Porto – Part 2

After the wedding excitement, we took the opportunity to do some serious sightseeing in the beautiful city of Porto. When arriving in a new place, I like to take advantage of the Hop-on Hop-Off open-top Bus, if available.

I find it helpful to get an overview of a city before conducting in-depth visits. The trip started well, but as we left the town centre and headed towards the coast, a sea mist rolled in, hence the lack of photos!

We stayed in Vila Nova De Gaia and had to cross the River Douro to reach the centre of Porto. A priority for us was a cruise along the river. There are a variety of boat trips available, lasting from an hour to a day, and some include wine tasting and lunch.

We opted for the shorter ‘6 Bridges Cruise’ on a traditional ‘Rabelo’ boat. These wooden cargo boats transported people and goods, notably Port wine barrels. We had the perfect weather for our cruise – relaxing and giving us a different perspective on Porto.

I’m not a fan of heights, but I did not want to miss the opportunity to travel on the Gaia Cable Car. We caught the Cable Car on the Gaia side of the Douro, and as we descended, we could admire the river, the Dom Luis 1 Bridge and the red roofs of the port wine cellars. The ride lasted about five minutes and cost 7 euros for a single and 10 euros return, but I felt it was worth the money.

There is no shortage of transport options in Porto:

However, we opted for a traditional tram trip.

The historic trams date from the 1930s and have polished wood interiors, brass controls and a clanging bell which asks the driver to stop. There are three tram lines, and we opted for line one, reportedly the most scenic. It follows the Douro to the seafront area of Foz, where we enjoyed a tasty lunch.

While in Porto, we had a lot of delicious food, but sadly no sardines! Neither did I have the famous Portuguese speciality ‘Francesinha’, although Mr FF did have one, so I had a sample taste. The Francesinha is a sandwich of thick slices of white bread filled with ham, sausage, cheese, and steak, smothered in melted cheese. Finally, it is covered in a slightly spicy sauce consisting of tomato and beer. It can also come with an egg!

if you are famished, you can always add some fries – like Mr FF!

The Francesinha sandwich is a relatively new creation from the 1950s. Legend tells us that it was invented by Daniel Silva (Portuguese) when he was living in France, inspired by the Croque Monsieur. I cannot confirm that this is accurate!

We saw and experienced so much in Porto that this post will be continued…