← 2024 Porto & Spain

Porto & Pinhão

Porto announces itself the moment you step off the train: São Bento Station's entrance hall is wrapped floor to ceiling in blue-and-white azulejo tiles depicting scenes from Portuguese history, a fitting backdrop for watching generations pass through on their way somewhere else. Just outside, the city's tilework habit continues — the deep-blue facade of Capela das Almas, a jacaranda blooming purple against another patterned building nearby, and one more ornately tiled townhouse a few streets over. Up near the University of Porto, the Fonte dos Leões sends water arcing past the Baroque front of Igreja do Carmo, while the Ribeira waterfront below hums with cafes and colorful rowhouses stacked along the Douro. The iron double-deck Dom Luís I Bridge carries foot traffic across to Vila Nova de Gaia, where a cable car climbs to Jardim do Morro for a postcard view back over the river, and where the real business of Porto waits in cool cellar rooms — a Sandeman port barrel stamped with the label's silhouetted Don, and a flight of tawny, ruby, and white poured for tasting at the end of the day. A short train ride upriver, Pinhão sits at the heart of the Douro Valley, its tiny station marked by a water tower stenciled with the town's name and a platform sign done in azulejo tile. An hour's climb from the station leads to the Casal de Loivos viewpoint, where the river bends between terraced vineyard hillsides in every direction; coming back down, Quinta do Jalloto, Quinta do Bomfim, and Quinta das Carvalhas each pour their own tastings within walking distance of one another. Back in Porto, the granite spire of the Torre dos Clérigos climbs above the old town, its attached church hiding a gilded Baroque altar behind an unassuming exterior, while the Mercado do Bolhão's lit-up sign, a quiet cobblestone alley, and a cat curled up in a flower pot round out a city that rewards looking both up and down.

A young man absorbed in his phone walks past an older man at São Bento Station, its walls covered in historic azulejo tile murals — Generations crossing paths at São Bento

An ornate green clock labeled Porto inside São Bento Station — The station clock at São Bento

Large blue letters spelling Porto in front of the Almeida Garrett statue — The Porto sign in Praça de Almeida Garrett

The blue and white azulejo-tiled exterior of Capela das Almas in Porto — The azulejo-covered facade of Capela das Almas

A modern stained glass window set into the tiled facade of Capela das Almas — A modern stained glass window at Capela das Almas

The ornate Moorish Revival tiled facade of an early-1900s building in Porto — The ornate tiled facade of an early-1900s Porto building

A jacaranda tree in purple bloom in front of a blue-and-white tiled Porto building — A jacaranda in bloom against a tiled facade

The ornate Baroque facade of Igreja do Carmo in Porto — The Baroque facade of Igreja do Carmo

A teal lion-head fountain spout with the University of Porto building blurred in the background — The Fonte dos Leões in front of the University of Porto

Colorful buildings along the Ribeira waterfront on the Douro River in Porto — The Ribeira waterfront along the Douro

The iron arch of the Dom Luís I Bridge with Porto's city walls and hillside houses behind — The Dom Luís I Bridge over the Douro River

The door of a Teleférico de Gaia cable car cabin — The Teleférico de Gaia cable car

A view over Porto and the Dom Luís I Bridge from Jardim do Morro — The view from Jardim do Morro, overlooking Porto

A Sandeman port barrel

Three glasses of white, ruby, and tawny port at a Sandeman tasting — A Sandeman port tasting flight

The Pinhão train platform with a water tower stenciled Pinhao and terraced vineyard hillsides above — The train platform at Pinhão, terraced vineyards above

An azulejo tile sign reading Pinhao above a station doorway — The tiled Pinhão station sign

The Douro River bending past terraced vineyards near Pinhão, seen through purple wildflowers — The Douro bending past Pinhão's vineyards

A flight of four port glasses labeled Extra Seco, 10 anos, and two vintages at Quinta do Jalloto — A port flight at Quinta do Jalloto in Pinhão

A panoramic view of the Douro Valley's terraced hillsides and river from the Casal de Loivos viewpoint — The Douro Valley from the Casal de Loivos viewpoint

The Quinta do Bomfim entrance sign below the Symington Family Estates building — The gate at Quinta do Bomfim

Two glasses of port beside a Quinta das Carvalhas bottle — A tasting at Quinta das Carvalhas

A blue truss bridge over the Douro River at Pinhão, seen past pink roses — The bridge over the Douro at Pinhão

The tall granite Baroque bell tower of the Torre dos Clérigos in Porto — The Torre dos Clérigos

The gilded Baroque altar and organ pipes inside Igreja dos Clérigos — The gilded interior of Igreja dos Clérigos

A row of colorful tiled and painted houses along the Ribeira waterfront in Porto — The tiled rowhouses of Ribeira

A narrow cobblestone alley between old stone buildings in Porto — A quiet alley in Porto's old town

A tabby and white cat curled up asleep in a flower pot — A cat curled up in a flower pot

An illuminated sign reading Bolhao above the entrance to Mercado do Bolhão — The Mercado do Bolhão sign

← 2024 Porto & Spain