a hobbit hole, very cute and decorative. We visited another grand church and the exterior was covered in tiles. Porto has a lot of decorative tiles throughout the city which makes it very beautiful.
It was getting into the afternoon, our last stop was Jardim do Palacio de Cristal which had nice gardens but no palace! It did have a sports stadium that looked like a UFO! The gardens were nice with lakes and ponds, birds, castle walls and views of the river.
We had about 3km walk back to the hotel along the river. We broke this up with a stop in a bar for a beer and nibbles and then dinner in a local café near the hotel.
n Porto without any dramas and made our way from the airport to the hotel on the tram. After checking in we headed out to have a walk around. This started in the Praca General, the main square near our accommodation Pensao Avenida. We visited the town hall which is a grand old building with an exhibition on the Popes recent visit to Porto. We also saw a nice old church and the clock tower behind the town hall. The city is very nice, many grand old buildings, although some look a bit run down and empty. We then wandered down to the river Douro which runs through the city.There is a big bridge with a road crossing the bottom of it and a tram line across the top. We crossed on the lower path and found a bar on the waterfront for beer, sangria and nibbles. Mum was happy as she got to see traditional boats shipping barrels of Port along the river. We visited one of the Port cellars on the waterfront and did a (rather limited) tasting. It was nice and we did try a White Port which we hadn’t seen before. We hung around and bought a glass of 40 year old Port, which was Very Nice! We finished the evening with a seafood dinner in a restaurant on the river.
Keen as mustard, we were up at 8am the next morning for breakfast and good
coffee in the hotel before heading out for a big day walking. We started visiting the grand train station which has a lot of old ceramic tiles, a local fish and veggie market, the grand cathedral Se and a small tourism office which had roman ruins displayed under the building. We then crossed the bridge on the upper tram line and found a café for coffee and cakes.Over the river we found another church with nice views back over the bridge and city. We had a half hearted look for the Port Caves but gave up and headed back over the river for lunch.
We visited an amazing bookshop. The interior of the shop was all wood and looked a bit like a hobbit hole, very cute and decorative. We visited another grand church and the exterior was covered in tiles. Porto has a lot of decorative tiles throughout the city which makes it very beautiful.
It was getting into the afternoon, our last stop was Jardim do Palacio de Cristal which had nice gardens but no palace! It did have a sports stadium that looked like a UFO! The gardens were nice with lakes and ponds, birds, castle walls and views of the river.We had about 3km walk back to the hotel along the river. We broke this up with a stop in a bar for a beer and nibbles and then dinner in a local café near the hotel.
No comments:
Post a Comment