Porto Unveiled: Discover the Enchanting Charm of Portugal's Coastal Gem

Lisbon and the Algarve get all the marketing as top places to visit in Portugal. However, Porto, the countries’ second largest city, deserves its place in the spotlight. Located in the northern part of Portugal, Porto is one of Europe’s oldest cities dating back some 2000 years.

We spent three days in Porto, most of it under cloudy skies and rain. This was our first stop in Europe and the first day here was spent recuperating from jet lag. On day 2, we headed out ready to conquer the town to find out it was Labor Day in Portugal and much was closed. Not a problem, we’d save those sites for our third day.

Much of the highlights of the city start on the Douro river. The Dom Louis I bridge is the first attraction to catch your attention. This double-decker bridge was designed by an apprentice of the architect of the Eiffel Tower in the late 1800s. It spans the Douro River connecting the cities of Porto and Vila Novia de Gaia (home to many port wine shops). With the bridges best days behind it, it's only safe for pedestrians and the tram to cross the bridge.

Those that cross the bridge are rewarded with beautiful views of the Ribiera District (Porto's riverfront area). Rising from the banks of the river are rows of colorful homes and buildings. While we didn’t get to experience its full beauty due to the weather, it was still strikingly beautiful.

From this vantage point, the top tourist sites are laid in front of you like a map. The Cais de Ribiera is Porto’s waterfront pedestrian zone that provides you with great views of Vila Novia de Gaia (aka where you currently are standing). The Clerigos Tower, built between 1732 and 1763, is the tallest tower in Porto providing commanding views of Porto and surrounds. Buried in the landscape of Porto is Praça de Liberdade. While much of it was under construction during our stay, to build a new subway line, it’s still surrounded by stately and beautiful buildings. It’s one of Porto’s main squares and worth a visit (especially if they' ve wrapped up construction).

Before you head back across the Dom Luis , if you’re a fan of Port wine, or aren’t sure like us, you’re in the town that gave its named. Or was it the other way around? There’s a lot to know about Porto, but here are the cliff notes. Grapes must be harvested in the vineyards up river from the city of Porto to be labelled as port wine. It tastes sweet and served as a dessert wine. Brandy is added to stop the fermentation process retaining the natural sugars and increasing the alcohol content. There are many types of port wine, but the big three are: ruby, tawny and late-bottle vintage. The big name producers here are: Taylor’s, Sandeman, Cockburn’s (not making that name up), etc.

We tried to sample port at Kopke, who claims to be the oldest distiller, twice and both times they were at full capacity. We finally found a place that allowed you to sample port from several different distillers. We sampled the top three most common: tawny, ruby and late-bottle vintage. I was skeptical going into the tasting because I associated port wine as too sweet, and an after dinner drink only enjoyed by older people. But I put aside my preconceptions and gave them a try. The results? We enjoyed all three and agreed that tawny was the best. While ultimately too sweet for us to enjoy regularly, we came away with a better understanding and appreciation of port.

The tasting came at the end of our time in Porto. As we headed back across the Dom Luis I bridge towards our Airbnb with a port wine buzz, we took in the last views of this beautiful city. We didn’t know what lay ahead, but having now been to Lisbon, Porto has the history, sites and experiences to rival or surpass Lisbon as a tourist destination.