Porto: City Life in the Douro

Following the Douro river west takes you to Porto, Portugal’s second largest city. This city is located on the Atlantic coast, meaning the weather, while temperate, changes with the wind. Rainfall is common, and in the five days we spent in Porto, the majority of the days it rained. We made the most of the beautiful, sunny periods in between.

Porto is also – much like its name – a port city, meaning it has a grittier and less polished feeling than Lisbon. But Porto has an authentic character to it; as the city was not decimated by the Great Earthquake that levelled much of Lisbon, many of the buildings in Porto are some of the oldest in Europe.

Along the riverbank of the Douro river are two completely different areas: the Ribeira is full of Old World charm and architecture, while the opposite south bank is home to Vila Nova de Gaia, a district of warehouses that store Port and offering tastings.

Ribeira

The Ribeira feels like the soul of Porto, with it’s narrow maze of streets and ancient architecture. A colorful facade of funky buildings lines the riverbank, which is lively and bustling with restaurants, bars and cafes. We found ourselves here often, though I must say the number of visitors was at times overwhelming. Tourists seem to dominate this promenade, which is now full of souvenir shops and multiple street performers only a few feet from one another.

Despite this, the waterfront was our favorite place to go in the evenings to enjoy the sunset and views of the iconic Dom Luis I Bridge. Elia’s “rainbow bridge” as she called it, is a metal double-decker bridge which spans the Douro river. Trams cross the upper level, which also has a pedestrian walkway with wonderful views of Porto, while the lower level allows all regular vehicular traffic plus pedestrians.

Vila Nova de Gaia: Home of Port Lodges

Crossing the Douro river to the south side of Porto takes you to the municipality of Vila Nova de Gaia: now famous for its many port wine cellars and lodges. Getting here is easy: either via a scenic walk across the Dom Luis I Bridge or by a short water taxi. We took the water taxi one way so Rosie could go on her first boat ride, and enjoyed a leisurely stroll back across the bridge.

If you happen to be on the top deck of the bridge, there is also the option to take a gondola from the end of the bridge to the waterfront. With a vehicle-loving child, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to go for a ride and enjoy views of Porto’s riverfront.

Historically, port wine from the Douro Valley was transported down the river by boat to Porto, where it was to be stored. These port lodges along the water, which now dominate the waterfront, would age the port until it was ready to be packaged and sold. Nowadays, these lodges are a big tourist attraction – giving tours, tastings and more.

Most port lodges are available for drop-in tastings, and some cellars now offer tours or small exhibitions on the history of port. The larger companies have restaurants and patios as well. There are many to choose from in a small area, so hopping from one to another would be doable!

More Harry Potter Fandom

Everything J.K. Rowling (who has recently reached billionaire-status) touches turns to gold it seems. Livraria Lello is no exception. Because the author lived in Porto for two years while she worked on Harry Potter, many speculations have arisen regarding her inspirations for the book. This bookstore, Livraria Lello, was discussed as having inspired the book shop in Harry Potter, and has thus reached celebrity-status as a site to visit. However, J.K. Rowling has since denied the claim and stated she never entered the bookstore (though wishes she had!).

Nonetheless, this book store is now so popular that advance tickets need to be purchased for a specific time-stamped entry, and several queues have been created outside the store for those waiting to go in. In some ways this limits the number of people in the store, though it still feels so crowded that it can be hard to fully enjoy the architecture or to actually shop for a book.

Regardless, as a book-lover at heart, I could not miss the chance to see this unique store. The iconic staircase at the center of the small shop is an exquisite work of art, with its red painted stairs and with mind-bending curves and angles. The ceiling is also beautiful, with a large stained glass window spanning 8 x 3.5 meters with 55 panels.

Goodbye Porto

Overall, we enjoyed our time in Porto, though were mildly limited by the rain. The tourist numbers were definitely high and it seemed that visitors significantly outnumbered locals in the main areas, which made harder to appreciate the true culture and spirit of the city. But, we had some wonderful meals here – probably our favorite food in Portugal – and felt like we just “lived” in the city for a few days.