NORTHERN PORTUGAL - PART I
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Porto sees the light
Mainly known as a business city, Porto has lots to offer the visitor, including six spectacular bridges, a host of port wine lodges and friendly river cruises
Jun 23, 2007 04:30 AM
Robert Crew
Travel Editor
JOAO PAULO PHOTO COURTESY OF TURISMO DE PORTUGAL
The double-decker Dom Luis I bridge, built by a protege of Gustav Eiffel, spans the River Douro, linking the historic Ribeira district and the port wine lodges of Vila Nova de Gaia.
Porto, Portugal–I am strolling along the historic Ribeira embankment beside the River Douro. The bustling quayside is bathed in sunshine, the many, attractive restaurants are doing brisk business and the colourful, flat-bottomed boats known as barcos rabelos are bobbing on the river.
Then my walk is halted by a dishevelled group of young men. "Have you got any money?" they ask in English, mentioning some charity or other. The situation seems menacing; they could be students but then again, maybe not. So I politely say, `no.'
"His camera looks good," one of them says in Portuguese. "Let's take that."
But when he sees that I've grasped what he's saying, he laughs. "Just joking," he assures me. And we part, good wishes and smiles all around.
I should have known. If there is a most hospitable, come-and-meet-the-family people than the Northern Portuguese, I have yet to meet them. Being kind and considerate to strangers seems almost second nature.
And tripeiros (tripe-eaters) as people from Porto proudly call themselves, are only too anxious to welcome tourists to their compact, bustling city.
"We need more here because most tourists go to Lisbon or the Algarve," says Bernardino Sousa, a local driver and guide. "We need more quality tourists from Australia and Canada, people who have ideas and imagination and who want to discover my country, its people, its handicrafts.
"Tourism is the future for a country like Portugal and cities like Porto."
Portugal's second largest city (population: 238,000) – which gave its name both to the country and to the fortified wine – is certainly benefitting from the influx of European Union money. The place is being spruced up, an above-ground metro, roads and hotels are being built. Porto seems to havefinally realized its potential as a tourist desination and is putting in place the infrastructure for future visitors. And prices here are good; Portugal is probably still the cheapest destination in Western Europe.
And although the Portuguese will still tell you that people "go to Lisbon to play, Braga to pray and Porto to work," this business city has a lot to offer the tourist, with six splendid bridges, a stolid medieval cathedral, a rich heritage and fine art galleries and museums. The historic city centre became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1996.
The city's most famous attraction, however, are the port wine lodges, that dot the south bank of the River Douro – across from the city itself, in the area called Vila Nova de Gaia and a short stroll across the double-decker Dom Luis I bridge, built in the 1880s. It was designed by Teofilo Seyfrig, a protégé of Gustav Eiffel.
The most popular lodge is probably Porto Sandeman, which features tours led by a guide dressed like the famous Sandeman Don, complete with swirling cape and black hat.
"These cellars were bought in 1811 and for almost two centuries they have been used to mature very old wine," our caped guide announces.
Founded in 1790 by Scottish wine merchant George Sandeman, a determined young wine merchant, Sandeman was owned by Seagram's of Canada from 1980 to 2002. It now belongs to Sogrape Group, a Portuguese, family-owned wine company that created the famous Mateus Rose.
The Sandeman Don, one of the world's first trademark symbols, was drawn in 1928 by artist George Massiot Brown. He wears the black cape of a Portuguese student and a wide-brimmed Spanish caballero's hat.
We follow our personal, female Don down dark alleyways lined with wooden casks.
"Here is a vintage port from 1906," says our guide, pointing to a dusty bottle. "We sell it in our shop for 3,000 euros (about $4,286 Cdn.)"
Tour over, we head for the generous testing – the entrance fee, including tasting, is a mere 3 euros. Several glasses of port later, we weave towards the exit. "It's very cheap," said a French visitor named Marie. "And there were lots of different ports to taste."
The Caves Ramos Pinto, just a few doors down the street, is less touristy and equally interesting – all mahogany wood, stained glass and framed art posters, some of which are surprisingly risqué.
