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Porto

Indicates Pousada location.

There is a Portuguese saying, "Lisbon -- plays.... Braga.... Prays.... Porto ....works". So after having heard this saying and also having a lot of Portuguese friends say, you should see the North. We decided on our second trip to go to the cities of work and prayer.

Current Porto Weather

Porto is also called "a mui nobre, sempre leal e invicta cidade do Porto" - the noble, always loyal and unvanquished city of Porto, the city that stood up to the French invasions and supported the liberals in the civil war in the 19^th Century. The Porto people were and still are a little suspicious of the south of the country, especially the power established in Lisbon.

This area is called the green coast and offers views and tranquillity that you will never forget. This entire region is steeped in history - for here, at the beginning of the 12^th Century, Portugal was born.

It took me about four hours to drive from Lisbon to Porto on the A1 auto estrada. This included a few stops at the rest areas along the way.

Porto is Portugal's second largest city. It is located on the river Douro, which provides a beautiful, view as you approach the city. There are few bridges over the river that provides various entrances to the city. Years ago wine barges brought the grapes down this river from the upper Douro Valley. The wine was produced in the lodges in Vila Nova de Gaia and Portugal became famous throughout the world for its fine wines.

Porto has also been chosen as a European Cultural Capital in 2001 - together with Rotterdam. Many wonderful activities have been scheduled to celebrate this advent and the city is bursting with activity. You should consider spending a few days here.

The Dom Luís I bridge, or as the people in Porto call it - Ponte Luis I, is the most notable one and the one that leads into the business district and the center of town. Driving up the A1, I got a little confused and missed this bridge. I ended up entering Porto, via the Arrábida Bridge, and after a few turns I was hopelessly lost.

Well, that was there that I asked the Portuguese family for directions. After a few frente's, direita's, and esquerda's, they got into their car and said follow us. In a few minutes we were at our hotel, the Dom Henrique. The hotel is located in a very convent location and has a parking garage located just across the street.

My wife fell in love with a small church that was located just a block away from the hotel and has beautiful Azulejos on the outside and inside. The fact that the church was dedicated to Saint Theresa may have also been a factor, but I won't mention that. We spent some time walking around the business district and the Town Square.

Saint Theresa Church in Porto

Porto is vast and monumental. It extends roughly from the Câmara Municipal (Town Hall) at the northern end of the wide Avenida dos Aliados to the riverfront Praça da Riberira - but it is fairly concentrated and can be explored on foot.

Then we went down to the old city located on the banks of the Douro River. We had lunch in a small but crowded restaurant just a few blocks from the river. Somehow, in this crowded restaurant, we not only had a great meal, but also met the owners' grandchildren and showed him pictures of ours.

Colorful houses in Porto

This area is very colorful. You can look across the river and see the wine lodges in Vila Nova de Gaia and the two decks of the colorful old Dom Luís Bridge. We spent considerable time shopping in the markets and enjoying eating in the many colorful restaurants in the area.

Then we drove over the lower level of the bridge to the Wine Lodges in Vila Nova. It is amazing. You can drive for miles down the river's edge. You past the entire most notable wine lodges in Portugal and the world. Many of the lodges also permit visitors and have showrooms to accommodate you and provide free tasting of Portugal's famous wine. You will also see some of the old wine barges that brought the wine down from the mountains' years ago.

Old Wine Boats

If you drive over the upper level of the bridge, you can stop in a small park area and view the beauty of Porto from the heights of Vila Nova. Some of the pictures that I took of the bridge and the river were taken from this location. Porto is built on several hills, so the city offers many panoramic vantage-points. Some of the best that I found were from this side of the river.

There are many other places in Porto to explore from the Town Hall down through the business district to the Cathedral.

The Cathedral

The Minho Douro is famous for its Port Wines. You should visit some of the famous Port houses in Villa Nova de Gaia, across the river from Porto. Another pleasant past time would be to visit some of the Quintas where the wine is produced. One of these is the Quinta da Aveieda a very successful business in the heart of the Vinho Verde. It is located about 30 km east of Porto and visitors are welcome for a tour on weekdays.

The Quinta da Aveleda is considered to be a model property due to a perfect combination achieved between the exigencies of a modern, complex company and the simplicity and serenity inherent to nature. This devoted way of taking care and preserving nature is evident in the wine growing activities of the company as it is in the luxuriant beauty of its gardens.

For more information on possible wine region tours see our page Wine Tours.

If you are interested in Self catering Villas, Manors and Cottages for a longer stay or to accommodate a group visit this site

Let's Visit Porto

Porto Hotel Information

Braga

One day (while we were in Porto) we decided to take a drive out to Braga, which is the capital of the northern Minho province. We took the A3 highway that provides a very good road almost all the way to Braga.

Braga has been Portugal's religious center and the home of its archbishops since the birth of the nation in the 12th century. The strategic location of Braga has always made it ripe for occupation and development. The Goidelic Celts, also known as Bracari, are believed to have founded the city and given it its name several thousand years ago.

