Day 2: Porto: Aliados Avenue, Torre dos Clérigos, Lello e Irmao bookstore, Luís I Bridge, Ribeira do Douro
Friday, April 10, 2009
We get up early after arriving yesterday from the airport to the center of Porto and have breakfast at the Residencial Universal hotel, a breakfast of the most assorted, very complete and quality, which charges us with energy to discover the city
We left with our map in hand and a few minutes before 9 am we are already walking along Avenida dos Aliados.
A good option to not miss anything in the city is to book this tour with a guide in Spanish or this other tour in Spanish that includes tickets to the places you will visit.
Dos Aliados Avenue
Opposite we have the City Hall and the Bank of Portugal, two of the best known and emblematic places in this area of the city, where walking is a pleasure.
Dos Aliados Avenue
After taking some photos of the area, we set off for the Torre dos Clerigos de Oporto, where Roger does not hesitate to climb, while I go for a walk around, delighting with this city that has fallen in love in the few hours that I know her. You can book the entrance to the tower here in advance.
The Clérigos Tower in Porto
After getting off Roger comments that the climb is a bit hard, but that it is very worthwhile for the views of Porto that can be seen from the top. We leave you an image so you can check it. It is very clear that it is worth it, right?
Views from the Clérigos Tower in Porto
One of the attractions that you can not miss if you are in the area is the famous and emblematic port tram 22, which passes through the side of the Clérigos Tower.
If you are going to use the trams to get around the city it is advisable to see if it is profitable to book the Porto Card that includes public transport and discounts of up to 50% in numerous attractions of the city.
Tram 22 of Porto
After the visit to the Clérigos Tower and the walk that we take in this area of the city we go in search of the Lello e Irmao bookshop, another of the most emblematic places of the city.
** Update 2017. They inform us of the following schedules and data: "The Libreria Lello is open until 8:00 p.m. and the Torres dos Clerigos until 11:00 p.m., which until 7:00 p.m. is € 4 from 7:00 p.m. at 23:00 € 5. "
Thank you very much Carla for writing to inform us of this data.
Book the best rated tours and excursions in Spanish from Porto by travelers:
- Cruise of the six bridges
- Guided tour of Porto
- Full Porto tour with tickets
- Excursion to Guimarães and Braga
- Night tour with dinner and fado show
- More excursions and tours here
Book the best rated tours and excursions in Spanish from Porto by travelers:At the entrance they already tell us that we can only take one photo and we must not go inside to make a report. We imagine that if they did not say this, tourists would not stop to enter and take photos, disturbing the clients who go to the Lello e Irmao bookshop to buy and not just to admire her. After missing a good time in the corners of this incredible bookstore, we took the opportunity to buy a guide from Porto, which we had not been able to buy before and that will help us to complete the information of our planning.
Lello e Irmao bookshop
After this amazing e essential visit in Porto, we decided to start down towards Ribeira del Duero, losing ourselves through the streets of the city, without a very specific destination and enjoying those corners that are only known when you don't have a map in your hand.
We have already begun to see that Porto is a warm city, despite the cold, with a special atmosphere and that is that every corner we look at invites you to stop and take a picture.
On our walk we pass through the Natural History Museum, the Portuguese Photography Center and the Monastery of Sao Bento.
And from here we arrive at the Palacio de la Bolsa and the Ferreira Borges Market, where we take advantage of the green area to spend some time resting.
Once we arrive at the Porto Ribeira, we take the opportunity to stop on one of its terraces to have a drink.
Ribeira del Duero
There we had a good time, watching life go by, enjoying the moment, which in the end is what it is all about and more in travel.
Luis I Bridge
After this technical stop, we started looking for a place to eat and with our determination to try the francesinhas, the most typical dish of Porto, we see that right next door there is a restaurant where they are made. And there we planted ourselves to enjoy the Portuguese gastronomy.
Francesinha of Porto
They give us a choice between eating inside the premises or on the terrace and although it is cool, we decided to stay on the terrace and thus continue to admire the incredible views we have from here of the Luis I Bridge.
More practical information to prepare your trip to Porto
- 50 things to see and do in Porto
- 10 essential places to visit in Porto
- The 5 best tours and excursions in Porto
- 10 essential tips for traveling to Porto
- Where to stay in Porto: best neighborhoods and hotels
- The best free tours in Porto for free
After a good dinner and a good coffee, we walk again along the Ribeira del Duero to finish down the piece of dish that we have eaten and admire this area of the city with the arrival of the afternoon.
After this walk we decided to go to the Rua Catarina, where we found shops and more stores and where we made the first purchases of this trip to Porto and Guimaraes and of course we tried to enter the Majestic Café, although it cannot be and that is the queue that there is how to back out. Forgetting the coffee we had in mind, we continued our walk along the street of Santa Catarina, where we can see a small church with its facade covered with tiles: the Chapel of Souls.
Chapel of Souls
Near here is the Bolhao, a flower market, which due to lack of time we did not get to visit, but which they recommend a lot and that we will surely not miss the next time we come to Porto.
From here we go to dinner and we end up in a restaurant, in front of the Universal Residential hotel, where every night they do some show: piano, fados, live singing ...
Tonight he has played Caribbean music, which is really not what we would have liked the most while being in Porto, but it does offer us a lively dinner.
After dinner and after 11 pm we go straight to the hotel to rest. Tomorrow we will have a most complete day. We are going to meet Guimaraes.
Day 3: Porto: Sao Bento Station - Guimaraes: Castle, Monte de Penha Porto
