Porto – A faded gem striving to regain its brilliance

Like many European cities, Porto has suffered from deterioration of its historic centre. It’s sad to see such beautiful buildings slip into ruin, yet encouraging to see many being restored.

Porto has a population of just 232,000. It is not a huge city. It’s easy to navigate on foot. We visited in 2019. This time we were able to visit areas off the tourist trail. Typically we walked 10 to 20 kilometres per day. We got to see a lot of the city, wandering through neighbourhoods seldom visited by tourists. Parque das Águas is a large urban park overlooking the river valley that is unknown, even to most locals. We literally had the whole park to ourselves. We strolled through the peaceful rows of the Cemitério do Prado do Repouso, admiring the monumental gravestones dating from the 19th century.

Two of our longer walks were along the waterfront to the nearby fishing villages of Afurada and Matosinhos. We were rewarded at the end of the hikes with amazing grilled fresh seafood lunches. We preferred Afurada, if only for the entertainment afforded by two fisherwomen screaming at each other as everyone in town came out to watch.

On one of our forays through the back streets we came across a fellow feeding pigeons outside his store, “Francisco Costa & Irmao”. There were scores of pigeons, both inside and out. We had to stop and chat. He was Francisco Jr. He started working in the store when he was 18 years old and inherited it from his father and uncle. When he’s not feeding pigeons he sells paint, mainly gold leaf to refurbish gilded funerary statues, church alters or old buildings. Stepping into the store was like a time warp – old scales, dusty accounting ledgers, and jars containing who knows what, all from another era. 

Northern Portugal

Porto is an ideal base to make day-trips around Northern Portugal. The train station is in the centre of the city, two minutes from where we stayed. Comboios de Portugal trains are clean and cheap and the system is easy to navigate. Our first trip was to Barcelos, famous for its massive Thursday market. We went as far north as Viana do Castelo with its imposing church looming over the town, and as far south as Coimbra, a beautiful town centred around its university, the oldest in Portugal, founded in 1290.

Douro Valley

For wine lovers, a trip to the Duoro Valley is a pilgrimage. Port wine gets its name from Porto, but in fact the grapes are grown and the wine is made further up the Duoro Valley. We took the train to Pinhão, then paid 10 euros for a two hour boat ride up the Duoro, gazing up at the rows of precious vines cascading down the hillsides.

Fish, fish and more fish (and Port)

Portugal is justifiably famous for its fish. We had exquisitely grilled fish everywhere we went, and cooked a variety of fish dishes at home thanks to the charming fishmonger at the Mercado do Bolhão, the city’s main market, who took us under her wing. Of course we had to sample the Port wine, especially that of Graham’s where we hiked one day for a tasting. Our bonus find was Pinguim Cafe, the best stocked gin bar we’ve ever seen.

To view more photos click here to go to the go to the Northern Portugal Photo Album.