Porto, The Pergola da Foz
Day 2, morning: The day started with a walk through our neighborhood in the Cais da Ribeira, made up of medieval streets and seedy alleyways leading to the riverfront, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s easily recognizable from photos of the colorful houses and traditional boats. We then made our way to Serranna Pastelaria for some coffee and traditional pastries of Portugal.
After enjoying local pastries for breakfast we took a trip out to Foz do Douro, where the Douro River empties into the Atlantic Ocean. We made our way to catch the The Linha 1 tram which departs from the Infante tram stop. This is at the base of the Gothic Igreja de Sao Francisco, and is on the edge of the Ribeira district. As this is the start of the tram line, it is the location where most passengers board the tram. The majority of passengers ride the entire length of the line, departing at the last couple of stops. Get there early, the lines was long and it ended up standing room only so we opted to jump out of the line and into an Uber.
We had the Uber drop us off at the parking lot right near the famed Felgueiras lighthouse where we started our walk to Matosinhos for lunch. We went there specifically to walk the "Pergola da Foz" which was built in the 1930s. As the story goes, the Mayor of Porto’s wife had been so enchanted by the pergola of the "Promenade des Anglais”, in the French town of Nice, that she simply had to have the same in Porto. Here it is called the "Praia dos Ingleses".
