Travelled: 56 kms from Amarante to Porto both in the Province of Douro
Visited: Porto
Stayed: Venda Nova P+R municipal aire, free with services, N41.17511,W08.54140
Budget: 64 days @ โฌ80 per day
We were in no hurry to leave Amarante. The Hymer was sitting in the shade and we had a lovely view of the Rio Tรขmega. So we hold firm until our second coffee is done, then get the Hymer ready for the road. We set the GPS carefully to ensure we cross the Tรขmega over the new bridge rather than the old.
Climbing out of Amarante we turn west for Porto into the heart of the Douro. This province is famous for itโs port wine and we spend the next hour passing hillsides scattered with vineyards.
Porto is Portugal’s second largest city, it straddles the Rio Douro. Itโs a sprawling city and parking close to the city is not easy so we opt for the P+R in Venda Nova. Our data-base tells us there is an aire with services there. So we roll into north-east Porto, finding a Lidl on our way.
Map of Greater Porto, the icon on our parking spot.
Our favourite sign !The aire is adjacent the light rail station at Verda Nova. โฌ3.80 pp return to the city (San Bento).
There is a laundromat just up the block, so we get a load of washing done early, then walk over and catch the tram into Porto.
Walking out of San Bento Metro Station, we are a little surprised by how busy it is.
Our strategy is to follow the Lonely Planetโs โwalking tour of Portoโ, it seem most likely to take us pass most of the main sights. So we follow the guide…
Mind you the Coomur Sardine Palace is not in our guide…
Our first stop is the Baroque Torre dos Clรฉrigos, circa 1750. Standing on the hill this church has a 76m high tower behind it.We want to climb the tower but the queue is currently over an hour, so we buy our ticket (โฌ5pp) with the idea of returning later. We have a quick look inside the church whilst where there. Our next stop is the Avenida dos AliadosZoom in and have a read yourself.At the top of the avenue, Praรงa General Humberto Delgado.Our next stop is the main San Bento Railway Station and itโs azulejo (hand painted ceramic) murals.Walking down the Rua das FloresAs we reach the end of the Rua des Flores we find the Museu da Misericรณrdia do Porto (โฌ3.50 pp), the museum includes entry to the Igreja da Misericรณrdia, itโs facade is centre photo. The azulejosโ tiles, baroque carvings and plasterwork the finest in Portugal according to our guide. (Click any of the following photos to make up your own mind.)Leaving the museum we cross the Casa do Infante and its statue of Henry the Navigator.From there we wander down the Rua de Fonte to the river.We suddenly find ourselves on the Praรงa da Ribeira, looking across the Rio Douro. Behind us the Ponte de Domplanade. Still on the Praรงa de Ribeira, we walk along listening to the various street musicians whilst taking in the view.Ever wonder what happened to all those pieces of Meccano. After crossing the Ponte we lunch in a lovely little wine bar on the esplanade.Full of beer, wine and tapas we start the hard walk back up from the Rio Douro to Igreja de Sรฃo FranciscoZoom in, and read it yourself.
At โฌ7.50 pp the Church of San Francisco did not live up to the hype for us. Firstly there are no-photo signs everywhere, once you have paid and walked inside. If I had known I would not have paid to go inside. So stuff it, I took a few photos.
Finally we walk back up the hill to climb the 76m tower of the Torre dos Clรฉrigos. We still have to wait 30 minutes, but we finally climb the 225 steps to the top and spend 5 minutes taking in the views of Porto.
So thatโs Porto, we walk down hill a hundred metres to the metro and make our way back to Venda Nova arriving back at the Hymer around 7 pm. We are both tired and a takeaway sounds good so I walk around the block, finding a cafe which did a remarkable good burger and fries. We have another drink and another day slides through to the keeper.
2 thoughts on “Porto, Portugal ๐ต๐น 2019”
Love the sardine shop
Several years ago when we were in Lisbon we visited Sinatra, I enjoyed the Palace.