Oldgreytravel recently revisited Portugal’s second city after some 25 years absence. The city remained largely the same, the same slightly run down, pleasingly ramshackle arrangement of so-so buildings around vertiginous streets and alleys, but one thing had most certainly changed. People, or rather tourists, were suddenly the defining feature of the city experience.
Back at the beginning of the century, oldgreytravel’s experience was of a quiet, industrious, working class city with few tourists, few real attractions and a business-like way of negotiating the day – a bit like Manchester with sunshine you might say. Now, the city is packed with tourists from all parts of the globe, filling the streets and alleys with their polyglot voices and creating a whole new industry of restaurants, bars, gift shops and cafes. At some point in the last 25 years, Porto has got sexy.
Why, is something of a mystery. As pointed out, the number of spectacular sights is limited and the location, not particularly convenient, stuck as it is on the western edge of Europe and not on the way to anywhere in particular. However, the old city was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996 and the hilly topography and the Douro River open up a large number of sensational viewpoints of colourful buildings tumbling down hillsides. Oldgreytravel suspects that the all-pervading power of You Tube influencers may have cast their spell over the small, quiet city of Porto. Certainly, sunset watching from the many viewpoints seems to be high on everyone’s agenda and the resulting pictures do look spectacular.
Of course, like all places, there are quieter areas where few tourists venture. In fact, in Porto one does not have to go very far at all to lose the crowds. Most tourists stick to the historic Ribeira and Gaia districts which are compact and very hilly. Many are exhausted after a morning’s site seeing and seem uninclined to venture further afield. Luckily, some of oldgreytravel’s best picks are discretely located outside the central “tourist” zone and off towards the up market western suburbs.
So, oldgreytravel’s four top Porto picks while avoiding the crowds are as follows. Closest to the centre, is the Portuguese Centre of Photography, interesting in itself but more so because it is located in an C18 prison that, almost unbelievably, was still being used as a prison up to the downfall of the Portuguese dicatatorship in 1975. Slightly further west is Porto’s major museum, the Museu Nacional Soares dos Reis, with good art and ceramic exhibits in a restored palace and, again, surprisingly under visited. Further to the west again are the elegant gardens, the Jardins do Palacio de Cristal, with spectacular views over the city and down to the coast. Finally, even further west and a trip in itself, the Serralves Foundation is set within a large park and includes the original 1930’s art deco house, now used for temporary exhibitions, and the brand new modern art museum. The park is also a major attraction with many major sculptural works located around the landscaped grounds.
These four themselves would satisfy a weekend Porto break and, despite the crowds, oldgreytravel would always recommend finding time for sunset watching, preferably from the upper deck of the wonderful Ponte Lois I bridge.
