On our second day discovering an accessible Porto we went exploring and negotiated many, many hills whilst also trying out some Port!
The hotel reception gave us a really good tourist map so we could circle the places we wanted to visit and check they were accessible before setting off. We also planned our accessible Porto route as there were lots of places we wanted to see!
Transport
We found getting around Porto really easy by using the Faria Guimarães Metro station closest to our hotel. The trams are all modern with flat access and really easy to navigate.
We tried to use the Funicular dos Guindais but unfortunately it was out of order so we took an Uber taxi instead. These were really cheap and saved Adrian's back to get us up the mega hills!
Capela das Almas
Our first stop was to Capela das Almas. This church is really close to the Bolhão Metro station but situated on a very busy road. The outside of the church is really pretty and covered in blue tiles. It's a great place to stop for a photo but we didn't go inside.
Câmara Municipal do Porto
We then walked down to Porto City Hall which we had walked past when we first arrived in Porto. Outside of the city hall is a big Porto sign which is great for a photo!
Torre dos Clérigos
From the City Hall we walked up to the Torre dos Clérigos which is a tower with views across Porto. We didn't go inside as the tower is not accessible but apparently there is a small museum and church you can visit which are.
Outside of the tower there is a stop for the historic 1930s trams. These are also not accessible but nice to look at!
Catedral do Porto
After seeing the trams and tower we headed up (and I mean up!) to Catedral do Porto. The hill was so steep to get up here! I told Adrian to leave me at the bottom and to go by himself but he was determined to get me up there! He even had Portuguese locals giving him encouragement!
Once at the top the views are great across Porto. There was singer outside of the cathedral and it was a nice place to stop and have a rest!
We put in Google Maps our next stop but the route was different to the one we came up on. It sent us down some incredibly steep paths. I had to close my eyes, hold on and put 1000% trust in Adrian to get me down! We did and then I bought Adrian a well deserved beer!
Cais da Ribeira
After a nice relaxing drink we headed down to Cais da Ribeira. This is a lovely flat walk alongside the river where there are lots of bars and restaurants. When we went there were market stalls where we bought a few souvenirs at reasonable prices. If you look up you can see all the brightly coloured buildings which give Porto it's charm.
Dom Luís I Bridge
Our walk then took us to the Dom Luís I Bridge which links Porto to Gaia. The construction of the bridge began in 1881 and has two levels. We walked along the bottom level, the views across the Duoro River are really great although the pavement isn't quite wide enough to let you stop and enjoy the view for long!
Rue de Gaia
Gaia is the place to be if you want port! There are many restaurants and cafes offering port tasting at varying prices. The walk alongside the river here is also lovely and there are lots of old boats carrying port barrels to give you a taster of how these were transported up and down the river. There is also a food hall called Mercado Beira-Rio which has a number of different food outlets inside. However our main reason to visit was for the disabled toilet!
Port Tasting
We found a small cafe offering port tasting for 6 Euros! They gave us 5 different ports to taste ranging from white to red. Our favourite was the rose port! As Adrian still had hills to negotiate we were quite glad for the small glasses!
Learning from our hill experience yesterday we decided to get an Uber taxi up to Jardim do Morro Metro station. After a tiring day this was definitely needed!
Eat
That evening we found a restaurant not too far from our hotel called Novo Oporto. The restaurant was really busy so we were glad we arrived early. We both had the salmon and some green wine! Both were delicious!
We had a great day exploring Porto and managed to see so much! I would say that there are many steep hills and this may not be a city that is easy to get around with all types of wheelchair. You can read more about our trip to Portugal here. Our next post is about our trip to Matosinhos beach which ended with viewing a beautiful sunset across Porto.
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