Article: The Romantic Canvas Of Porto in Portugal

How an empty canvas can be filled with a love…

By Kristin

Paul was very keen to show me Porto because he always imagined re-visiting it with his future loved one when he was there for the first time more than 10 years ago.

As we drove into the city during sunset, I right away knew why he loved this city so much.

It felt as if your mind was an empty canvas. A canvas that was filled with one magical image after another the more you saw of it.

View Torre dos Clérigos

In the middle of the painting you could see the tower, called Torre dos Clérigos. It is part of the Clérigos Church.

When you stand at the top of the tower you can hold your loved one in your arms and enjoy many colorful views s over the entire area.

The right corner of the painting is filled with the Ponte Dom Luís I bridge. The bridge allows you to access the city Vila Nova de Gaia by foot on two levels. Although a walk right next to the cars on the lower level seems a bit more risky for one’s heart.

Riverside Douro River In Porto

The bridge is a beautiful sight not just at night but also during the day. If you are lucky then you can even watch some bold kids jumping off the bridge into the River Douro.

In the canvas, the River is flowing out of the lower right corner. Along the river you can see the old Port boats that used to transport the tasty Portuguese desert wine. If you take a moment sitting at the riverside, perhaps with some ice-cream, you can take yourself back to those days. How life would have been back then?

The rest of the lower end of the painting shows different variations of local houses. One has bright red tiles which shine bright in the sun light. Another one shows a shy Portuguese Lady gently smiling at you from her balcony.

Porto Buildings

If you inspect the top left corner of the canvas, you suddenly see Azulejos, the famous hand-painted tiles, giving you an insight into the history of Portugal at the São Bento Railway Station.

Around sunset, well actually some time before, the tiles are lit up as the sun breaks right thought the windows.

– Click on the image to see the entire picture-

Next to the tiles on the painting, are a few Portuguese families going for a walk.

São Bento Train Station

There are not many places in the world where you can still see three generations of a family enjoying their time.

Statues On Building

Porto is a very romantic city and perfect for a romantic break like on Valentine’s Day. You should take your loved one there and paint your painting. When the canvas is filled, the images will never let go of your minds.

Tip: You can have a great view over Porto, the bridge and of course the river from the Arrábida Shopping Centre in the Vila Nova de Gaia city. We actually watched the sunset and stayed sometime after dark. On the same level of the food court, is an open terrace. There are various little food stands inside and you can just take your meal outside and eat there (well in warm weather and if there is a free table). You could even go to the supermarket on the lower level and buy yourself drinks there instead of the food court. In any case the drinks are very affordable at the food court. The price of coffee in Portugal is amazing. Our meal there was actually quite a bit better than our dinner on the other side at the river near the Ribeira Square.

Click here to see the first part of our video of the sights in Porto

Follow this link to see our second video with the Torre dos Clérigos Tower