The company was found in 1880 by a 21-year-old artist, Adriano Ramos Pinto, who clearly believed in the notion that sex sells. One poster shows a faun surrounded by naked women who are reaching out towards him, port wine glasses in hand. In another, a naked woman is stretched out on a tiger skin while a black slave girl plays the guitar. A stool contains a bottle of port and one glass.
"Adriano Ramos Pinto was a pioneer of this sort of advertising," said my guide, Ana.
The barcos rabelos no longer carry huge casks of wine down the River Douro. These days it is brought in by larger tanker trucks, using those new highways.
But you can still catch a boat ride on the river. I took a 50-minute "Six Bridges" cruise that became an impromptu party, involving a generous-with-the-wine German couple and the Kulovas, a mother and daughter from Czechoslovakia.
The vinho verde flowed as smoothly as the river as we admired the six bridges, which include the impressive Ponte Dona Maria Pia, a railway bridge designed by Eiffel himself (now closed for repairs) and Ponte de Arrabida, a shiny white, single-span bridge, which opened in 1963.
The boat also does meals: "Daily we have a plate surprise, chemical preparation especially to think about itself," says the leaflet advertising lunch on board.
Er, thanks, but no thanks.
Another remarkable new construction in the northwest area of town on Boavista Ave., is the Casa da Musica (House of Music) which opened in 2005.
You can take a guided tour or listen to a concert of everything from fado and jazz to classical music. The main auditorium has natural light, with wavy, soundproof glass that separates it from a series of other rooms, all full of strange shapes and angles and painted in colours designed to wake you up, or calm you down.
This striking concert hall, a masterwork by Dutch architect Rem Koolhass, was meant to open in 2001 when Porto was a European Culture Capital but one of many endearing things about this delightful city is that, somehow, nothing ever seems to be built on time.
"In Porto, it takes double-time to do things but we do it eventually," Sousa says.
Who needs deadlines anyway? Taking the time to treat people decently is far more important.
OUT AND ABOUT IN PORTO
TRIPE
Henry the Navigator was born in the Ribeira district of Porto in 1394. The house where he was born is now a museum called Casa do Infante. Rue de Alfandega 10. 226-081-000. When Henry rounded up all the cattle from the area to go on an expedition, he took the steaks and left the guts, forcing the city to eat tripe. It is now a local delicacy and Porto inhabitants call themselves tripeiros – tripe-eaters.
OTHER CITY SIGHTS
Clerigos Tower and Church were designed in 1754 by the ubiquitous Italian architect Nicolas Nasoni. The tower – 225 steps – is a landmark. Good views, too. Church free, tower 1.50 euros.
Palacio de Bolsa (stock exchange). Rua Ferreira Borges. Lavish rooms in this temple of commerce. The extraordinary Arabian Hall was inspired by the Alhambra in Grenada. Daily tours. 5 euros adults, 2.50 for children.
Sao Francisco Church. Rua de Bolsa. The lilly is well and truly gilded. The interior is dripping with gold leaf and the catacombs are really spooky. 2.50 euros.
Serralves Foundation Museum of Contemporary Art. Interesting museum, with ever-changing exhibitions, set in a relaxing, 18-hectare park complete with pink Art Deco mansion. Rua Don Joan de Castro 210. 4 euros.
Sao Bento Train Station. Why? Because of the blue, handpainted tiles, known as azulejos – among the finest in Portugal – which trace the history of transportation in Portugal. Praca de Almeida Garrett. Free.
Majestic Café. Elegant Art Nouveau café "has the best coffee in Porto," says a local. Rua Santa Catarina 112.
INFORMATION
For more on Porto and Portugal, go to visitportugal.com
MANY PORTS IN A STORM
Port is a digestif wine containing about 20 per cent alcohol, made from grapes from the Douro Valley. It is fortified with wine brandy, a process that stops the fermentation and leaves sugar in the wine. Port is aged in barrels for two years then tested.
Vintage port is made from a single harvest and only from the best years. It is aged in bottles for at least 10 years.
Other ports – ruby, tawny and Late Bottle Vintage – are all aged in casks and blended before bottling. Ruby is aged only three years, tawny for at least 10. Late Bottle Vintage is a blend of wines from the same year, is aged in casks and bottled after five years.
Contacts: For more on Porto Sandeman, see http://www.sandeman.com/ing/index1.html and for more on Ramos Pinto, see http://www.ramospinto.pt
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