Long weekend in Porto and Cascais

Porto skyline

Last summer, I spent a few days in Porto in Portugal, a city that had long been on my list of places to visit but which somehow never materialised. It is a gorgeous city spread out on small hills, along the river Douro. It’s full of colourful houses rising all the way up along the cliffs, on both sides of the river. And there are a few historic bridges crossing the river (6 of them to be precise) which add to its charm. The city by itself is quite historic, and is linked to the story of how Portugal came around to become a country. And of course, a lot of the city’s history and culture is also centred around Port wine which is grown in the Douro valley and used to be sold through Porto. 

Colourful houses

Overall, the city is a riot of colours. With colourful picturesque buildings everywhere, lined with some lovely tilework. But surprisingly so many of these are rundown and dilapidated now. The contrast between its colourful beauty and the rundown state was so striking, somehow it’s what I remember the most of all my walking around the old town. And this was quite in contrast to my short day trip to the posh seaside town of Cascais near Lisbon. It was colourful too but without the rundown buildings of Porto, and an absolute pleasure to explore. And all these contrasts are what I remember the most from this trip.


Porto and Gaia

My first image of Porto is what I saw from the plane – I had taken off from a rainy Amsterdam and was welcomed with a seaside view, of beaches and yellow and orange buildings lining the coast. It’s a view I will remember for a while, especially how different it was from where I had started.

The first day, we stayed on the Porto side only. It was quite crowded and made it tough to find a parking spot in the city centre. We found one which involved going round and round in very tough circles to get a free space to park. So we just parked our car in that parking lot and walked out of foot. As soon as we got out, we just started exploring the old town, following suggested routes from lonely planet, just taking in the sights and scenes of the city. And the first view of Porto old town was of a small, hilly and historical place. 

Tiles at Central Station

The city is full of narrow winding roads, mostly twisting and turning. So it was very easy to get back to the same place you started from, mostly unintentionally😊 (which we did a couple of times). The houses along the streets were all painted in colour, very bright and each in a different hue. Most of them had orange roofs, and some had colourful tiles adorning its facades. The Central Station was quite notable among them, with blue and white painted tiles lining it from the roof to the floor. Apparently it’s not allowed to modify these antique buildings of the old town, hence it feels quite dated everywhere.

Porto streets

One of the streets we visited early on was the Flores street. Many of the houses in this street have flowers in their balconies, and hence its name. It seemed to be quite popular given the crowds there. It was lined with art shops, street artists and tons of people sitting outside in its cafes, enjoying the sun. We ended up here at least 4-5 times during the 2 days and it was always vibrant at any time of the day.

View from a cathedral

The old town was full of cathedrals, most of them on top of small hillocks, offering breathtaking panoramic views of the city around. There are about 30 churches of which 7 within the city centre are worth a visit. We visited a few of them as they were everywhere. The first day, we walked up to the main Porto cathedral which had a grand view of the orange roofed buildings below and the river flowing through. The views were gorgeous and I could have stayed there for a while.

The Douro is quite a narrow river actually and there are some 6 picturesque bridges over it, some for trains, some cars and some for walking. The main one, Ponte Dom Luis is quite famous and picturesque.

Dom Luis and Gaia at night

For the first night dinner, we walked to the Dom Luis bridge but stayed on the Porto side of the bridge. At the other side of the river you can see the lights of the twin city of Gaia. The hills of Gaia are all lighted up with huge billboards of brands of famous old port wine merchants, which are visible from everywhere. And right across the other side of the bridge is a huge monastery called Serra do Pilar, which looks spectacular when lighted up at night. The photographs from here was just mind-blowing. 

Gaia at night

We had dinner by the active riverfront called Riberica which was full of tourists, performers and many more people. The riverfront was lined with restaurants which are all lighted up and very lively. It looked like this was the main party area of the city. But surprisingly, it got empty by 10pm. Or maybe everyone went somewhere we didn’t know about 😁.

