Porto: The Experience

Luis I Bridge

Like Rouen, people’s reaction to my choice of staying in Porto instead of the larger, more metropolitan capital of Lisbon tended to be “Why there?”

Well, as beautiful as Lisbon was (and as deserving it is of its own 3-week stay), You don’t get this in Lisbon:

Lisbon’s river skyline is UNESCO World-Heritage Listed

How many city skylines are UNESCO World-Heritage Listed?

Seriously though, my stay in Porto, while a bit slow on the social side, was lovely, and I truly recommend visiting there. maybe not for three weeks, but for a while. One or two days would not let you truly enjoy this beautiful city on the Atlantic.

Porto is located in northern Portugal, on the river Douro. It is the center for the production of Port wine, and has one of the most beautiful old quarters I’ve ever seen – not to mention hilly (the Funicular that brings you from the Ribeiro, on the riverfront, to Batalha, on the hill, is part of the transit system).

The first thing that impressed me about Porto was its Metro system. Just 10 years old, the Metro is made up of 6 lines that run centrally through the downtown, but then stretch into the various suburbs. The nice thing is that the metro goes directly to the airport, and it doesn’t cost any extra. Awesome.

When I booked my holiday rental, I had no sense of the geography of Porto, and so was a bit surprised / upset to find out that my apartment was 40 minuts by bus south of downtown Porto, in Madalena, part of Vila Nova de Gaia. Gaia, as it is called, is on the south shore of the Douro (Porto is on the north side) and is actually where all the Port cellars and warehouses are. I was upset, until I was let into my holiday rental.

The view from my apartment. No, the pool was not ours.

So my apartment in Madalena was a 10-minute walk from the beach, where I got to enjoy vistas like this:

View from Vibracoes Bar, where coffee was 90c, beer was 1E50, and wifi was stable and free

This is where I had coffee.

Praia de Madalena Sul, where I took my walks and read

So while my apartment was a bit more expensive than I had hoped (180 British Pounds a week) it ended up being well worth it.

I did end up spending quite a bit of time during the first week just being lazy in the apartment, going for walks and whatnot, which while relaxing, did get old fairly quickly.

My bus stop into the city, looking back towards my apartment, on a rainy day

Still, Madalena turned out to be a lovely little enclave, mostly residential, and a few small shops nearby, whereas the main grocery store was a half-hour walk away (not unmanageable at all). It’s an older neighbourhood with holiday apartments and townhouses starting to creep in, cobblestone roads and rock walls. Out my kitchen window was a community garden where, each afternoon, people went in to pull out produce. Kinda awesome.

Porto itself is quite easy to get around – the Metro and Bus system link up regularly and well, and everything is pretty accessible. Transit prices are fairly cheap, with a single ride being 1E80, but there are Andante cards which allow volume purchases for tourists, or there is the Andante Tour card.

The big stumbling block for me was language. I don’t speak Portuguese. At all. Now, in the centre, most people can speak enough English to make sure we understand each other, but out in Madalena, not so much. I also seemed to turn into a neaderthal, grunting in agreement when I was spoken to instead of using the few words of Portuguese I did know.

Besides the beach and the Vibracoes bar, my favourite place I think was Praca Liberdade, aka Aliados.

The view from my favourite Cafe in Aliados

I went often to Cafe Alidos, right beside the entrance to Alidos Metro station, to have coffee, peoplewatch and read. Plus, there was free wifi in the square.

A better view of Praca de Liberdade, Aveindas dos Aliados, or just known as Aliados

I don’t want to get too much into what I did in Porto – that’s the next blog post – but what I really appreciated about Port was that, as touristy as it was in some places, there was still a sense that the cool places were frequented as much by locals as by tourists, if not more so. When I went to Serralves on my last Sunday in Porto, there were so many families just enjoying the grounds, it was so nice to see. Whenever I was in Aliados, it was obvious that what I was told was true – Aliados is the meeting place of Porto.

Me at Serralves

I also got the sense that, while the locals in the service industry are very aware of the tourists around, they don’t seem to have a sense of being put upon. Most of the people I encountered in a professional context were friendly and courteous, and often tried to small talk with me, where was I from and how did I like Porto? (More than Lisbon, right?) It was quite refreshing.

I fully expect to return to Portugal in the future – Lisbon deserves more than a cursory glance, and there seems to be plenty of smaller palces I missed entirely worth visiting – and when I do, Porto will still be on the visit list, for at least a few days.

Panorama taken from the mouth of the Douro

Next Blog post: Porto: The Highlights