A Walk Through Porto
Andy and I didn’t get to spend much time in Porto. We were there for a conference, so most of our time was spent inside of hotel conference rooms. But we did get to explore a little in between, and we had a full day after our trip through northern Portugal before we had to catch our flight home. With such a short amount of time, we didn’t try to do too much. We were content to just soak up the atmosphere.
Porto was a little more gritty than Lisbon. The architecture was really interesting, but not quite as polished. It made for a completely different vibe. Not better or worse, just different. But we still noticed colorful tiles everywhere.
The train we took from Lisbon a few days earlier didn’t arrive at the São Bento station, but we heard it was worth seeing, so we made that our first stop after dropping off our bags. The inside entrance area is covered in gorgeous tiles, mostly blue and white, depicting scenes from Portugal’s history.
Then there was this statue of a newspaper delivery man with a post box.
Porto is located on a river, near the ocean, and the riverside is full of activity and cafes. We decided not to eat down there because it was rather expensive, but we did enjoy walking by the river and admiring the colorful buildings that overlook the water.
During the conference weekend, Andy saw an old tram going down the road. Since we didn’t get a chance to ride the one we saw in Lisbon, we made sure to ride this one in Porto. There are three different routes, two that make a loop and a third that goes nearly to the sea (so you’d have to buy two tickets to get out there and back). We choose the one that goes out towards the sea. I couldn’t get good pictures from the tram since it was moving, but it was a fun ride.
The outbound route ends near a park next to the water. We just wandered around talking, taking in the scenery, and imagining what it must have been like hundreds of years ago when people thought they were looking towards the end of the world.
Our day in Porto was a relaxing end to a hectic weekend, and a good thing too, because our trip home was certainly stressful. Our flight from Porto to Basel was delayed, which meant it landed 15 minutes after the last bus left to go back to Freiburg. The taxi drivers quoted us 170 euros to take us to the train station in Freiburg, not even all the way home. It would’ve cost that much to take a taxi to a hotel, pay for the hotel, and then the taxi back to the airport the next morning. Luckily Andy remembered the bus company does private transfers, so he called them. We had to wait 45 minutes and pay 90 euros (paid 60, another woman who needed to get to Freiburg too paid the other 30) and we didn’t get home until about 2AM, but at least we got home.
November 8, 2012 @ 10:44 AM
Some fantastic photos here, Ali! Those tile works are awesome, and I love the bluey colour in them 🙂 Really wanted to get to Portugal whilst I’m in Europe, but won’t get a chance. Have to do it next time!
November 8, 2012 @ 10:17 PM
Thanks Tom! I really like that blue color in the tiles too. Portugal is a great country, I hope you can get there next time!
November 8, 2012 @ 10:23 PM
Great pictures! I loved Porto! And you’re right, Porto does feel completely different than Lisbon – I couldn’t say which one I like better either 🙂
November 9, 2012 @ 3:04 PM
Thanks Julika! I’d love to go back to Portugal and explore both cities (and more!) a lot slower than we were able to on this past trip.
November 9, 2012 @ 8:57 AM
Thanks for the post! My boyfriend and I will be going to Portugal next summer. We plan on doing a little roadtrip from Lisbon to Porto. I still have to start all the planning, but am so looking forward to it!
November 9, 2012 @ 3:05 PM
There is so much to see in Portugal, you’ll love it! Have a great trip!
November 9, 2012 @ 5:14 PM
We loved Porto – such a cool, gritty town!
November 9, 2012 @ 6:13 PM
I totally agree!
November 9, 2012 @ 11:51 PM
Those tiles! It’s like viewing a photo-realism painting; such depth – sublime.
November 10, 2012 @ 3:01 PM
Thanks Maria! I loved those tiles, so interesting and creative.
November 10, 2012 @ 3:18 AM
Great photos! Everyone should go to Portugal once.
November 10, 2012 @ 3:01 PM
Thanks Mary, I agree!
November 12, 2012 @ 12:21 AM
I really didn’t have time to actually see Porto. It really looks like a charming town that I’ll have to return to one of these days!
November 12, 2012 @ 4:24 PM
It was a nice city, from what we saw in the little time we had. Our flight wasn’t until dinnertime that night, so we had late morning and all afternoon.
November 13, 2012 @ 7:13 PM
Hi, guys! It’s great seeing these photos of Porto; we didn’t get to see everything you did and so it was a treat. We’re still wading through all the ones we took for some posts of our own.
We agree that Porto has a totally different vibe from Lisbon. “Gritty” was a good way to put it.
We probably wouldn’t have gone had it not been for the conference and that would have been a shame as Porto is definitely worth a visit. Do you have a favorite moment?
November 13, 2012 @ 11:19 PM
Thanks Linda! I have tons of pictures from that trip too. Porto was definitely worth a visit, I just wish we had more time there. I really liked walking by the river, and Andy really enjoyed the tram. It’s the simple things really.
November 30, 2012 @ 10:45 PM
That was a good day. My favorite days traveling are the ones that I can just spend with you wandering around.
December 2, 2012 @ 10:25 PM
Thanks 🙂 I completely agree, I love being with you and traveling.
December 2, 2012 @ 7:23 AM
Hi Ali, I came across your blog and I love the honest and real life aspect to it, the way you say “we didnt see much of Porto as we were busy working” – this to me adds something extra to your story as you had to enjoy as much of it as you could. I try to mix my work and travel stories too. Any excuse to see a new city! Keep up the good work. Jonny (http://dontstopliving.net)
December 2, 2012 @ 10:33 PM
Thanks Jonny! We do end up taking a lot of trips that combine work and pleasure, which is nice sometimes, although I might be overdue for a pure vacation!
June 3, 2014 @ 2:47 PM
Amazing Azulejos. Love the Portuguese tiles.
Will check Porto out later this month. I can’t wait to see and feel that vintage atmosphere!
June 4, 2014 @ 10:21 PM
Enjoy your time in Porto!