Porto, Portugal

Short one day trip from Lisbon to Porto! Not much time plus the rain, but oh boy, we enjoyed! 🙂 We rented a car and cross the country driving for […]

Short one day trip from Lisbon to Porto! Not much time plus the rain, but oh boy, we enjoyed! 🙂

We rented a car and cross the country driving for almost 4 hours. We arrived to the hill where from you can beautifully sea the river Douro that flows into the Atlantic ocean.

With its historical core which was proclaimed a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1996 it is medieval and charming city and I have to admit – a unique city.

The city is famous for wine. And many cellars.

Wine, produced in the Douro valley, was already in the 13th century transported to Porto in barcos rabelos (flat sailing vessels). In 1703, the Methuen Treaty established the trade relations between Portugal and England and the rest is history.

Porto’s Cathedral (‘Sé’) is the city’s most important church. Built in the 12th century, it’s a national monument.

The Sao Bento train station has been voted one of the world’s most beautiful railway stations. The outside is super-cool, in a Belle Epoque Parisian kind of way, but it’s the interiors that will really knocked me out: the station lobby walls are covered with 20,000 decorative tiles, which took painter Jorge Colaço 11 years to complete, portraying scenes of Portuguese history, daily life and transportation (for the trainspotters).

The rain was still falling but we fell in love with the city so despite the weather we continued walking around and enjoy as much as we could!

The last moments we spent in the cellars, of course. At the opposite site of Ribeira – the city center, being hosted by the most charming people enjoying the great wine, great sea food and amazing fado.