As you know Away Goals – Euro Chimes is back for Pompey’s pre-season tour to Portugal, we continue to sample this by looking at Porto for those of you that are going but are unfamiliar with it.
Copies of this will be dished out at Eastleigh tonight and ‘should’ be at Smiffy’s and other local bars as well.
Also, just so you know there is a bar at Eastleigh!
To view a downloadable version – click here – please not this is not the 100% finished version as you would view if you got a copy.
Anyway, enough from me, the info you need is below…
PLAY UP POMPEY!
==========
THINGS TO SEE AND DO IN PORTO
Well obviously Porto is most famous for port wine and one of the best known is Sandeman’s. Now owned by Seagrams of Canada, it was originally established in 1790 by George Sandeman of Scotland in a former 16th-century convent. Sandeman “Splash”, where white port is used as a mixer with virtually anything, is currently popular. You can visit the House of Sandeman which also operates a museum that traces the history of port wine and of the company, at Largo Miguel Bombarda 3, on bus routes 32, 57 or 91. Open daily but closed for lunch from 12.30 – 2pm. www.sandeman.com. The 57 or 91 bus will also take you to the Caves Ramos Pinto at Av. Ramos pinto 380. Open Monday to Saturday 10am-6pm. www.ramospinto.pt. This wine producer is usually acknowledged as the most interesting of any in Porto. You’ll be given a guided tour of the cellars (in Portuguese, French, Spanish, and English), with information about port and its manufacture, plus tastings at the end of the tour. Another establishment that came highly recommended by Pompey fans on their last visit, was Callums. If you’re into churches, the Gothic Church of St. Francis (Igreja de São Francisco), Praça do Infante Dom Henríque, is a must. It is reached by steps leading up from the waterfront and was built between 1383 and 1410. In the 17th and 18th centuries, it underwent extensive baroque decoration. Many of the wide-ribbed Gothic arches are made of marble. Soaring overhead, the marble seems to fade and blend mysteriously with the grey granite columns and floors. Open daily, 9am to 6pm. Nearby, through a separate entrance, is the Museu de São Francisco. Last time, many fans stayed in nearby Porto, second largest city in Portugal, and in itself very attractive and welcoming.
EATING AND DRINKING
From the waterfront to the commercial district around Rua de Santa Catarina, you will be spoilt for choice for taverns and cafes. But for those who want a late night here are few suggestions. You’re looking to dance, try Bar Industria, Av. Brasil 843 bus no. 1) – Friday and Saturday 10.30pm – 4am or Disco Swing, Rua Julio Dinis 766, near Rotonda Boavista – daily 8pm – 6am. A cocktail bar, head for Bar Hiva-oa, Av. De Boavista 2514 (bus no.19). Also on Avenida de Boavista (911) is Triplex, containing 2 bars and a restaurant – bars open til at least 4am. Across the river, Contra Corrente Bar, Av. Diogo Leite 282, has food and drink. Watch the Atlantic waves breaking on the shore at Praia da Luz, Av. Do Brasil where a Pompey fan said last time, “It was fantastic, best bar I was in the whole trip. Jazz on the decks, good food and wine and superb service.” Slightly further out, in Matosinhos, is Estado Novo, Rua Sousa Arosa, a popular, crowded club. There is an entrance fee, reclaimable against your drinks. Thursday nights, women and drink for free!
TOP TIP: Safety
Most visits to Porto or Guimaraes, as with most of Portugal are trouble free, but as with any major European cities, there are incidents of thefts and pocketing in the main tourist places and transport hubs train stations. Take special care in the cobbled lanes off of main streets in Porto.
GETTING AROUND AND TO THE GROUND
If you fly in to Porto airport [Aeroporto Francisco de Sá Carneiro (tel. +35122 943 24 00)] a taxi from the airport is the easiest way into town and will cost you around £25 /£30. We suggest you agree a price first. But much cheaper is the metro (www.metrodoporto.pt) and the Aerobus (linkwww.stcp.pt). The airport is served by line E (violet) of the metro and the entrance is by Arrivals. It runs every 20 or 30 minutes, from 6am to 12.30am and takes about half an hour to reach the city centre, stopping at Casa da Música, Trindade, Campanhã Station and Estádio do Dragão Station. The Aerobus, painted white with a blue stripe, picks up passengers on the pavement adjacent to the luggage-retrieval carousels at the airport. Buses run at 30-minute intervals every day between 6:45am and 7:15pm, making stops at many of the city’s major hotels and at strategic points within Porto. For more information, call tel. +351 22 507 10 54. If you arrive by train (tel. +351 218 545 212 or 808 208 208 if you are in Portugal), there are two main stations. The Estação de São Bento, Praça Almeida Garrett, is in the city centre, only a block from Praça de Liberdade. Trains from here serve the Douro Valley and destinations in the north, including Viana do Castelo and Braga. East of the centre, but connected to São Bento by rail, is the busier and more modern Estação de Campanhã, Largo da Estaçao de Campanhã. Trains arrive here from the south, including Lisbon, as well as international routes. For any other rail information, go to www.cp.pt. Trains to Guimaraes run hourly from both stations and take about an hour and a quarter. Cost is ?2.15 each way. At the time of going to print the last train back to Porto leaves at 10.54pm. At least 5 buses arrive each day from Lisbon (about half the cost of the train) and terminate at the bus station, Rua Alexandre Herculano 366 (tel. +351 22 205 24 59 or +351 22 200 69 54). Service is provided by the national bus company, Rodoviária Nacional (tel. +351 22 204 35 20). One of the most helpful tourist offices in Portugal is the Porto Tourist Board, Rua do Clube Fenianos 25 (tel. +351 22 339 34 70; linkwww.portoturismo.pt). The office is open Monday to Friday 9am to 7pm, and Saturday and Sunday 9:30am to 4:30pm. Another tourist office at Rua de Infante Dom Henrique 63 (tel. +351 22 200 97 70) keeps the same hours. Travelling around Porto is easy by bus, tram or metro on an Andante Tour ticket. It is available at the Andante Stores (at the Airport), at the Porto Tourism Office and at all the STCP, Train ticket offices and many newspaper kiosks. The 24 hour version costs 5 euros and 72 hours costs 11 euros. Trams (which are historic trams) accept only Andante Tickets (same as metro do Porto). Taxis are available 24 hours a day. Call tel. +351 22 502 11 32 for radio taxis, or hail one.
To view a downloadable version – click here – please not this is not the 100% finished version as you would view if you got a copy.
Share this article
