Our visit to Porto focused on the Ribeira and Vila Nova de Gaia neighborhoods, both facing the Rio Douro. An outpost of the Roman Empire, it is one of Europe’s oldest cities and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Walking the narrow and winding streets up from the river provided an endless number of opportunities to sightsee, shop and dine. Walking along the Rio Douro on either the Ribeira or Vila Nova de Gaia side one passes cafes and restaurants offering al fresco dining and entertainment with a beautiful cityscape unfolding before you reflected in the river beneath the Eiffel designed Dom Luis I suspension bridge.
From the 13th-century, wine in the Douro Valley was transported to Porto in barcos rabelos down the river where it was used in the production of Port. Due to perpetual wars between England and France, England imported Port wines as French wines were generally unavailable cementing an alliance between the two countries which continues to this day. Today, Port wines remain an important part of the economy and the wines are still produced in the Douro Valley and shipped around the world.
Porto is known for it’s medieval winding streets, it’s many churches and cathedrals and it’s original and interesting cuisine. We found the Portuguese people to be friendly and outgoing, warm and accommodating, creative and inventive. Dining was superb with local dishes featuring cod, sardines, anchovies, and chorizo available along with other international offerings. The local wine, Vinho Verde, proved to be a favorite along with Port during our visit.
While we were in Porto for 9 days the time passed quickly, it’s scenic beauty, charming streets, innovative cuisine and warm and engaging people made us feel a joy and wonder that we didn’t want to leave. It’s a wonderful place to visit and we look forward to returning to Oporto again soon.
All images were taken with Fuji X100f with 23mm f2.0 lens in RAW format, processed in Adobe Lightroom Classic CC 12.0.1