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By Durant Imboden
ABOVE: Boats from the wine lodges of Vila Nova
de Gaia are moored in the River Douro with Oporto's Ponte de Dom Luis I in the
background. The city center is on the hills at left.
Oporto shore excursions
Continued
from: Port of Oporto
Oporto (or "Porto" in Portuguese) is the second-largest city in
the Portugal, with about 330,000 inhabitants in a metropolitan area of 1 million
people. Most places of interest to tourists are within walking distance or a
short taxi ride of the city center.
Cruise ships normally offer tours for passengers who'd rather
not climb up hills or navigate the winding streets of the city center on their
own. The Regatta's four- and eight-hour tours covered the city's major
attractions plus the Port wine lodges on the south bank of the river.
During the Regatta's visit, I skipped the tours and
walked around Oporto on my own--with a side trip across the city's trademark Dom
Luis I bridge, designed by Charles Eiffel (see photo above).
I then took the Metro back to the harbor, where a
serving of pasteis de Belém (Portuguese custard tarts) at a nearby café
gave me the strength to climb up the ship's gangway after a long day ashore.
For more
information on Oporto, see:
Porto Tourism
Next page:
Port of Lisbon
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