Oporto, Portugal
Our visit to Oporto, the second largest city in Portugal, afforded us the opportunity to experience the warm hospitality of the lesser-known occupant of the Iberian Peninsula. Facing the sea, the Atlantic Ocean has dominated the country by not only providing a consistently temperate climate, but by defining the history, culture and mentality of the Portuguese people as well.
The Portuguese are conscious of themselves as a nation of mariners, whose considerable achievements in exploration and navigation are all too often overlooked. During the 15th – 16th century, Portugal was one of the richest countries in the world - an economic powerhouse that controlled a vast trading empire that stretched from Brazil to India and beyond. In 1703, England and Portugal signed the Methuen Treaty that gave the English traders preferred trading status and granted numerous privileges to the British trading community in Oporto. The foundation of the port trade was firmly established in the city by the end of the mid 18th century.
Even the gray skies could not diminish the beauty of Oporto with its many blue and white tiled churches, civic buildings and multi-colored houses of the old quarter, which has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1996. We toured the various hills of the city via coach making several extended photo-stops, the first of which was the São Bento railway station with its tiled foyer. Our next stop was the cathedral, which is one of the oldest buildings in the city, is perched high above the Douro River. The plaza in front of the neighboring Bishop’s palace afforded us a panoramic view of the city and port warehouses across the river in Vila Nova de Gaia. The Gothic cloister with its 17th century tiled walls is the often overlooked gem of the cathedral, but many of the groups nipped in for a quick visit.
Descending to the old port quarter, we visited the church of São Francisco, a Gothic building that had been completely transformed in the 18th century with profuse and truly opulent guilt chestnut-wood Baroque altars, exuberant Solomonic twisted columns all of which were capped off with stunning gilt ceiling decorations. A tour and tasting of White, Tawny and Ruby ports at the Sanderman’s warehouse in Vila Nova de Gaia was our final destination. A wonderful finale to our morning in Oporto!
