At 6 am, our flight to Porto took off. We arrived at 8 am local time. Our transfer bus arrived shortly after, and after a ride through the busy traffic, we arrived at our ship, the A-Rosa Alva, around 9 am.
From the pier in Gaia, it was not far to the center of Porto, so we made our way there.
Douro - View of Porto
Gaia is located across the river from the city on the banks of the Douro, and we crossed the “Dom Luis I.” bridge, which was built by a pupil of Gustave Eiffel.
Bridge “Dom Luis I.”
On the other side, we walked along the riverbank to Praça da Ribeira, which had many outdoor restaurants and cafés just starting to open.
Praça da Ribeira
We continued along the higher and narrower promenade until we reached the Igreja da São Francisco.
Igreja da São Francisco
We then made our way up into the city, passing by the neoclassical Palácio da Bolsa, the former stock exchange.
Palácio da Bolsa
This lavishly designed building was erected by the Chamber of Commerce, which evidently had considerable financial resources.
Palácio da Bolsa Staircase
The interiors are accessible only with a guided tour, and we had to wait a bit until our tour began.
Palácio da Bolsa Library
So we first fueled up at the covered market “Mercado Ferreira Borges” with a sandwich and a typical stockfish cake.
Mercado Ferreira Borges
The tour through the stock exchange was impressive due to the splendid rooms, but with a group size of 50 people, it was also quite crowded.
Palácio da Bolsa
We continued to ascend, passing multi-story old houses adorned with the typical colorful tiles.
Entrance Street
In the pedestrian area Rua das Flores
there was a small snack of Portuguese Pasteis de Nata (pudding tarts made of puff pastry).
Pasteis de Nata
We continued on our way to the Centro Portuguès de Fotografia, a free photography museum housed in a former prison.
Photography Museum
At Praça de Parada Leitão, we saw the two churches Igreja do Carmo and Igreja das Carmelitas located right next to each other. The former is the more magnificent building for the affluent population.
Churches for the Poor and Rich
However, we found the church for the poor, which we viewed from the inside, to be quite gilded...
Igreja das Carmelitas
Just a few steps further lies one of Porto’s most popular attractions: the bookstore Livreria Lello.
It gained fame because Joanne K. Rowling found inspiration for her Harry Potter books here while she was living in Porto.
Bookstore Livreria Lello
Therefore, today you not only have to stand in line with a time slot ticket, but also pay 16 euros for entry.
The Torre dos Clérigos, rising 76 meters high, is hard to miss.
Even though my husband claimed that an elevator would take us to the beautiful view over the city, it turned out to be 220 steps.
View from Torre dos Clérigos
However, from the top, there was a stunning view, especially since the sky was cloudless.
View from Torre dos Clérigos
The train station is also a sight: In the hall, all the walls are lined with Azulejos (ceramic tiles) depicting scenes from national history or modes of transport.
Train Station
Not far away, but a bit higher up, lies the Sé de Porto Cathedral, whose construction began in the 12th century.
Cathedral
However, as time was already progressing, we decided to postpone our visit here to our second day in Porto.
Stairs to the Water
We walked back down to the riverside via a steep staircase and continued to the ship, which was to be our home for the next week.
At a glance
Automatically extracted from the post
Length of time
1 Day
Weather
Summer
Accompaniment
For two (2)
Mood
Cultural
Highlights
Blick über Porto vom Torre dos Clérigos
Führung durch den Palácio da Bolsa
Spaziergang über die Brücke Dom Luis I.
Pasteis de Nata in der Rua das Flores
Topics
CityCultureStoryArchitectureEat
Cost
Eintritt zur Livraria Lello€16
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