April 8, 2025 • 15 mins
The vibrant energy of Porto, Portugal comes to life through Cheryl's detailed account of her day and a half in this charming riverside city. While many travelers automatically gravitate toward Lisbon, Cheryl makes a compelling case for Porto's superior atmosphere, describing it as less touristy yet rich with authentic Portuguese culture.
From the moment she steps off the train from Lisbon, Cheryl's adventure unfolds with visits to the famous Livraria Lello bookstore (which she recommends booking first thing in the morning to avoid crowds), the stunning Igreja dos Carmelitas with its iconic blue tiles, and the panoramic views from Clérigos Tower. Her exploration continues along Rua de Santa Catarina where local artists display their talents, though she cautions about distinguishing original artwork from printed replicas. The São Bento train station emerges as an unexpected highlight with its magnificent azulejo tile murals depicting Portuguese history.
The crown jewel of Cheryl's Porto experience comes at sunset, where she describes climbing the hill past Ponte Luis I bridge to an old monastery vantage point. There, street performers create a lively soundtrack as the sun bathes the Douro River and Porto's terracotta rooftops in golden light. This magical moment, coupled with the city's walkability, rich architecture, and the unforgettable taste of authentic port wine, solidifies Porto as Cheryl's preferred Portuguese destination. Whether you're planning your own Portuguese adventure or simply dreaming of European travels, this episode provides both practical tips and the inspiration to discover Porto's unique charm. Have you considered Porto for your next solo adventure?
Instagram @solotraveladventures50
Facebook community: Solo Travel for Women Over 50
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The vibrant energy of the crowd moved me along the
pedestrian bridge.
As I climbed a hill to get abetter view, I could hear lively
street performers on theirguitars beckoning me to the top.
People were gathering withtheir cameras and poised to face
the river.
The sun was warm on my face andit reflected off the Douro
(00:25):
River below.
The cooling breeze tousled myhair as I watched shades of
orange, yellow and blue-gray ofthe sunset over an ancient city.
Do you feel yourself there?
Well, I was actually there.
That is kind of a detaileddescription of my time in Porto,
(00:49):
portugal, and I will sharetoday, on today's episode, the
things that I did while I spentsome time in Porto, portugal.
Welcome to Solo TravelAdventures.
I'm Cheryl Esch, your worldtraveler and solo advocate.
Well, porto, I got a chance tospend, technically, a day and a
(01:09):
half there.
It was on my way to doing theCamino, so if you've been
listening to my podcast for awhile, it was sort of a stop off
on my way to start my Caminowalk.
Now, how did I get there?
Well, I actually flew intoLisbon because I had found a
cheaper flight to Lisbon and thetrain ride.
(01:33):
So I took a train from Lisbonto Porto, and so that train ride
takes about three hours and itcan range anywhere from about
$39 and up.
If you get the sort of the fasttrain, the rapid train, it's a
little more expensive and it's alittle less time, probably
(01:55):
closer to two and a half hourson that.
So I got to enjoy a nice littletrain ride through between the
two cities.
Once I got to Porto, I did stayin a hostel because that was
part of what I did.
As far as the Camino was, Istayed mostly in hostels a few
hotels along the way andalbergues, which are like
(02:20):
hostels but even more bare bones.
But the place where I stayedwas amazing.
I just I'm just making a plugfor it because I had one of my
best experiences in Porto andsome of it was due to where I
stayed.
I loved Porto much better thanLisbon.
(02:40):
It just had the vibe I loved.
It was a smaller city thanLisbon.
To me, it was less touristy butstill had plenty to do and to
see and just to be immersed insort of this Portuguese culture.
I felt it was the best city toactually experience that in.
(03:01):
So I stayed at.
It's called the Nice Way PortoHostel and the reason that I
really loved this place was itwas a really good location, the
staff was super nice there andthe rooms, I think was about 10
(03:22):
beds, so like five sets of bunkbeds in the room I was in.
I think most of them were aboutthe same and they weren't full.
So really, uh, I had the.
It was their two nights andeach night I don't think we had
any more than five, maybe sixpeople in the room at a time.
But on my first day, um, I'llshare with you what did and you
(03:46):
can feel free to use thisitinerary or explore some of
these places if you'reinterested.
So the first place I stoppedwas Louverie, rallilo, and it is
a very famous bookstore and itlooks a lot like remind you,
maybe a sort of Harry Potterkind of scene.
(04:09):
I will tell you, it is popular,it is a tourist trap and of
course, I didn't know that goinginto it there's a very little
opportunity, because it's socrowded, to even get some some
good pictures while you're there.
