After a few days in Lisbon, we took the train north to Porto. It is Portugal’s second-largest city, and like Lisbon an amazing blend of old-world charm and vibrant culture. Porto sits along the Douro River, and is famous for its historic architecture, scenic riverside views, and, of course, for port wine. After we checked into our hotel, we strolled along the river towards the historic Ribeira district. Just like in Lisbon, the narrow cobblestone streets are lined with charming buildings in every shade of pastel and tiles. We took in the sunset from our hotel that night and rested up for more adventures!
The rest of our time in Porto was very rainy, but didn't dampen our adventures. We enjoyed a guided tour of the city one of the days we were there and learned even more about the city and saw many more sites. We spent time walking on the Porto side of the river and then crossed the Dom Luís I Bridge (created by the same designer of the Eiffel Tower!) to Gaia where all the Port wines are shipped from.
A key part of the tour was tickets to enter the famed Livraria Lello bookshop. It is often named as one of the most beautiful bookstores in the world and it is rumored that JK Rowling was inspired by the shop while writing Harry Potter (and it was giving Diagon Alley vibes!). The shop is just stunning with the stained-glass ceiling and intricate woodwork, it was busy but still a must see!
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I would have loved to have visited Portugal on our trip to Europe several years ago, but the tour we were on didn't go there, unfortunately. It is still somewhere I would like to go, so thankyou for taking us there. Happy travels! Enjoy your week, thankyou for the link up, and for visiting my blog this week.
ReplyDeleteI had never heard of Porto until last week when another blogger gave a quick summary of her trip there! How neat that you got to explore too. That bookshop is lovely.
ReplyDeleteI'd definitely like to go to that bookshop.
ReplyDeleteI remember my mom loving Porto. What a gorgeous book store. I love doing guided tours when I'm somewhere new. The trip looked amazing!
ReplyDeleteA beautiful place.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely wonderful!
That bookshop!! I thought the bridge was going to be my favorite part of this one, but then the books... ;) Bekah
ReplyDeleteSo super cool. I would really want to go to that bookshop-wow. Lucky you.
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