Portugal’s second city is packed with beautiful things to see, even if you’re not one for museums and art galleries. In fact, the city streets aren’t too far off a wide-open gallery – every other building seems to be decorated with striking ajulezo tiles; the old shop facades here were built with a sense of style and artistry that you just don’t get on a modern high street. So, what sights can Porto cruises show you once you head ashore?
Casa da Musica
You’re unlikely to find a place like the Casa da Musica anywhere else in the world – a building made up of equal parts solid white concrete slabs and curving glass forms, where every wall and stairway leads to weird spaces and inviting alcoves. The landmark stands on Porto’s main strip, and it’s pretty hard to miss. Designed by Rem Koolhaas, the man behind China Central Television’s remarkable headquarters in Beijing, the Casa da Musica has played host to some of the world’s greatest orchestras since its opening in 2005.
Look out for the hand-painted blue and white traditional wall tiles, so at odds with the rest of the building; and the stunning baroque organ, attached high up on the wall in the building’s golden hall. Porto cruises could give you time enough in town to see the remarkable Casa da Musica, and guided tours are available of the building’s quirky corridors and 1300-seat auditorium.
Serralves Museum and the Rua Miguel Bombarda
Porto cruises are a great way to see Portugal’s love of art, and the Serralves Museum is hugely popular with visitors here. The likes of Rego, Warhol and Francis Bacon have exhibited work here in the past, and much like some of the world’s best-known galleries of modern art there is no one permanent exhibit. What visitors will find instead is a museum with ever-changing contents; a jutting white cubist building filled with clean, beautiful lines. The Serralves is currently exhibiting work by artists Cildo Meireles and Ahlam Shibli, as well as works by some of Portugal’s best upcoming photographers.
Visitors on Porto cruises shouldn’t miss the chance to see the Rua Miguel Bombarda too, a street filled with art galleries. This is the cool heart of Porto, where you’ll find alternative fashion outlets alongside bookstores, indoor gardens, urban arts and crafts and some very trendy places to eat and drink – well worth a look during your time in the city.
Art Nouveau shops
If you’ve got a thing for old absinthe posters and Chat Noir memorabilia, then you’ll love some of the shop fronts around Porto’s centre. Porto cruises could give you some time to wander through the city’s shopping district, where you’ll find that many of the boutiques still have their old Art Nouveau frontages. Look out for swirling golden ceilings inside some of the emporia here; or hulking black pillars and winding art-nouveau window frames that could leave you spending more time standing and staring outside the shops than browsing the shelves inside.
There’s a fantastic choice of places to sit down with a cake and a coffee, too. Porto’s cafes, boutiques and restaurants offer the kind of high street experience that’ll leave you blinking in disbelief – from the brightly-coloured gallery fronts high up on the buildings, to grand Baroque eateries and beautiful coffee shops. Even the train station is covered in the seemingly ubiquitous azulejos, those striking blue and white tiles – Porto cruises are essentially a gateway to one of western Europe’s most beautiful and stylish cities.
Sao Francisco Church and the Cathedral
Don’t be fooled by Sao Francisco’s unassuming exterior – a peek inside reveals some of the most elaborate and extensive carved decoration to be found in any church on the Continent. The church combines everything stern and solid about the Gothic style (gleaming white marble arches) with everything floral and opulent about the Baroque – masses of intricate wooden carvings stretching all the way through the church. The church is bound to leave an impression; it’s estimated that the carvings are covered in almost half a tonne of gold.
The city’s cathedral is perhaps even more impressive, though – but visitors to this attraction on Porto cruises will find a different kind of beauty. The Sé do Porto is a less chaotic affair on the eyes, and keeps much of its stripped-back gothic style in favour of the baroque frills. The fortress-like church itself has a quiet kind of beauty, but visitors here should really head for the cloisters – where painted tiles sit in perfect contrast to the stone arches and pillars, depicting intricate scenes in striking white and sky blue.
Crystal Palace Gardens
The views of the beautiful River Douro from the Crystal Palace Gardens make the perfect way to cap off cruises here. The modern domed pavilion here plays host to a variety of sports and music events throughout the year – and while the magnificent original palace no longer stands, there’s still a wealth of places to visit around the scenic gardens.
The lake here makes the perfect spot for a sit down after a wander through the city itself – but the trendy Rua Miguel Bombarda sits directly opposite the park gates, so you could begin your trip ashore here in the park instead, and head on for a meal or a shopping trip later. Spend some time relaxing around the park’s glorious old fountain, or make for the library or the 19th-century mansion which has since become the Porto Romantic Museum.
Main image courtesy of A. Amen. Article images courtesy of Janekpfeifer and Alegna13.