However, if you do decide to doit, I encourage you to be the
(04:32):
first appointment, or at leastthe first two, because after
that it gets super crowded.
So you do have to buy yourtickets in advance, and I do
recommend that first time slotbecause then you're going to be
the first ones in there.
And then I went in the secondtime slot, so it still was okay,
(04:53):
but I was noticing longer linesas I was leaving.
But after I left there I took ashort little walk up the hill to
a church called Agrire deCamaletes.
It's a classic church with someBaroque styles.
(05:15):
You want to check it out,you'll notice it, because
there's a fountain to the sideof it and the blue tiles that
Portugal is very famous for,especially, you know, porto and
Lisbon areas kind of line theside of that church and it's
quite exquisite.
You can get some great, youknow pictures on the side there.
(05:37):
And then, not too far fromthere, I headed up to Caligres
Tower.
I apologize, I'm probablysaying everything incorrectly,
but this is a very famous towerwhich you can climb up.
It's a bell tower, also part ofa church, and from that vantage
(05:58):
point you can really see a lotof Porto, and it was just a
perfect day for me to do that.
Again, it was still prettyearly, so there weren't a whole
lot of crowds.
I was able to climb up to thattower.
Now, after I left that tower,right across the street I
(06:20):
noticed a you know, an opengarden area, and within that
open garden area there was anactually outside bar cafe, and
so I sat and I ordered a coffeeand an alcoholic beverage, both
at the same time, so you canenjoy some time seated there in
(06:40):
that garden and just enjoy yourtime.
The next place I ventured to wasa very famous thoroughfare
where a lot of people doshopping, and it's Rio de Santo,
catarina, and this thoroughfaretons of shops.
(07:00):
There's lots of sections wherecars are not allowed actually,
or limited amount of cars incertain sections, but I loved
seeing all the shops.
But also there's a lot ofstreet artists selling their you
know, their paintings or theirdrawings, and I love seeing that
(07:22):
.
I will give a little word ofwarning when you are looking to
maybe buy a piece of artworkthat is actually done by, you
know, a local street artistwhich is what I prefer to
support make sure that it's nota replica, meaning it's, you
(07:43):
know.
You may see the original.
They have it displayed on aboard and it looks like they've
actually, you know there'sactual brush strokes or pencil
strokes and so it looksauthentic, but what they're
going to do is they're going topull out a replica, meaning it's
been, you know, printed onpaper, um, or cardboard, and so
(08:06):
it does look the same, but it'snot, um, I would say, the
original.
And so, just, you know, I Iwould say, be careful with that,
because there is a lot of thatand I prefer personally to
support a local artist and havean original one that's not
duplicated, like you will oftensee along there, but wonderful
(08:30):
artwork and you can find allthat along there.
I then took a walk down towardsthe river and along the way, and
there's lots of cobblestonestreets, but what I was more
interested in was admiring thosefamous tiles, those, you know,
they got lots of blues, um,along the way that make up the
(08:54):
side of buildings and facades ofbuildings or storefronts, and
this is kind of what they'reknown for.
One of the most famous and mostbeautiful places where you're
going to see exquisite tiles isactually at the train station.
So if you are taking a trainfrom some other place to get to
Porto, stop and admire that inthe lobby area of the train
(09:19):
station.
It is really remarkable.
And then there is, you know, ifyou want to continue to walk
along the river.
There there is a seasideatmosphere.
It's a little bit of a walk soyou could even take.
There is a trolley that youcould take along that, that,
(09:40):
that route, um, and it's theseaside atmosphere of Fas do
Douro and there is a jetty of alighthouse at the end there, but
it is a little further.
I didn't do that the day I was,you know, spending in Porto,
because as part of my startingroute for my Camino, I actually
(10:04):
did walk past that, so it waskind of on my way along up along
the coast there.
But if you're only spendingsome time in Porto, it is
beautiful.
I actually love just sittingthere and just watching.
You're going to see a lot of umlocals doing fishing off the
side there and you know, you'llsee some boats along there as
(10:26):
well.
So it just gives you that niceseaside atmosphere.
And then the weather I had whenI was there was perfect.
Um, it was in the seventies.
It was sunny, um, and so I justit just was perfect.
I would highly recommend a portwine tasting.
(10:47):
Now you can look that up.
But again back to where Istayed.
I was so blessed with thisplace.
It's actually they offeredwalking tours, which I did not
partake in because I kind of didmy own little walking tour here
that I'm sharing with you.
