Discovering Porto

Porto is the most famous and trendy Portuguese city, for the last few years it represents a mix of characteristics that finally go well together, and make this city a very pleasant place to live and to discover, in a superb way, and for most of the poeple to see new culture new traditions as the city really have a very rich historical heritage, i think that it is now one of the first destinations for tourists all over the world. It also showed and testifies of an amazing success and this is exactly what explains it's amazing and wonderful attractions that can be enjoyed for the cheapest prices comparing for example to Paris. although the number one destination in Portugal remains the beautiful Lisbon that attracts people by the beauty of its landscapes and it's conserved architecture. As a new destination, Porto will also attract many poeple, as it offers the visit of caves and many cultural cruises by colourful boats that offers amazing discovery for almost 13 euros, anyone would like to taste its unique and local specialties. The city is located right in the middle of the Douro River that cross it and shows the built of four different bridges characteristic of the city such as  the amazing bridge Dom Louis I but also others that were built after crossing the river in the northern of Portugal. From Barcelona, i wanted to go back to Porto and i had two options ; the first option is to take a plane for approximatively 85 euros and one hour and a half duration of flight with companies low cost or use the bus that allows to see many beautiful landcapes from Spain with a cost of 79 euros, another option was also to take the train from Barcelona to Madrid then take the Flexibus from Madrid to Porto but this option was the most expensive because the spanish train high speed is quite expensive as the cost of one way ticket from Barcelona to Madrid was 85 euros and can even reach an amount of 181 euros if poeple plan to buy the ticket at the very last minute of their depart, so the best and cheapest way for me was the plane.

Arriving in the Francisco Sá Careiro Airport, i could take the metro urbano for only 2 euros from a metro station located exactly in front of the airport and go to city center where the landscape was a really natural masterpiece, little and big ferry boats decorating the Douro River with amazing music that we could hear from multiple restaurants around the area, a really relaxing feeling can be felt seeying this amazing landscape.

1- The Douru River

The most impressive district of Porto is more beautiful by the existence of the Douru River crossing the city where you poeple find the most wonferful boats, the colourful houses that are like a painting that came to life, the facades wof the most luxurious hotels and the bridge that give a very strong and impressive view if you walk on its upper part were usually the metro goes. Infact the upper part of the bridge allows the underground metro with the terminus santo ovidio to cross the river and arrive in Vila nova de gaia One of the best ways offered to visit the city and to enjoy the place is to take a trip round by boat that show the city from the extreme east to the extreme ouest with a guided tour and translated in englich language, or by bicycle since part under the bridge is not steep and without hills so anyone can enjoy good rides while admiring the clear water of the river or the multiple ferries that transport people and decorate the landscape in an amazing way.

I could also enjoy the landscape in my way by discovering the part of the Ribeira where there is a lot of restaurants and cafes, so i found one cafe very famous and very frequented by younger generation and i sitted admiring the view while having the most delicious icecream ever.

In the other part of the river i could try the teleferico for 6 euros the only way and it allows the going down from the highest point of the bridge, it is called Vila Nova de Gaia characterised by very beautiful gardens cut in an amazing way and where poeple relax waiting for the sun set to admire the most beautiful landscape ever.

- Pont Dom Louis I

Pont Dom Louis I is a the most famoust bridge in the river that could be opened to let boats sail on the river comparing to ther bridges the city offers. The bridge offers the most amazing view from the upper part near the metro line where i could do many pictures of this unique landscape, w very beautiful cafe built just near the river is also very famous and many poeple would love sitting and relaxing in the highest point of this very special cafe. While the part that is below is meant mainly for the traffic but poeple can also walk in it from the two sides. The city is often called the city of bridges and this is due mainly for the existence of more than four different bridges that we can discover just by walking in the city.

