Three days in Porto, by the river and beyond

Porto found its way into our plans at just the right moment,

with reasonably priced flights and a few free September days to see it without rushing. You feel something of the city before you’ve worked out where you are: coloured façades descending towards the Douro, azulejos gleaming on churches and stations, bell towers between rooftops and Gaia’s port cellars across the river.

Some buildings are magnificent; others are peeling, allowed to show their age.

That mixture won us over. Porto hasn’t tried to erase time. Here’s the city as it revealed itself to us.

Our first view began at Jardim do Morro. Crossing the upper level of Dom Luís I bridge, the city opened out: Gaia’s cellars on one side, Ribeira’s coloured houses stacked on the other, the Douro moving quietly below. We stayed longer than planned,

because from here Porto starts to make sense.

We continued into Gaia and visited a port cellar. Sandeman, Burmester, Cálem, Ferreira and Graham’s are among the names here, with tours ending in tastings. The drink’s story is interesting; tasting it where the tradition lives is better still.

Back through Ribeira, Porto looked less like a postcard and more like a place where people eat, talk, carry shopping and climb narrow streets home. This was where we most easily forgot the route. Cobbles lead up and down, houses press together, laundry hangs from balconies and glimpses of the river appear between old façades. Ribeira belongs to Porto’s UNESCO-listed historic centre, but after a few hours we stopped thinking in labels. We sat beside the Douro with drinks and watched lights appear in Gaia.

The next morning began at São Bento. Around 20,000 azulejos, traditional decorative tiles by Jorge Colaço, cover the entrance hall with scenes from Portuguese history. We spent longer than expected simply looking up. In Sofia, a station is somewhere you pass through thinking of the next train;

here, waiting has a different backdrop.

From there we went to the Sé cathedral and Clérigos. The tower’s 225 steps felt more substantial than they sounded on paper, but the view from the 75-metre bell tower rewarded the climb, with Porto spreading in every direction and Ribeira almost miniature.

Livraria Lello followed. There’s no escaping the crowds, but its wooden staircase and stained-glass ceiling explain the queue. The bookshop is often linked to Harry Potter, though that inspiration story is disputed; J. K. Rowling did live and teach English in Porto. The interior is reason enough to look up and briefly forget everyone else doing the same. Then we headed to Rua de Santa Catarina and Mercado do Bolhão. After so much architecture, we wanted food, noise, stalls and everyday Porto.

We tried francesinha, the substantial local sandwich of meat, cheese and rich tomato-based sauce. A light lunch it isn’t. Coffee and a pastel de nata followed, then a walk without much of a plan. Day three belonged to the quieter city. In Jardins do Palácio de Cristal, wandering aimlessly was quite enough.

Palms, peacocks and Douro views appear between the paths,

giving another perspective after the centre’s steep streets. Serralves came next: contemporary art, a pink Art Deco villa and a large park where sculptures appear among the trees. After two days in the old town, it felt like a different Porto, with more greenery and room to walk.

Then came the ocean. At Foz, the Douro meets the Atlantic, a fitting end to the trip. We took historic tram number 1 towards the coast and walked beside the water. After three days of hills, stairs and narrow streets, the horizon opened out and Porto fell behind us.

Three days gave us several of its faces,

from Dom Luís I and Gaia’s cellars to Ribeira, stations, parks and the Atlantic. Better still, there was time between them to stop and let the city surprise us. Happily, Porto doesn’t fit into a single itinerary.

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