But in the evening they offereda dinner, a homemade dinner, by
(11:08):
a gentleman that worked therewho was actually from South
America.
So it was amazing homemade meal.
But part of that meal was wegot an endless, bottomless glass
of port wine.
Oh my gosh.
I'm not a huge drinker, but Ifell in love with the port wine
(11:28):
there.
It was so good.
So I highly recommend that iswhat they are known for is their
port wine there.
Obviously, porto port wine.
Definitely try it out,especially if you enjoy wine.
Now, the final thing that Ihighly highly recommend if
there's anything else that you,you know you don't get in,
(11:51):
that's fine, but this one youhave to definitely do this.
So the description I gave in thebeginning of the episode was
the setting of this next lastpiece of you know recommendation
I have for you, and it iswatching the sunset over the
(12:12):
Jura River, overlooking Porto.
So how to get to the placewhere I was, which I described,
was you want to cross the bridgeof Pont Louise I, once you get
across, you have some optionsImmediately to your right.
Is you're going to see somegardens, jordan de Moro, which
(12:35):
is a very lively place.
It was very lively when I wasthere People doing picnics.
I climb up a hill to my leftand you can see it when you
cross the bridge.
There's an old monastery thatsits on top of this hill and you
(12:59):
want to climb up the hill tothat old monastery area to get
the best view of the city, ofthe sunset.
You get some fabulous picturesand there is, as I described.
You're going to see lots ofpeople gathering up there.
You're going to have yourstreet performers keeping the
(13:19):
energy up, the liveliness of theevent, and I recommend getting
you know leaving early to getthere.
So, for example, if sunset ismaybe at six, you definitely
want to get there, probably atleast a half hour before those
spots near the edge of the railwhere you get kind of the best
(13:44):
view of not just the river andthe city but encompassing.
You know this bridge is a partof that picture-esque photo.
You have to have a certainangle and lots of people sort of
vie for those spots early on.
So definitely get there early.
It was just an amazing moment tojust sit and reflect for me.
(14:07):
I loved it, um.
And then even just coming down,um, after the sun had almost
set, I felt still very safewalking back to my hostel, which
, um, still was not horribly faraway.
I mean, I'm used to walking,but there's lots of people out
(14:28):
and it was definitely definitelyworth it.
So, if you have plans to get toPortugal, as we know, portugal
over the last I'm going to evensay 10 years, has become a
really popular place andespecially, I would say, in the
last five years I've heard moreand more people trying to move
(14:53):
there.
But if I had to pick a city inPortugal, I would pick Porto.
I loved it and it just has thisvibe that I just loved, and
there's plenty to do as well.
So, again, if you're planningyour Porto trip or you're going
(15:15):
to be in Portugal, take a day.
All this that I mentioned canbe accomplished in a day.
A second day, definitely, youhave more opportunity to do more
exploration and see a littlebit more of the city.
But these are kind of thehighlights that I found the best
(15:35):
.
So, sisters, get out there andhave that adventure.
The vibrant energy of the crowd moved me along the
pedestrian bridge.
As I climbed a hill to get abetter view, I could hear lively
street performers on theirguitars beckoning me to the top.
People were gathering withtheir cameras and poised to face
the river.
The sun was warm on my face andit reflected off the Douro
(00:25):
River below.
The cooling breeze tousled myhair as I watched shades of
orange, yellow and blue-gray ofthe sunset over an ancient city.
Do you feel yourself there?
Well, I was actually there.
That is kind of a detaileddescription of my time in Porto,
(00:49):
portugal, and I will sharetoday, on today's episode, the
things that I did while I spentsome time in Porto, portugal.
Welcome to Solo TravelAdventures.
I'm Cheryl Esch, your worldtraveler and solo advocate.
Well, porto, I got a chance tospend, technically, a day and a
(01:09):
half there.
It was on my way to doing theCamino, so if you've been
listening to my podcast for awhile, it was sort of a stop off
on my way to start my Caminowalk.
Now, how did I get there?
Well, I actually flew intoLisbon because I had found a
cheaper flight to Lisbon and thetrain ride.
(01:33):
So I took a train from Lisbonto Porto, and so that train ride
takes about three hours and itcan range anywhere from about
$39 and up.
If you get the sort of the fasttrain, the rapid train, it's a
little more expensive and it's alittle less time, probably
(01:55):
closer to two and a half hourson that.
So I got to enjoy a nice littletrain ride through between the
two cities.
