We took an historical walking tour of Porto to learn more about this city and see its most emblematic sites and monuments.
We began our tour at the São Benito Railway station. It is definitely one of the most beautiful train stations in the world!
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| São Benito Railway Station |
The walls and ceilings are covered with 22 thousand tiles depicting the most relevant events in Portuguese history. The beautiful azulejos, or tiles, were hand painted by Jorge Colaço between 1905-1916.
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| São Benito Railway Station |
The Sé Cathedral, also known as the Porto Cathedral, is built in the highest part of the city, next to the walls that once protected the city. Originally constructed during the 12th century, its Romanesque architecture gave it the appearance of a fortress. It has been rebuilt and renovated several times which explains the added Baroque and Gothic architectural elements.
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| Porto Cathedral |
Because the historic city was within walls, the medieval streets are still quite narrow.
That tall tower seen in the picture above is the Clérigos Tower. It can be seen from various points of the city and is one of its most characteristic symbols. It stands 249 feet tall and the tower's staircase has 240 steps steps to the top!
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| Clérigos Tower |
From the Dom Luis I Bridge we are rewarded with this astonishing panoramic view of downtown Porto, the Douro River, and Vila Nova de Gaia.
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| View from Dom Luis I Bridge |
We concluded our tour with a picnic lunch!
We decided to spend 9 full days in Porto because we really wanted to explore the Douro Valley and taste a variety of port wines.
We did a tour and tasting of premium port with chocolate at a wine lodge in Vila Nova de Gaia.
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| Cockburn's |
We met another travel-loving couple and the 4 of us had a delicious lunch of tapas on the terrace of a second wine lodge.
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| Graham's Lodge Restaurant |
What a beautiful way to spend the afternoon -- with new friends and gorgeous views!
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| View of Porto & Vila Nova de Gaia! |
We took a driving tour of the Valley that provided us with differnt views and tastings at some smaller quintas (wine lodges). I especially enjoyed being in a vineyard and getting the perspective of the wine owners!
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| Walking these steep terraces is daunting! |
This next experience is probably one of the best experiences we've had. We did splurge, but it's absolutely worth it. We had to plan ahead to ensure we could get a date we wanted. So 3 months in advance we booked a ride on a vintage train through the Douro Valley. This is called the Presidential Train as it had previously been used by presidents and heads-of-state. It's quite luxurious as was the experience. My pictures cannot do it justice, so here's a link for more information.
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When it was time to board at the gorgeous São Benito Railway Station, ladies wearing classic bucket hats checked our vouchers and directed us into the train and to our individual plush cabin.
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| Presidential Train |
We made ourselves comfortable here until the train was ready to leave the station. We heard music wafting through the train so we followed the sound to a elegant lounge where we received a glass of port and sat to listen to two violinists perform. We returned to our room but were quickly visited by another staff member who directed us to our seats in a dining car. We spent the majority of our trip in the dining car eating, drinking, visiting and listening to more beautiful music!
The food was superb!
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| Just a few of our dishes! |
This particular experience featured a 5 star Michelin chef: Chef Chakall.
Before the sweet courses (yes that's plural) the train stopped and we all were led on a tour of a private quinta, with port wine tastings of course!
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| Quinta do Vesúvio |
Back on the train we continued eating and drinking until we returned to Porto that evening.
I would recommend this experience as a must do if you're able. In any case, a visit to Porto must include a trip in the Douro Valley!
