Porto, Portugal
05/10/2022
In early October, I joined a company trip to Porto, Portugal. Having experienced increasingly cold temperatures in Vienna, I was looking forward to feeling some late-summer sun rays and walk around without a winter jacket on. My morning flight from to OPO airport took about 3 hours.
As the rest of the group was going to arrive with an evening flight, this allowed me to spend the day exploring.
To start the adventure right, I went for brunch at ‘Zenith – Brunch & Cocktails Bar‘. Then I started walking around the neighbourhood, spotting many beautiful but dilapidated buildings.
My walk also took me past Igreja do Carmo, a baroque church with typical Portuguese ‘Azulejos’, blue ceramic tiles as the wall. These can be found on most old buildings and are well-renowned.
Nearby lay Torre dos Clérigos, the tower of the eponymous Igreja dos Clérigos. The entry was quite affordable and the view from the top was definitely one of my highlights, giving me a first understanding of which parts of the city lay where and what we would be exploring in the days ahead.
After this, I walked downhill through the city centre and had some incredibly tasty empanadas at Empanadas Malvón – which I am aware are South American. I then continued to Loja das Tábuas, a local store featuring handmade design items such as olive wood tableware.
I continued downhill towards the river and came by the old stock exchange Palácio da Bolsa. It had come to my attention that it was marvellous to visit, so I bought a ticket for a guided tour and soon after was inside to learn about this impressive and historically important building.
The building was quite exciting to experience. The large main hall had a lot of light coming in from the top, and its decorations featured the coats of arms of the most important trading partners back when the building was constructed. The building is still commonly used for state ceremonies and receptions.
We were able to take a look into the ostentatious ‘Arab room’ shown, which was being prepared for a ceremony as we walked through.
You can find out more about the building’s history on their webpage (here).
After having taken in the marvellous building and its insides, I made my way downhill to the waterfront, which I followed for a few kilometres towards the ocean. Finding a riverside bar, I had a beer and relaxed a little. I was happy about having seen so much in my first day already, and after finishing my beer, continued up a hill for a beautiful view of Ponte da Arrábida.
The setting sun paired with a beautiful panorama left me with a lot of positive energy when returning to the hotel to meet the rest of the group there.
Adeus!