Once I got to Porto, I did stayin a hostel because that was
part of what I did.
As far as the Camino was, Istayed mostly in hostels a few
hotels along the way andalbergues, which are like
(02:20):
hostels but even more bare bones.
But the place where I stayedwas amazing.
I just I'm just making a plugfor it because I had one of my
best experiences in Porto andsome of it was due to where I
stayed.
I loved Porto much better thanLisbon.
(02:40):
It just had the vibe I loved.
It was a smaller city thanLisbon.
To me, it was less touristy butstill had plenty to do and to
see and just to be immersed insort of this Portuguese culture.
I felt it was the best city toactually experience that in.
(03:01):
So I stayed at.
It's called the Nice Way PortoHostel and the reason that I
really loved this place was itwas a really good location, the
staff was super nice there andthe rooms, I think was about 10
(03:22):
beds, so like five sets of bunkbeds in the room I was in.
I think most of them were aboutthe same and they weren't full.
So really, uh, I had the.
It was their two nights andeach night I don't think we had
any more than five, maybe sixpeople in the room at a time.
But on my first day, um, I'llshare with you what did and you
(03:46):
can feel free to use thisitinerary or explore some of
these places if you'reinterested.
So the first place I stoppedwas Louverie, rallilo, and it is
a very famous bookstore and itlooks a lot like remind you,
maybe a sort of Harry Potterkind of scene.
(04:09):
I will tell you, it is popular,it is a tourist trap and of
course, I didn't know that goinginto it there's a very little
opportunity, because it's socrowded, to even get some some
good pictures while you're there.
However, if you do decide to doit, I encourage you to be the
(04:32):
first appointment, or at leastthe first two, because after
that it gets super crowded.
So you do have to buy yourtickets in advance, and I do
recommend that first time slotbecause then you're going to be
the first ones in there.
And then I went in the secondtime slot, so it still was okay,
(04:53):
but I was noticing longer linesas I was leaving.
But after I left there I took ashort little walk up the hill to
a church called Agrire deCamaletes.
It's a classic church with someBaroque styles.
(05:15):
You want to check it out,you'll notice it, because
there's a fountain to the sideof it and the blue tiles that
Portugal is very famous for,especially, you know, porto and
Lisbon areas kind of line theside of that church and it's
quite exquisite.
You can get some great, youknow pictures on the side there.
(05:37):
And then, not too far fromthere, I headed up to Caligres
Tower.
I apologize, I'm probablysaying everything incorrectly,
but this is a very famous towerwhich you can climb up.
It's a bell tower, also part ofa church, and from that vantage
(05:58):
point you can really see a lotof Porto, and it was just a
perfect day for me to do that.
Again, it was still prettyearly, so there weren't a whole
lot of crowds.
I was able to climb up to thattower.
Now, after I left that tower,right across the street I
(06:20):
noticed a you know, an opengarden area, and within that
open garden area there was anactually outside bar cafe, and
so I sat and I ordered a coffeeand an alcoholic beverage, both
at the same time, so you canenjoy some time seated there in
(06:40):
that garden and just enjoy yourtime.
The next place I ventured to wasa very famous thoroughfare
where a lot of people doshopping, and it's Rio de Santo,
catarina, and this thoroughfaretons of shops.
(07:00):
There's lots of sections wherecars are not allowed actually,
or limited amount of cars incertain sections, but I loved
seeing all the shops.
But also there's a lot ofstreet artists selling their you
know, their paintings or theirdrawings, and I love seeing that
(07:22):
.
I will give a little word ofwarning when you are looking to
maybe buy a piece of artworkthat is actually done by, you
know, a local street artistwhich is what I prefer to
support make sure that it's nota replica, meaning it's, you
(07:43):
know.
You may see the original.
They have it displayed on aboard and it looks like they've
actually, you know there'sactual brush strokes or pencil
strokes and so it looksauthentic, but what they're
going to do is they're going topull out a replica, meaning it's
been, you know, printed onpaper, um, or cardboard, and so
(08:06):
it does look the same, but it'snot, um, I would say, the
original.
And so, just, you know, I Iwould say, be careful with that,
because there is a lot of thatand I prefer personally to
support a local artist and havean original one that's not
duplicated, like you will oftensee along there, but wonderful
(08:30):
artwork and you can find allthat along there.
I then took a walk down towardsthe river and along the way, and
there's lots of cobblestonestreets, but what I was more
interested in was admiring thosefamous tiles, those, you know,
they got lots of blues, um,along the way that make up the
(08:54):
side of buildings and facades ofbuildings or storefronts, and
this is kind of what they'reknown for.