The second day, we did a cultural walk which again took us past some historical squares and churches. We walked by Igreja do Carmo and Igreja de Sao Bento Vitoria, a local market (selling handmade stuff including cork products like the one we found in Ronda) and Clerigos church and tower. You can also walk up the tower of the Clerigos church to get a view of the city around. I though sat in the sun in the park opposite it and loved it. It had a café within the greens which was playing relaxing music, and it was pure bliss to sit there and observe the tower from below.

Porto and Gaia

We had booked a 

sunset river cruise that evening which started from the Gaia side, near the ocean. So we had to walk 8 kms all the way to the sea to Marina da Afurada where we were to get onto our sunset boat cruise. We crossed over the Dom Luis bridge to get to Gaia and explored the city on the way to the Marina. Apparently Gaia is bigger and cheaper than Porto, and it did feel so.

From Dom Luis bridge

The bridge has a walking path on top as well as the bottom. And we crossed by the top one this time. After crossing the bridge, we got some spectacular views of the city from the top, near the monastery (somehow I never got tired of these views of the city around the river). The top of the hill was full of people enjoying the sun, and we found someone making fresh ganna juice there! It was very hot that day, so I got my sugar rush of the day from it (the guy gave me two glasses seeing how I was relishing the drink).

Local boats

It was fun to walk along the waterfront with all the restaurants and the performers. But it was even more pleasant as we got past them – it got quieter, calmer and emptier, and I absolutely loved that part of the walk (I realised then how much I like being away from cities now!). We walked 8 kms along the water, with some magnificent views of Porto on the opposite side, but with no tourists or loud noises around us.

  

On the way to marina

We passed by a few more bridges, some more colourful houses and walked past the small villages of Castelo and Regadas on the river. They also were similar, with colourful houses all along the cliffs, and local shops with local (and lower) prices. Of course we also passed by some empty and dilapidated buildings which looked like factories. They spoilt the view but we were used to them by now.  

Sunset

We then boarded our sunset cruise from the Afurada marina and spent the perfect Porto evening. Our yacht first took us back towards town, under 5 of its bridges. The guides told us a lot about the history and culture of the city during the boat ride. And we just sat back, enjoying the breeze, the views and their stories. At the 5th bridge, we turned and went back all the way to the sea. There were too many waves, so we did not get out from the river to the ocean. But saw the sunset from the river itself. And it was pretty. We had dinner on the Gaia side of the Dom Luis bridge and realised how different the city looks during the day – with colourful houses – and at night – all lighted along the cliff.

Walking in the city was tiring at times, as we were going up and down the hills the whole time. The plus point of course was that there were tons of great viewpoints. Most streets felt so narrow, and so rustic, as if we had come to a different era altogether. A lot of the city centre was dug up when we were there though which wasn't fun as we had to walk around them quite a lot. The city centre was crowded, also with lot of walking tours around, many of them for the food and port wine. We also saw a lot of Indian visitors – the place was clearly very popular with tourists. And we saw loads of modes of transport in the city - tuk tuks, trams, funiculars, gondolas and of course boats. One very interesting experience of the city was that many people sat on the balcony all day, enjoying just observing people and things down on the streets below. That was fun to notice. And there was so much local music everywhere. It just fit the vibe of the city well.


Eating in Porto

We had most of our meals in Porto old town or along the river. The first day, we ate at Batholomeu Bistro and the food was spectacular. We had dinner at Riberica 50 with a view of the river and Gaia. I wasn’t impressed with the food there though, especially since their padron peppers were so spicy that my throat was burning for the next 20 mins.

Porto at night

The next day we had brunch in the Porto city centre, at the Zenith brunch. And I must say, it was the best meal I had in Porto. That night we ate at the Gaia side of the river, next to the traditional boats on the water. We ate at the Tempero de Maria and it was definitely touristy and not local enough. Overall though, I found the food in Porto not really good, maybe it was too bland for me and I was missing the spices a bit.


Foz

Along Foz riverfront

After two days in the Porto city centre, I felt I had had enough of the city break and wanted to escape. So we spent the whole day in the nearby seaside resort town of Foz. It was located quite near Porto actually, just 20 mins drive along the river, just before you reach the sea. We parked at a beautiful location next to the waterfront. And then just walked all along the sea, about 12 kms during the day. It was fabulous, to spend the day in such a relaxed, open and green place after the crowds of Porto.

