Cirrus' Portugal Summer
Preface: The doomed Lisbon tram
Stop 1: Lisbon
Stop 2: Óbidos
Stop 3: Coimbra
Stop 4: Porto
Stop 5: The non-glamorous central province
PORTO!
Portugal's second city is as picturesque as they come. Everybody raves about the view from atop the Luís I Bridge, with the city cascading down to the Douro River below, and omg yes, it is every bit as remarkable as social media makes you think. Pictures do not remotely do it justice. But here you are anyway.
In the United States we would have ripped this out and run a highway along the waterfront. We did that in similar-looking quays in Philadelphia, Saint Louis, and others.
The view--with its sunny blue sky and windy breeze in your hair--is only part of the charm. The top of the bridge is car-free, a pedestrian paradise, made even better by Porto's light rail tramway passing by. I really could have just stayed up here on this bridge all day.
More on the trams later. In classic Portuguese style, there is a lot of thought given to up/down movement. Many modes of travel.
You finally cross the bridge and enter the central city.
I kinda effed the color on some of these. Cringe.
The tile is beautiful regardless.
Porto's São Bento train station is one of those places that's been popping up in my Instagram Explore feed for years and years. I never thought I'd see it in person. But here I am, and yeah, absolutely gorgeous:
Nice trainshed.
Here it is from the outside. We were there in August, and the center of the city was torn up for construction of a new subway line.
It'll be the "new pink line." And yes, folks, listen to the good graffiti: Love your transgender friends.
Big European city: Check
Cathedral: Check
Out amid the central city:
How about a little busway, as a treat?
How about a little sideboob, as a treat?
How about a little Doritos Locos Taco, as a... I can't do it.
Let's just move on.
Porto isn't criss-crossed by adorable old trams everywhere the way Lisbon is, but they've clearly caught on to the benefit, because there are a few.
The real tramway action is the "Metro," which is really just a light rail tramway, but it's modern and it runs as a subway through the center city. Pretty nice.
Fairly basic as subways go. A lot like a 2nd tier French city.
Open gangways FTW
On the surface it's more of a modern tramway.
Heading out to the suburbs:
I mean, you know, "suburbs" is relative.
And off at an honest to god park-and-ride.
The parking lot was unpaved. And apparently this person drove here from the Czech Republic.
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