One of the most famous and mostbeautiful places where you're
going to see exquisite tiles isactually at the train station.
So if you are taking a trainfrom some other place to get to
Porto, stop and admire that inthe lobby area of the train
(09:19):
station.
It is really remarkable.
And then there is, you know, ifyou want to continue to walk
along the river.
There there is a seasideatmosphere.
It's a little bit of a walk soyou could even take.
There is a trolley that youcould take along that, that,
(09:40):
that route, um, and it's theseaside atmosphere of Fas do
Douro and there is a jetty of alighthouse at the end there, but
it is a little further.
I didn't do that the day I was,you know, spending in Porto,
because as part of my startingroute for my Camino, I actually
(10:04):
did walk past that, so it waskind of on my way along up along
the coast there.
But if you're only spendingsome time in Porto, it is
beautiful.
I actually love just sittingthere and just watching.
You're going to see a lot of umlocals doing fishing off the
side there and you know, you'llsee some boats along there as
(10:26):
well.
So it just gives you that niceseaside atmosphere.
And then the weather I had whenI was there was perfect.
Um, it was in the seventies.
It was sunny, um, and so I justit just was perfect.
I would highly recommend a portwine tasting.
(10:47):
Now you can look that up.
But again back to where Istayed.
I was so blessed with thisplace.
It's actually they offeredwalking tours, which I did not
partake in because I kind of didmy own little walking tour here
that I'm sharing with you.
But in the evening they offereda dinner, a homemade dinner, by
(11:08):
a gentleman that worked therewho was actually from South
America.
So it was amazing homemade meal.
But part of that meal was wegot an endless, bottomless glass
of port wine.
Oh my gosh.
I'm not a huge drinker, but Ifell in love with the port wine
(11:28):
there.
It was so good.
So I highly recommend that iswhat they are known for is their
port wine there.
Obviously, porto port wine.
Definitely try it out,especially if you enjoy wine.
Now, the final thing that Ihighly highly recommend if
there's anything else that you,you know you don't get in,
(11:51):
that's fine, but this one youhave to definitely do this.
So the description I gave in thebeginning of the episode was
the setting of this next lastpiece of you know recommendation
I have for you, and it iswatching the sunset over the
(12:12):
Jura River, overlooking Porto.
So how to get to the placewhere I was, which I described,
was you want to cross the bridgeof Pont Louise I, once you get
across, you have some optionsImmediately to your right.
Is you're going to see somegardens, jordan de Moro, which
(12:35):
is a very lively place.
It was very lively when I wasthere People doing picnics.
I climb up a hill to my leftand you can see it when you
cross the bridge.
There's an old monastery thatsits on top of this hill and you
(12:59):
want to climb up the hill tothat old monastery area to get
the best view of the city, ofthe sunset.
You get some fabulous picturesand there is, as I described.
You're going to see lots ofpeople gathering up there.
You're going to have yourstreet performers keeping the
(13:19):
energy up, the liveliness of theevent, and I recommend getting
you know leaving early to getthere.
So, for example, if sunset ismaybe at six, you definitely
want to get there, probably atleast a half hour before those
spots near the edge of the railwhere you get kind of the best
(13:44):
view of not just the river andthe city but encompassing.
You know this bridge is a partof that picture-esque photo.
You have to have a certainangle and lots of people sort of
vie for those spots early on.
So definitely get there early.
It was just an amazing moment tojust sit and reflect for me.
(14:07):
I loved it, um.
And then even just coming down,um, after the sun had almost
set, I felt still very safewalking back to my hostel, which
, um, still was not horribly faraway.
I mean, I'm used to walking,but there's lots of people out
(14:28):
and it was definitely definitelyworth it.
So, if you have plans to get toPortugal, as we know, portugal
over the last I'm going to evensay 10 years, has become a
really popular place andespecially, I would say, in the
last five years I've heard moreand more people trying to move
(14:53):
there.
But if I had to pick a city inPortugal, I would pick Porto.
I loved it and it just has thisvibe that I just loved, and
there's plenty to do as well.
So, again, if you're planningyour Porto trip or you're going
(15:15):
to be in Portugal, take a day.
All this that I mentioned canbe accomplished in a day.
A second day, definitely, youhave more opportunity to do more
exploration and see a littlebit more of the city.
But these are kind of thehighlights that I found the best
(15:35):
.
So, sisters, get out there andhave that adventure.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.