After we arrive in Porto, we take the opportunity to get our first impressions of this incredible city. Starting from São Bento, we take a look at the Rua das Flores, one of the major shopping and restaurant streets in Porto, before walking along the Rua de Mouzinho da Silveira, which leads to the banks of the Douro.
A mighty drinking fountain, the Fuente Monumental de Mouzinho de Silveira, catches our eye. Only later do we realize that the masonry also supports the street above.
We are impressed by the narrow alleyways that disappear into the sea of houses to the right and left.
On the Travessa da Bainharia is an old telephone box, often used as a photo motif. The road down to the left is Rua de São João, which leads directly to the Douro. This is where the old town of Ribeira, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, begins.
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Behind the telephone booth, we turn left into Rua da Bainharia and cross Rua dos Mercadores, where we will return later. We continue straight ahead and quickly notice that it can be difficult to constantly go up and down so steeply. We are also surprised by the fact that there are cars in these narrow, steep streets.
The architecture decorated with the well-known Portuguese tiles, the narrow balconies, and the laundry hung out to dry on the facades create a picturesque, peaceful backdrop.
The more we look at the houses, the more we realize what a work of art the architects and master builders have accomplished here; they were able to settle such a large population density in this hilly landscape.
We turn right into Rua Escura. Suddenly, the view gazes up high to the Porto Cathedral, Sé do Porto, the city’s most important shrine.
We climb a wide staircase to the terrace around the cathedral. From there, we have a magnificent view of the roofs of the city and the Douro.
A short visit to the cathedral and the adjoining cloister shows us the impressive painted tiles, the azulejos, and the altars decorated with precious metals.
The character of the former fortified church is still clearly visible today after many renovations.
The bishop’s palace was built next to the church and appears more imposing than the place of worship.
We descend again via steps and pass the Igreja de São Lourenço church.
Through a narrow alley, the Rua de Sant’ Ana, we reach the Rua da Bainharia again. As we still want to walk to the banks of the Douro, we turn into Rua dos Mercadores.
In front of the Dom Pedro Gastropub are a few small tables at the edge of the narrow street. We get into a conversation with a nice man, and it soon turns out that he lives in Kordel, a neighboring town of Trier, the birthplace of Ursula, which is also not far from where we live.
He invites us to sit down with him, which we gladly accept. We find out that he had just spent a week walking the Way of St. James and had made a short trip to Porto to meet some friends. He had lunch here and recommended the cuisine. As he liked the atmosphere in the alley so much, he stayed outside Dom Pedro for a few hours after his meal.
A group of singing young women comes by in a good mood and underlines his words. You often see groups of women and girls celebrating like this in northern Portugal. We also had a quick chat with the staff at the gastropub and learned that the waiter had been working here for two months but was from Brazil. The waitress is also here for 2 months and is from Buenos Aires. This shows that living together across ethnic boundaries and cultures works well in this country.
After this pleasant evening, we return with many new impressions to our accommodation, Hannah’s Studios.
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Lovely!
Thank you very much