2024-12-18 – Zurich Airport – Lisboa 2024-12-19 – Lisboa – Belém – Alfama 2024-12-20 – Lisboa 2024-12-21 – Lisboa – Sintra 2024-12-22 – Lisboa – Museu Marinha, Belém 2024-12-23 – Lisboa 2024-12-24 – Lisboa 2024-12-25 – Lisboa – Vasco da Gama Tower – Tagus estuary 2024-12-26 – Lisboa 2024-12-27 – Lisboa – Coimbra 2024-12-28 – Coimbra 2024-12-29 – Coimbra – Oporto 2024-12-30 – Oporto 2024-12-31 – Oporto 2025-01-01 – Oporto 2025-01-02 – Oporto – Guimarães 2025-01-03 – Guimarães 2025-01-04 – Guimarães – Aveiro 2025-01-05 – Aveiro – Óbidos 2025-01-06 – Óbidos 2025-01-07 – Óbidos – Lisboa 2025-01-08 – Lisboa – Zurich – Lugano

Oporto

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Igreja de Santo Ildefonso, a church near Batalha Square, completed in 1739. Proto-Baroque with a facade of azulejo tilework. Named after the Visigoth, Ildephonsus of Toledo, bishop of Toledo from 657 till 667.

The beach and headland at Praia do Ourigo, where the Douro River enters the Atlantic Ocean

The tram stop under the church Igreja San Francisco, Porto. This is a Gothic monument with a Baroque interior decoration. A UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Franciscan Order was established in Porto around 1223, and this church was completed in 1425, and is the best example of Gothic architecture in Porto.

Palácio da Bolsa, the Stock Exchange Palace, Porto. Built on the ruins of a convent by the Porto Commercial Association, next to the St. Francis Church. In 1832 the Liberal Wars destroyed the cloisters of the convent, and the ruins were donated by Queen Mary II to the merchants of the city, who used them to build this magnificent building, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A view of Porto

Porto Cathedral, Sé do Porto. A Romanesque church with gothic cloisters. Building started in the mid-1100s, and continued till the 1500s, with some Baroque additions in the 1700s. The stone roof of the central aisle is supported by flying buttresses, making the building one of the first in Portugal to use this architectonic feature.

Some of the azulejo tiling decoration inside the main train station, Estacio Sao Bento.

The main hall of the Stock Market Palace

The magnificent Arab Room in the Stock Market Palace

The ceiling of the Arab Room in the Stock Market Palace

View of night-time Porto from the top of the Ponte San Luis I bridge. We travelled across the top of the bridge this time, by the tramway. The most spectacular tram ride ever!

The Ponte San Luis I from the upper gallery

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Travel Diary

2024-12-18 – Zurich Airport – Lisboa 2024-12-19 – Lisboa – Belém – Alfama 2024-12-20 – Lisboa 2024-12-21 – Lisboa – Sintra 2024-12-22 – Lisboa – Museu Marinha, Belém 2024-12-23 – Lisboa 2024-12-24 – Lisboa 2024-12-25 – Lisboa – Vasco da Gama Tower – Tagus estuary 2024-12-26 – Lisboa 2024-12-27 – Lisboa – Coimbra 2024-12-28 – Coimbra 2024-12-29 – Coimbra – Oporto 2024-12-30 – Oporto 2024-12-31 – Oporto 2025-01-01 – Oporto 2025-01-02 – Oporto – Guimarães 2025-01-03 – Guimarães 2025-01-04 – Guimarães – Aveiro 2025-01-05 – Aveiro – Óbidos 2025-01-06 – Óbidos 2025-01-07 – Óbidos – Lisboa 2025-01-08 – Lisboa – Zurich – Lugano

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