Porto, Portugal--one beautiful city

Porto panorama

We arrived in Porto this afternoon and spent several hours walking around the old part of the city.  Our hotel is right on the central square, surrounded by Victorian buildings and near the Romanesque cathedral.  This is such an attractive city of stone and tiled buildings with red-tiled roofs, spanning the Douro River which runs through Porto to the nearby Atlantic Ocean.

main square

Since this is a planning trip, we are checking out hotels for a group trip next year.  We wanted to visit a hotel across the river, in an area that used to house the port wine storage of the region.  Long, red-roofed "lodges" fill the area, some with port wineries in them, many empty now that the storage has moved out of the city.  Boats used to bring the barrels of port from the wineries located up the Douro River to the lodges in Porto.  Today, the river is used much more for tourism than commerce.

old wine boats with port barrels

We walked across the river on a bridge high above the water, giving us wonderful views of the city.  There are, of course, many monasteries and churches, some taken over by the military during one of Portugal's several military dictatorships.  Some buildings are beautifully tiled, mostly in blue and white or green and white tiles, hand-painted long ago.

Douro River running through Porto

Where the river flows through the center of Porto, outdoor cafes and artisans' stalls line the quays on both sides.  We stopped in one cafe for a snack and some people-watching, which included a bride and groom strolling in their wedding finery.

Tonight we'll go to a local restaurant for dinner and a sampling of Portuguese wine.  And tomorrow is a day of seeing the city with a guide so we actually learn something about this lovely city.