Art's vacation blog: May 2015 Porto & Northern Portugal

After meeting my Russian travel friend, Sergey, for 2 days in Madrid, we then flew to Porto, where he had been working for much of the past year on a doctorate project. The town is extremely picturesque, perched on the hills above the Douro river at its mouth on the Atlantic. It is the center of Portugal's world famous Port wines, with many wineries right on the river bank.
Our lst side trip was to take a day trip on the train north towards the Spanish border to visit the famous old medieval town of Guimaraes, dating from the 10th century. It was a wonderful, sunny day and the town was a delight. We walked the town, climbed to the famous old castle for a tour, took a lunch break in the old town, and then took a ride up the cable car to the top of the mountain above the town for a great view. Finally we rode back to Porto on the train.

Map of Guimaraes historical old walled city area

The lovely center of the newer part of town

Having lunch in the old town center

The architecture of the old city center within the old walled portion.

The ancient castle or Castelo on the highest center of the old walled town

The Ducal Palace, Dating back to the 5th century

another view from within the walls of the Castelo.

View of the inner courtyard of the Ducal Pal

Cable car base station in Guimaraes

View of Guimares (old walled city in center) from near the top of cable car

lovely chapel and grounds above cable car top station

I had a chance to visit much of Porto while Sergey had meetings. He also escorted me around much of the City. We went on the tour of the Calem Port winery, and had lunch at various restaurants in the city. We walked miles, visiting the many landmarks, cathedral, fort, parks and the lovely ocean front.

Porto's Atlantic shore just north of mouth of River Douro, with restaurant where we stopped for lunch

steep walk from city center down to river bank restaurants and shops

delightful riverside area to eat and shop with the famous old Dom Luis bridge in background

one of the many port wine tour boats on the River Douro

some of the old wine boats used to transport the casks up and down the river

interior view of the Calem Port winery we toured

enjoying a cold beer and the classic, famous Francesinha speciality dish of Porto

The massive ancient cathedral, Se' Catedral du Porto

statue in Catedral Plaza

Vast interior of Se' Catedral

Cafe Majestic, claimed to be Porto's oldest cafe

the old Clerigos tower we climbed for the best view of Porto

looking south from the top of the tower we climbed

Within the Livaria Lello Bookstore used to film the Harry Potter series

city view to the East up the River Duro from the Crystal Palace park & botanical garden

another view from the same park

spectacular color of blooming flowers in the park

a scenic quiet spot within the big Serralves park

imagination ! Sharks in the park lawn of the private Serralves Park & museum

City Park near Ocean front, Porto's largest park and very popular

Porto's Atlantic beach coast

The old San Francisco Xavier fort on the beach in Porto

One of the many buildings showing the exterior tiles widely used in the past

a view of the old city center Bolhao market

One of the oldest cafes in Porto

Lovely view from south side of high bridge over the River Duro

Another view from the Serra do Pilar Monastery

View of the grounds near the Serra do Pilar Monastery on the high knoll above river edge.

Our final longer trip was by train again, this time south along the coast to Aveiro and nearby Ilhavo. Aveiro was a delight, with its almost Venice like canal system, tiled buildings, and the incredible church with its amazing wooden carvings. It was only a short distance bus ride out to the huge, lovely Atlantic beach and Ilhavo with its popular summer resort area.