Portugal | The Undiscovered Country (Part two): 4 Days in Porto
Porto is one of those towns that you may have heard of somewhere, somehow, but you really never knew anything about. Maybe you heard of Port wine and maybe you think it comes from Porto, like I did. Well, it actually doesn’t, but they don’t mind that we think that because it gives another reason to visit.
Well, after having visited, I can attest that you don’t need any other reason to go other than the town itself- Because it’s amazing. ‘Nuff said.
The Traveler’s Dilemma
This always happens- You plan ahead, mark the calendar, find cheap flights, book them in advance and then totally regret it once you get somewhere incredible. This is the case for me on multiple occasions. It happened, most excruciatingly, in Brazil; Also in Bolivia and Peru.
It’s an inevitable part of long-term travel and actually an essential part to keep your butt moving if your plan is to see the world in a certain amount of time. Yet, it’s truly unfortunate when you really start to love a people and place and have to leave because you really can’t (or don’t want to) waste the money on another ticket or take the time away from future places.
That’s how I felt about my time in Portugal. It was too short and I really wish I didn’t book a flight out and have to leave so soon. I am still so glad I went in the first place and know I will see her again. I’ll be back- Schwarzenegger style!
A Bit About Porto…
Porto has a vibrant riverfront downhill from the city center and during the summer there are always tons of people walking around, eating at sidewalk restaurants, tasting wines and ports and enjoying the beautiful views across the sparkling river.
Uphill, in the center of the old town, a mix of old and new architecture creates a dynamic atmosphere with churches, plazas, business corridors and alleyways full of bars and restaurants. At night these areas really come alive with inexpensive beer and local dishes.
In and around Porto, some amazing world-class architecture and landscape projects can be seen; And I missed most of them. I did get to Rem Koolhaas/OMA’s Casa Da Musica and its angular form and surrounding wavy plaza platform is playful and eye-catching. What I really regret missing were the Leça Swimming Pools, which are these large concrete pools build right into the side of cliffs next to the Atlantic Ocean.
However, for me, the most impressive work I saw was the Praça de Lisboa by Balonas & Menano; Where they created a beautiful hybrid of indoor retail space on the first level and covered it with a sloping urban-park, green-roof, open-space full of olive trees, angular hardscape sidewalks to match the underneath architecture and enough green grass to make even some grazing cattle happy- I didn’t see any cows there fortunately.
You probably need a solid week there just to see the architecture. This makes Porto a nice vacation spot for any archi-lovers who also like wine, food, happiness and Harry Potter. Oh, did I mention that JK Rowling spent some years here and would frequent an old bookstore working on Harry Potter books. She actually used the store as inspiration in the book and now the store is somewhat famous. They even charge 5€ to get in, but you can get it back if you buy a book.
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Porto, and Portugal, have so much to offer travelers of any kind. I completely recommend visiting both Lisbon and Porto and any other beach town or mountain top castles that they have; And oh, does Portugal have plenty.
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Check out some sweet pics!