Our last afternoon in Porto. We decided to just let our feet take us around Porto.
Dark rain clouds were looming so we wore our rain jackets. It was also very cold.
We came across a market selling local wares and this is where the rain started falling.
The market in Porto
Porto is very hilly with most streets with cobblestones. With all the rain these stones can be extremely slippery. We walked carefully as we saw many slip and fall. Hint: don’t run on the cobblestones, especially going downhill.
For a reprieve from the rain we walked along the pathway under the bridge. It stank but for a short time it was nice to get out of the rain.
Our refuge from the rain
We were going to head over to Vila Nova de Gaia across the bridge however it was packed with hundreds of umbrella’s. We were wet through so decided we would make our way back to the ship.
Ponte Luis Bridge
The Ponte Luis Bridge was inaugurated on the 31st October 1886. The bridge is built of two metal trays supported by a great iron arch and five piers with a maximum span of around 391.25m
Markets and cafe’s along the Douro River in Porto
In 1809 a terrible tragedy happened when the Ponte das Barcas bridge collapsed under the weight of people fleeing the French troops of Soult. Over 4,000 (some pages say 6,000) people drowned in this disaster.
This was the invasion of Napoleonic troops in Portugal under Marshal Soult is still vividly remembered in Porto. This happened a day after the French Victory of Porto.
The French army was rooted out of Porto by Anglo-Portuguese forces commanded by Arthur Wellesley in the Second Battle of Porto, when his troops crossed the Douro river from the Mosteiro da Serra do Pilar (a former convent) in a brilliant daylight coup de main.
Ponte das Barcas means Bridge of Boats. The bridge was made of 20 boats standing side by side and attached with steal cables. Although other Bridges of Boats were made in the past, this one was built to be more durable and was able to open in two parts, to let the boats navigate on the Douro river.
This year was the 210th anniversary of this tragedy. Even to this day some people come and light candles or flowers in memory of the loss of life.
Alminhas da Ponte was made by Texeira Lopes and is installed in Cais da Ribeira since 1897 as a tribute to all the lost lives on March 29th, 1809.
Porto stunning even in the rain
We made our way back to the ship via narrow lane ways. These were less crowded so that meant less umbrellas to look out for.
One of the many narrow laneways we walked along.
Someone was loving the rain!
Saint Francis Church – where a couple of days before we had the classical music concert.
After a hot shower and change of clothes (we left our wet clothes on the balcony to hopefully dry ) we headed back up to the lounge. A few drinks before our last dinner on board our floating 5-6 star hotel.
Welcome drink after our long walk through the rain
Tomorrow we would begin the 11 day coach tour of Portugal and Spain.
Travel and Lifestyle with Bree 
Porto’s a wonderful city come rain or shine!
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Porto is awesome in weather, I hope you enjoyed your visit in the rain. Thanks for sharing.
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Looks like a wonderful afternoon in Porto! I have yet to get there and it is high on my list ! Thanks for reminding me that I would love it, no matter the weather!
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It was lovely. Porto is beautiful in any type of weather xx
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I absolutely love Porto and l think it would be our first choice if we ever moved from Valencia. Yep! Porto is amazing even in the rain. I can’t wait to go back :-).
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It certainly is a beautiful place rain hail and shine xx thank you for stopping by.
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What a rainy but adventurous day you had in Porto, despite the weather you look like you had a great time. I got to spend a day there on my way to a river cruise and really enjoyed it!!
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Porto still eludes us so we must rectify it this winter when we will be back in Portugal. And who cares if it’s raing when you’re with your best girls. kx
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Exactly about the rain we had fun saw lots took lots of photos… Best time to be in Portugal in the winter. thank you for all your love
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It’s a place I’d love to visit, and it still looked beautiful despite the rain! Hope you had a hot toddy when you got back to the shop to keep the chill away!
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I think I had lots of hot toddies. Portugal overall is a stunning place. Its a very poor country to Spain but the people are wonderful.
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I still have very fond memories of Portugal. The rain always makes a difference on a vacation. Especially when you are walking on cobblestones. Very sad story about the tragedy when the bridge collapsed. Interesting photos! Thank you for sharing #MLSTL
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Yes very sad re the bridge and all the lives lost.
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I’m glad the weather didn’t keep you from getting out altogether. My husband and I got caught in a downpour in Paris and had to run back to our hotel. We were soaked through, but able to laugh about how it was like in the movies–only we were in our 50s, and those movie characters are usually young lovers. 🙂 I enjoyed your photos so much. Thanks for sharing.
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thank you for stopping by. it all looks romantic the movies doesn’t it…till you actually get caught in it lol…
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Oh my, all that rain! I’m so glad you managed to find such interesting places and things to do 🙂 I’ve never been there so thanks for the tour. Shared for #mlstl
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Yes so much rain and it follows us all through Portugal 🇵🇹 then to Spain 🇪🇸
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Oh my goodness, the bridge collapse sounds nightmarish. So many lives lost… and yet I’d never heard of it before. That’s terrible.
Shame about the grey cold weather. Sounds rather like the UK in that respect! Ditto for the slippery cobblestones. Aside from that, it sounds like quite an emotive and interesting time around Porto. Love the photos!
Caz xx
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These photos so remind me of Greece in the fall. It looks like you had a lot of fun despite the rain.
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Shame about the rain – it looks like a lovely place. I also really like that little statue off to the side of your first picture (funny how things catch our eye!) Glad you had the chance to dry off and enjoy a drink before embarking on the next stage of the journey.
Thanks for linking up with us at MLSTL and I’ve shared on my SM 🙂
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Yes the rain was relentless. However didn’t dampen our holiday just our clothes 😂 I had to go back to the picture to check. Thank you 😊 for a wonderful linkup xx
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Lovely Porto and we had a smokey environment, not rain. Still an enjoyable place to explore and thanks for sharing the history which adds more interest to this fabulous city. #MSTL
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Such a beautiful place. Would love to stroll around there. #MLSTL
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Lovely pist bring back memories of Porto. Enjoy your travels in Spain. I’d love to visit there again one day #MLSTL Will shate
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Sorry about the typos. Walking at same time as posting. Should not do that!
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oh hahahahah thats something I would do also.
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thank you for stopping by
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I would love to have visited Porto but we didn’t have time. I will just have to visit again won’t I? Thanks for sharing your travels with us at #MLSTL and I love how you don’t let the weather dictate your experience. Have a lovely week. xx
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Even with the rain it looked good
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It was
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Thanks for sharing Porto with us. I’ve been to Lisbon and the Algarve in Portugal but not Porto. #senisal
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If you ever get the chance do visit Porto, I preferred Porto to Lisbon but thats my personal take. thanks so much for visiting.
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Nice post! No glass of Porto to enjoy?
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Oh we had plenty of Port 😊
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