Leixoes and Porto

Hi everyone,

We enjoyed two nights in Marina Porto Atlantico in Leixoes.  This gave us two full days to explore the area.  On day 1 we explored the local town.  On day 2 we explored Porto.

Sandeman Port Logo

The town of Leixoes is essentially a suburb of Porto.  It has all the facilities a yachtie might need - supermarkets, bakeries, cafes, laundromats and banks.  Leixoes is a busy commercial port, catering for oil (there's a large refinery just outside town), containers, general cargo and cruise liners.  There's a large area of dock set aside for import of wind turbine blades.

Church in the centre of Leixoes

Old fort adjacent to the marina

We had a very nice lunch at a cafe in the 'lanes' between the marina and the centre of Leixoes.  The staff spoke no English but luckily people on the next table could help.  We had sardines and octopus dishes with a Portuguese wine.

Lunch in Leixoes

In the evening we walked north along the coast.  There's a very nice promenade with modern apartment buildings above touristy shops.  There are a set of sandy beaches between rocky outcrops.  It reminded us of parts of the WA coast.  But then we noticed the sand wasn't entirely natural - looks like they dump truck loads of the stuff to maintain the beaches!  Lots of ice cream vendors.

Boa Nova lighthouse

View from north towards Leixoes

On day 2 we caught a bus into Porto.  The bus stop is right outside the marina and took us into downtown Porto.  We enjoyed walking around the centre of the city.  Unfortunately it was cloudy so the photos weren't great.  It cleared up steadily.

The Portuguese love their sardines.  We found several shops dedicated to them in the centre of town...

Sardine shop

We had a look at the railway station.  Imposing but not ornate outside, but the foyer was grand.  The Portuguese like their tiles...

Porto Railway Station foyer

The tiling extends to the outside of all sorts of buildings, from regular houses to government buildings to churches...

Tiled apartment building

More tiled apartments

Tiled church

We visited a famous 1800s library in the centre of town - Libraria Lello e Irmao.  It is quite spectacular inside...

Staircase in Libraria Lello e Irmao

From Porto we walked to the Douro River and across the Don Luis I bridge to Villa Nova de Gaia.  The bridge is quite high and provides a great view up and down the river.  The architect also designed the Eiffel Tower.  It'd be exciting walking across in a high wind - I'd recommend the metro which crosses here in that situation!

View back to Porto from the bridge

View of Gaia and its port cellars from the bridge

View downriver

Don Luis I bridge

From the bridge we walked down to the river front.  This is where all the port wine is unloaded and cellared after coming downriver from the wineries in the Douro Valley.  The river front is very nice with many cafes, restaurants and of course the 'caves' where the port is cellared.

We had a good lunch on the river front and then discovered the caves were all closed for another hour.  Oh well, we just found another cafe and did a port tasting there (with a cheese platter).

Port tasting while waiting for ... Port Tasting!

We chose Sandemans for a tour.  Due to Covid it was just the two of us on our tour, instead of at least a dozen.  The guide was very good and we learned a lot about the industry and Sandemans.  Their cave is extensive and houses port wines up to a century old...

Sandemans Cave lobby

In the Cave

Tasting the goods

From the cave we walked back to Porto, this time taking the lower level of Dom Luis 1.  The waterfront of Porto is packed with restaurants and cafes, with buskers providing a great atmosphere.

We caught a bus along the riverside and up the coast back to Leixoes.  We hopped off at Foz de Douro for a walk on the sea front and an espresso.

It was worth stopping in Porto.  It's a nice city but the port makes it a must-see!  I'd recommend Leixoes over the marina in the Douro River since the former has all-weather access.