The people of Porto are called Tripeiros after the famous local tripe dish Tripas à Moda do Porto. Their beautiful city is nicknamed Invicta – ‘unconquered’ – because it survived an entire year of siege and starvation during the 1800s Portuguese civil war. The city has seen its share of strife. It has been here for a very long time, with roots in the Stone Age, and you don’t get this old without being interesting. Porto is packed with the strange, the unusual, and the secret. This post explores some of the most interesting things to see in Porto.
See serious bling at the glittering Igreja De São Francisco
Love the glitter and gleam of real gold? Feast your eyes on the interior of the magnificent Church of Saint Francis, home to fabulous Baroque features and founded by Franciscan friars. With ancient roots in the 1200s, inside it’s a masterpiece of intricate gold leafed carved panels, a feat that took decades to complete during the 1700s.
Napoleon’s invasion in the early 1800s scared the friars away and the convent was occupied by his soldiers. Later that century the civil war saw Porto under siege and the convent was destroyed by fire. Luckily the church itself survived, used as a warehouse until the 1900s. Now it’s a museum, nicknamed the ‘gold church’ and home the famous family tree of Jesus.
Now perfectly restored, it is a bedazzling sight. But underneath all the golden glory there’s something seriously spooky. Don’t leave without visiting the catacombs…
Remind yourself of your own mortality at the Church of St Francis catacombs
Below the church’s three interior chapels there are chilly, low-ceilinged catacombs, tombs for the friars of the Franciscan order. Prepare for goose-pimples when you stand before a door to nowhere and look down to see piles of human bones through a glass window in the floor. It’s a startling and humbling contrast with the vibrant bling above. It’s enough to drive you to a glass or two of port!
Go green in the splendid Jardim Botânico do Porto
Porto Botanical Garden is a lovely place to chill, drift, take things slowly and dream amongst the luscious greenery. The deep blood red house itself is a stunner. This is the Andresen house, built by João Henrique Andresen Júnior in 1895 and set like a great scarlet jewel in the historical garden. There’s also the Rose Garden, J Letter Garden, and Fish Garden to wander around, and it all feels a very long way from the city centre crowds.
Parts of the garden are wonderfully messy, great for wildlife and full of charm with an overgrown pond and neglected greenhouses. The area looks like a carefully-contrived Chelsea Flower Show garden but in reality it’s perfectly natural.
Discover the old Maria Amélia Velodrome
Wander along Adolfo Casais Monteiro Street and there’s an unusual treat concealed behind a large gate. This is the Maria Amélia Velodrome, dating back a surprisingly long time to 1861. The king of the time, King D. Pedro V, bought the Palace of Carrancas as a royal residence. When he tired of it in 1894 he gave the land to the Porto Velo Club, and the resulting sports track was named after the queen consort Maria Amelia.
The 333.33m track made it the city’s biggest sporting venue, big enough for 25,000 spectators, and a host of thrilling events were held there over the years including cycle races and the nation’s first ever motorbike race. Renovated for Porto 2001 European Capital of Culture by the Porto architect Fernando Távora, you can still see parts of the original velodrome and get a sense of its outline, right next to the Soares dos Reis National Museum.
Define ‘wow’ at the Sao Bento train station
It sounds like a crazy tourist destination but Porto’s Sao Bento railway station is breathtakingly pretty, qualifying as one of the most beautiful in the world. Built in the 1900s it has three storeys and a u-shaped construction. A lush example of the French neoclassic, Renaissance and Baroque-inspired Beaux Arts style, the intricate blue and white ceramic panels are the stars of the show.
The atrium features twenty thousand or so glazed tiles covering around 550 square metres of wall, installed between 1905 and 1906 by the artist Jorge Colaço and a feast of northern Portuguese historical themes. This isn’t his only Porto architectural masterpiece, so keep an eye open for more marvellous blue and white tiled buildings.
Make yourself dizzy walking the Dom Luis I bridge
The Dom Luis I bridge spans the Douro River, a fantastic modern-looking structure that was actually started way back in 1881, finished in 1885, and designed by one of Gustave Eiffel’s pupils. A walk across the Dom Luis I Bridge delivers the ultimate in drama as well as views to die for, via a choice of two walking platforms. The highest route is for walkers and metro trains, the lower is for walkers and cars. The higher platform comes with 40m high views of Porto itself, the mighty Duoro river and way beyond, making it a paradise for Instagrammers.
Take in more brilliant Porto bridges
If an urban walk is exactly what you like best, always a great way to get a real feel for a city, make the city’s bridges the focus of your adventures on foot.
The Maria Pia Bridge comes with a Parisian connection of its own, designed by Gustave Eiffel himself and completed in 1877. Like the other Porto’s bridges it joins the city to the neighbouring city of Vila Nova de Gaia, and each one is unique: the Arrabida bridge, Infante D. Herique bridge, Sao Joao bridge, and the Freixo bridge.
Once upon a time there was another bridge, and it’s a tragic tale. Napoleon’s attempted invasion sent the city’s people fleeing across the Ponte das Barcas bridge, so many people that the bridge collapsed, and hundreds were flung to their death.
Experience the dark side of Porto at the PIDE Chambers of Torture
Like your Porto tours dark? Your destination is the Museu Militar do Porto on Rua do Heroísmo, in the Bonfim district. This is the former HQ of the hated, feared and sinister secret police or PIDE, the Polícia Internacional e de Defesa do Estado. It once housed the state security service of the dictatorial Salazar regime, the place where over 7,500 prisoners were interrogated and tortured in hellish isolation.
Silva Marques escaped in 1962, and Hermínia da Palma Inácio in 1969, both immortalised in statues. Inside you’ll find thousands of miniature soldiers, grisly old weapons and uniforms, plus displays chronicling the city’s 1891 Revolution, World War I, and World War II experiences.
Be glad you won’t need treatment at the Hospital of the University of Porto
The hospital at the university of Porto dates back two centuries, now a museum dedicated to the brutal past history of health and medicine. Once an isolation hospital for the victims of epidemics, and then a tuberculosis clinic, the museum is split into the old dispensary, full of toxic preparations we wouldn’t dream of taking today, and a room full of odd medical artefacts. There’s a short video about the hospital’s history too, giving you a flavour of the place.
Exhausted with all the excitement?
Exhilarated? Exhausted? Now it’s time to chill out in one of the city’s many excellent bars, cafes or restaurants. Then, once you’re up for another adventure, you can check out our cool Porto tours.
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