The charm of Porto
Written: Mar 04 '02 (Updated Mar 05 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: ideal for 'exploration', charming and lively city, nice people, cheap
Cons: my feet were killing me, and the traffic nearly did the same
The Bottom Line: Not everyone will enjoy Porto. The city is noisy, busy, a bit dirty and disorganised, but for people who love a less conventional citytrip, I can highly recommend it.
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| tocop's Full Review: Douro Valley |
In 2001, Porto was (together with Rotterdam) Europe's cultural capital: a good reason, I thought, to explore this city. I traveled there in May to avoid the expected massive flow of tourists and stayed for five days, which gives you plenty of time to discover the entire city.
Being a Portuguese city, I should have guessed of course: Porto was in no way ready for its year as a cultural capital. The city was a huge building site, some museums and attractions were (partially) closed, some events were canceled. In other words, 2001 was about the worst possible time to visit Porto. I did not let that bother me too much, though and soon found out that Porto doesn't need an event like that to be attractive for visitors.
Porto is an old, charming and lively city with great architecture, although many beautiful buildings seem to be in a terrible state. The streets are narrow, cobbled and very steep (the city is built on a hill next to the estuary of the Douro) and after a couple of days your feet will be killing you. It is worth it, however, to explore the different parts of the city by foot. There is a reasonably well established public transport system, but Porto is not that big and every interesting site is well within walking distance, with the exception of the interesting modern art museum (Fundação Serralves).
As everyone will tell you, the most charming part is the Ribeira, the old quarter at the river bank. It's also the most quiet part of the city and about the only place where you can enjoy eating or drinking outdoors. In other parts of the city, the huge traffic problem (due to the complicated network of small streets) makes eating outdoors quite impossible.
Be sure to cross the magnificent Luis I-bridge to Vila Nova de Gaia on the other side of the river bank. Gaia is the town where all the major port houses have their headquarters, many of which offer guided tours, Sandeman being the most famous with regular tours in 4 or 5 different languages. If you know nothing about the manufacturing of port wines, you will learn a lot from such a visit. You can combine a visit to Sandeman with a small boat trip: not very eventful but a nice change from walking the streets. The best part of Gaia, though, is that you get a spectacular view of the city of Porto. It is in Gaia where you will realize just how charming Porto really is. Have a drink outdoors in one of the many bars at the shore of the Douro, order a glass or even a small bottle of 'vinho verde' and write your postcards from there. I guarantee you, you will never have had so much inspiration writing postcards. And do have lunch or diner at restaurant Imar in Gaia, which I found to be a very welcoming place with great seafood (try the 'arroz de mariscos').
Recommended:
Yes
Best Time to Travel Here: Jun - Aug
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Epinions.com ID:
tocop
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Member: Tomas Coppens
Location: Belgium
Reviews written: 3
Trusted by: 0 members
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