Porto

Portugal’s second biggest city, Porto is the capital of Portugal’s most famous wine region – Port. It is home to most of the Port lodges (where the wines are aged after vinification in the wineries along the Douro further inland), located in Vila Nova de Gaia and is located magnificently on the banks of the great Douro River. Porto is well known for its characteristic sailboats, the “Barcos Rabelos”, which used to ship Port downstream from the vineyards. The journey was actually quite dangerous, but despite the introduction of the Port train in the late 1800s, the Barcos Rabelos continued to be used for transporting Port until the 1960s. These days, the famous boats are used for an annual race, held in Porto in June every year.

Porto is a town of contradictions- still quite poor by European standards and yet full of some unidentifiable charm that seduces the visitor. The river is lined with great, non-pretentious seafood restaurants, where traditional dishes like “Tripas” (tripe) and “Ameijoas” (clams) are served in the boisterous bars and cafes. The city has a tremendous amount of atmosphere, with narrow, steep, winding lanes; old trams; beautifully tiled and deteriorating facades; and a bizarre blend of mom and pop shops rubbing elbows with elegant new shops, overcrowded and happily noisy neighborhoods falling into opulent suburbs full of villas and luxuriant gardens. The main attractions architecturally are the Sé cathedral, 13th-century cathedral renovated in the 18th century and located on the hill above Porto’s historic São Bento train station. You can climb the Renaissance epoch stairs, which lead you to a chapterhouse and provide stunning views over the old quarter. The Igreja de São Francisco is another extraordinary church with a Gothic exterior and decadent gilded Rococo interior. The Stock exchange, A Bolsa, is also an impressive building, constructed in the 19th century in an array of styles including a neoclassic façade and Moorish interior.

What most visitors come to Porto for, however, is not only for the city itself, rather the city’s biggest export- Port. From old town Porto, you only have to cross the Ponte Dom Luis I bridge to reach the fantastic old port lodges, many of them dating back to the late 1700s. Some of the port lodges are located in transformed monasteries, like the Ferreira lodge (a port company founded in 1715). Ferreira is, in fact, one of the most fascinating lodges to visit along with the historic Sandeman (also housing a museum), Graham and Calém.