Porto is popping off

6 May 2024

We're back in Porto and it's a glorious day and Porto is popping off! Lots of tourists, the streets and lanes were full of  holiday energy and the tuk tuk tour guides were looking happy. 

We're  in Porto a couple of days before we retrace our steps up the Portuguese Senda Litoral, Camino Coastal. We have walked this path a few years back, however the first five days were in torrential rain so we kept our heads down and missed the views. This go-round the forecast was great for the next week, time to saddle up the back packs and get walking.

First stop was the impressive Porto Cathedral to pick up a pilgrim passport used to record your progress as you make your way to Santiago de Compostela.  Pilgrims needs to get two stamps in the pilgrim passport each day as they progress from village to village on foot following the ancient pilgrim pathway.

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After picking up the Camino passport we just wandered around the city and soaked up all the atmosphere, Porto has bags of old world charm.

We were surprised to see the Disneyland style queue system to get into the most famous bookstore in Porto and as was featured in the Harry Potter films. It may be gorgeous but we skipped this, the line was too long.

So many fabulous old buildings, clock towers, cathedrals and chapels and of course the stunning blue and white tiles synonymous with Porto. 

We didn't revisit the tourist hotspots but just wandered and soaked up the atmosphere. The architecture is fantastic, twists and turns in cobbled lanes and voila - you could be in a movie set.