The Spanish king, Alfonso, with the help of French Crusaders succeeded in wresting this part of northern Iberia from the Moors. In 1095 the King rewarded the French nobleman, Henry of Burgundy, with the hand of his daughter Teresa in marriage. Portucale a smaller country to which Braga belonged was part of her dowry. Then in the mid-12th century, Henry's son, Dom Afonso Henriques broke away from León and Castile and established the kingdom of Portugal.

You drive through rolling green hills and fertile green valley on the way. Braga is a very religious town with over three hundred churches and many chapels. We were amazed to see the many chapels with all of the candles lit in them as we walked down the cobblestone streets.

Igreja do Hospital de São Marcos in Braga

It was in Braga that I got a parking ticket. I parked in a place where some other cars were parked but I had a feeling that it wasn't a good spot. After a while I noticed that I was the only car still parked there. I finally got my wife out of the shop that she was in, but it was too late. There was the parking ticket on the windshield. I noticed a policeman standing nearby. I went over to him and tried to ask him what I should do about the ticket. He looked at me, smiled, and ripped the ticket into pieces.

We spent some more time walking around enjoying the sights and cafés of Braga. Then it was time to head back to Porto. Oh, I got lost again trying to find the hotel in Porto, but I finally fought it through and made it. Funny by time we left Porto three days later, I was getting pretty good at finding my way around.

RETURN TO BRAGA

We hadn't been back to Braga for about seven years. I had driven around it two years ago but I didn't stop. Well it was a very pleasant surprise. Braga has been redone and it has been redone for the better. New pedestrian walks are all over the place. It is very tastefully done and was really a pleasure to see.

Braga

I enjoyed it completely. Walking around the town I found a very beautiful garden. It was spectacular and really caught my eye.

Let's Visit Braga

Braga Hotel Information

This northwest corner of Portugal is the emerald in Portugal's crown. Of all the Portuguese regions, Mother Nature was the most generous with the Minho, gracing it with an eternally green and varied landscape, dense forests, fertile valleys, rolling hills, majestic peaks, golden beaches and thermal springs.

The high level of rainfall in the Portuguese winter makes this area lush and verdant. The rural interior retains much of its age-old traditions and it's strong community spirit. The warm, hospitality of the region is best summed up by its symbol, the heart.

The food in the area is diverse. There are game, kid, and pork dishes in the mountains, lamprey and trout in the river valleys, fish stews, shellfish, cod, and sardines in the coastal areas. You should allow yourself at least a week to leisurely tour the area.

One of the jewels to see in this area is Viana Do Castelo. This holiday resort lies at the mouth of the Lima River with a basilica-topped hill, Monte de Santa Luzia, looming behind it. Legend has it that Viana takes its name from a beautiful woman, Ana, who lived here. Her fiancé constantly asked people whether they had seen Ana - to which they would answer "Vi Ana" ("I saw Ana").

The small city's Manueline and Renaissance houses attest to its prominence during the 16^th century when it played a major role in Portugal's maritime discoveries.

While the Viana area has some splendid beach on the Atlantic, I was curious about the area north toward Valença. So one day I drove north along N 13 to explore the area. 

I was pleasantly surprised. We passed many beautiful beach areas and completely enjoyed the excursion. We also found a wonderful little shop in Seixas the Casa Dos Cobres that had a great selection of electric lamps etc. and copper and brass item.

Let's Visit Viana Do Castelo

Across this northern section of Portugal is some of the most beautiful scenery in the world. You have the Parque Natural de Montezinho, whose high plateaus and mountains stretch northeast and northwest of the town of Bragança and contain some of the wildest country in Portugal. It is populated with wild boar, wolves, foxes, and small game. The park is also dotted with tiny self-sufficient villages where communal life and pre-Christian rituals and superstitions endure.

Let's Visit Bragança

To the west along routes N103 lies the village of Chaves. Chaves, the spa capital of Portugal, is on the banks of the Tâmega River in the center of a fertile valley near the Spanish border. When the Romans built Trajan's bridge over the Tâmega, the town became an important stop over on the Roman road between Braga and Astorga, Spain. Here is a great Portuguese site on the history of the city of Chaves and environs with great pictures of castles and churches.

Let's Visit Chaves

The Douro

 Let's Visit Lamego

CANIÇADA

I found Caniçada really by accident and I think that I found one of the most beautiful places in Portugal. We stayed in the Pousada de São Bento. In the heart of the Peneda/Gerês, this Pousada has a breathtaking view of the river Cávado and the peaceful Caniçada dam. 

It sits high above the river and is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful places that I have ever seen.

As you look down you see the calm waters and the villages nestled in the forest - in the background the rising mountains of the Serra do Gerês. It is truly a most  tranquil scene.

Probably the best is that is Braga is only 30 km away. I was a little surprised to find this out because I had reached Caniçada by doing a long scenic drive on route N 103 from Bragança. You should take the drive down the mountain, cross the bridge and the drive slowly up the mountain on the other side. You will see some breathtaking scenery on this drive as well as the beautiful monastery of St. Bento. I also noticed many places for boat rentals and swimming in the area.

St. Bento

Creation Date: 04 Dec 1995
Last Updated: 19 Sept 2005
Copyright © 1995-2005 Thomas J. Sullivan MA

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