We started our day with a brunch at Camelia brunch house. Food was a bit of a let-down but the location was nice. It had an old historical tram running right in front of it. We then walked to the sea, to the lighthouse, where the waves were lashing at the dykes built to keep the sea out. After that, we walked all along the beach up to the town of Matosinhos. It was a nice boardwalk, full of places to stop and chill. The beach was rocky and choppy. The weather was sunny and people were on the beach but not a lot in the water.

Foz seafront

There were lot of beach bars all along and some small castles too. We stopped at Praia Da Luz for sunning near the sea and enjoying the view of the water. The water was warm but not comfortable enough to go for a swim. We checked out the cheesecake fort and then turned back.

 

Sunset from Hotel Boa Vista

For sunset, we went to the rooftop restaurant, Hotel Boa Vista. It’s such a hidden gem and not the typical place to go to. But we had a stunning view of the sea and sunset, with orange trees, narrow streets and colourful houses providing the backdrop. It was an amazing end to a fun filled day. We had dinner at Fomo, a fancy restaurant on the beachside and definitely ate better food this day. And the next day we were off to Lisbon to fly back

We experienced some weird weather in Porto which was totally unexpected. It was September and had already got cold-ish by then. The first day it rained twice and then got extremely hot. The second day it was the same, mostly sunny and then would rain within minutes. Guess Amsterdam isn’t the only place with unpredictable weather.

And as usual, there were a few more places nearby to see which we didn’t get time to. A few of them are the Paiva riverside boardwalk, the towns of Aveiro, Guimaraes (birthplace of Portugal) and Bragas, and the fishing village of Sao Pedro da Afurada. As always, for the next time 😊.


Cascais

I was taking a flight back to Amsterdam from Lisbon, so I decided to spend some time in the seaside town of Cascais on the way. Early morning, we left from Porto and started our drive to Lisbon. The drive was mostly through hills and the buildings changed from coloured to white houses, but still with orange roofs.

Cascais swimming competition

Cascais is part of the metropolitan area of Lisbon and so the drive there was fully urban, lined with small towns and settlements. It was a gorgeous place and I had a lovely day there. First, at the main beach there was a swimming race being organised that day, so there were loads of people cheering on the swimmers. And the water was so green and pristine. The day was also warm unlike Porto which had been a mixed bag. So it set the mood for the day 

Cascais restaurant (with
splashing waves behind)

I explored the place around for a bit, a fort, some grand houses, a hidden beach, a lighthouse and so on. It was quite a small interesting place. I walked around the marina a bit - it was quite posh, with lot of fancy restaurants, high end shops and rows of yachts. It was definitely more luxurious than the old town of Porto. I had lunch at one of the seafood restaurants there and enjoyed the meal and the view.

 

Cascais

Then I walked a bit more along the old town and the coast and it felt like a string of beaches one after the other, full of people and activities. It felt so luxurious and warm. This is the Portugal I remember, so warm, so posh, so lovely, unlike Porto which was poor. After some time on the beach, I headed back to Lisbon airport and off to rainy Amsterdam.


Impressions

• Porto old town had too many old rundown buildings, some were dirty, some needed maintenance, some had roofs which had fallen down and so on. It just didn’t feel well-to-so. And when I asked the guide on our boat ride about this, she said that is indeed true. Many of the locals did not have money to repair their homes. So more and more Americans were buying these houses, painting and renovating them, and then renting them out as airbnbs. It helped improve the buildings while also helping the Americans get their golden European passports. But of course the losers in this case were the locals who were getting evicted from their homes. It sounded very sad.
• For me, somehow the contrast between Netherlands and Porto was very stark. Things are more old and broken here. In fact, there were things like doors and taps which weren’t working at the airport even. Netherlands felt so much more advanced in comparison.
• I found Porto city centre too loud. We were staying there itself and there was so much noise everywhere, so many cars, that it was tough to sleep at night. I realised then how pampered I am with the peace and quiet in the residential areas of Amsterdam.
• Also interestingly, you can park your car anywhere on the roads if it does not stop traffic 😊. I didn’t test it out but apparently its true.