Porto also offers a masterpiece in terms of architecture that is the main cathedral built near the bridge, i had the chance to enter inside this church and i discovered the most impressive architecture ever, all the architecture and the design was made from gold, while when i approched i discovered it was actually wood but painted in gold colour in very beautiful way making it one of the most beautiful church i ever visited in my life. We can also discover the Tram line that does all the tour of the city is very slow way and shows the multiple aspects of the city in this very conserved mean of transport. I lived for months in Porto and i can say it is very easy to live in the city i even acquired many qualifications and abilities for cooking, for buying things from the supermarket and for keeping a house clean and tidy. I was mainly living in Marques so my usual way to go out is to take the undergroud metro from Marques to Trindade then go out of the metro that cost only 1.é( euros to walk a bit in the main avenue which is  Avenida dos Aliados where i could walk to reach the famous train station train São Bento decorated with amazing mosaic and porcelain landscapes.

Porto is thought for many poeple as being small and can be visited in one day but it is a wrong tought because Porto is also other distrincts such as for example  Matosinhos that is very wide and  covers big space exactly like a big city.

There is also Maia famous for its zoologic  parc and of course  Vila Nova de Gaia near the jardim do Moro station Each one characterised by amazing landscapes, architecture and very and unique rich heritage. 

2- Avenida Dos Aliados

During my walk in the Avenida Dos Aliados could distinguish very much beautiful buildings all along the avenue that still conserve their unique style and especially the famous place near Palacio da Bolsa where football lovers gather toghether during the FC PORTO win to celebrate toghether in this same place. While the actual building is now converted and It is now used as a building for juridic purposes. the rooms of the building from inside can be expored and offers the most breataking decoration and the Salon is without doubt the most impressive. Poeple need to visit this Palace from inside at least one time in a life, we discover many cool restaurants and a large place where the concerts are hold. Aturkish halal restaurent can also be discovered along the avenue where many menues of Kabab and falafel can be enjoyed. At the end of the avenue, on the square Humberto Delgado is built a statue of a famous writer and the square tempts a lot pijeons to do pictures and to be just hanguing around with friends.

The Estádio do Dragão is the home stadium of FC Porto, the famous football club, it can also be visited with its amazing museum by the metro line with a terminus called Estádio do Dragão and beside football, Porto is the home to many athletic sports spaces, and this explains why the most famous and talented players came from Portugal because it is a country that invest in football and give special entrainement and budget to the players to play even outside the country and have great ambitions.
Every sunday, the entry to the museums is free so many great museums can be discovered and as they represent a period where Portugal was shining with its glory and had strong economic state through the main port and the production of wine. The city of Porto is also very famous for its multiple and amazing beaches along side the Atlantic ocean, but as the ocean is very cold even in summer time, a splendid natural swimming pools can be discovered in Leça da Palmeira especially, or in Vila do conde where i spent most of my summer time and i therefore liked so much this calm and great place, also i had the amazing chance to try the swimming inside the beach and it was really an impressive experience because the water was so cold may be near the zero degrees and characterised by so much strong waves that i lost even one very pretty sun glasses i was putting in my headreally, any wave could really very easily take away the person and drown him in the depp water so poeple must be always careful when swimming in the ocean because it has not any relation with the calm mediterranean sea i used to go back in Tunisia. The natural swimming pools are really amazing and can be an unforgettable experience exactly like the natural lagoons of Geres as it is also very suitable for tourists for example the water is also coming from the sea but more calm without waves or danger.

Leisure activities in this great city combine tours in boats for 14 euros in the Douro river, tours in helicopter as wel for tourists but i am not sure about the actual price since prices in every european country can vary in fonction of the season, discovering in the other part of metro line with terminus of Matosinhos or Ismai. the unique Casa da Música that can be foundafter going  in the station of the same name,  which is considered as a concert hall and a trendy district where the Douro enters the Ocean, jardim do Palácio de Cristal that is located in the centre of the city with an amazing park where we can find a decoration with letters of Porto especially in the garden where many people can do pictures and an old palace that hosted many exhibitions and discovering another shopping mall called arrabida shopping where we can find also cinema, and many moderns shops near the Arrábida bridge.

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