Discovering The Art And Heart Of Porto: The Best City To Visit In 2011
Back in March, through 4 weeks of voting, you picked Porto, Portugal as the best city to visit in 2011. Last month I made good on a promise to explore the city before the end of the year. What I found as a guest of Visit Portugal was a city that captivated me with its artistic nature. From the gigantic battle of design and ego that was waged over Porto’s two most famous bridges to Harry Potter’s birthplace, what’s uniform in Porto is an attention to unique.
The best way to show you Porto is to look at what the city has inspired, slowly working your way back to Portugal’s second largest city.
A Tale Of Two Cities
Somewhere around 300 BC, the Romans conquered the settlement of Cale – named after Greek for “beautiful” or Latin for “warm”; either way renaming it Portus Cale. Say that 5 times fast and you can see how the name Portugal likely came about. Porto is now known as a city of bridges, one of two in Europe to have 6; all of which cross the Douro River. The other city in Europe with 6 bridges is Vila Nova de Gaia (Gaia for short) – and it happens to sit across the Douro. Yes, Porto is right next to Gaia, taking up the limelight and making up two of the 12 cities in the Porto Metropolitan Area.
For travelers, the differences aren’t obvious and if you didn’t know better, would be convinced you haven’t left town, even after walking across Luis I Bridge.
Sound And Sight In A Little Big Fight
One of the most obvious displays of deliberate creativity in Porto is the Casa da Musica (House Of Music). The Casa da Musica is at its core a music hall; but it’s surrounded by individual rooms focused on different aspects of sound, art exhibitions, band practices, reading rooms, and things that vaguely have something to do with the giant concert hall in its core.
The Casa da Musica is free to enter, deliberately to signify that money isn’t a part of the creative process. (Although it helps to have wealthy investors.) The building itself was designed by the Dutchman Rem Koolhaas who wanted it to look like meteor crashing into the pavement. Cost and physics prevented him from making the exterior more elaborate and he almost had a fit when told his bar overlooking the concert hall required support beams. That, and the fact that the porous floor needed to be covered by glass because women in heels found it nearly impossible to walk across – and men below were enjoying more than a view of the concert hall.
Smaller battles were waged however in the VIP room, which is decorated with thousands of hand painted tiles, representing scenes from other museums across Portugal. Not one to be told what to do, the artist slipped in his signature hidden in grass, quickly noticed by museum’s staff. It would take another 7 years and an 8-year old to find the other mark of the artist – a tile that’s 90 degrees in the wrong direction in surprisingly plain sight.
- I picked up these and many other stories on a tour of the building. 3 Euro and interesting enough that I didn’t notice it was an hour long; I would highly recommend it.
You’ll get a preview of those tiles, known as “azulejo” and all over the city or if you arrive by train to the Sao Bento station. There are over 20,000 hand painted tiles throughout the station painted by Jorge Colaco in the early 1900s.
Where Harry Potter Was Born
The Livraria Lello is over a hundred years old and consistently voted as one of the world’s most beautiful bookstores. What makes it enchanting these days for thousands of tourists is it might be where Harry Potter was conceived. Not literally (you’ll have to ask his parents for that information) but it’s widely rumored to be where J.K. Rowling first came up with the series’s overall concept.
Rowling has never actually discussed details about her inspiration but was teaching English in Porto when her marriage to a Portuguese man failed in 1993. Prior, in 1990 the idea of a boy attending wizard-school came to her and the depression that followed her divorce fueled many of the darker tones of the Potter series (including the dementors). Rowling completed the first Harry Potter manuscript in 1995; spending two years of her free time in Livraria Lello.
Controversial – especially for Potter fanatics who know about Edinburgh’s The Elephant House – so you let your imagination decide (*cough* Hogwarts).
- By the way, the Livraria Lello is still a private shop and photos (you can see mine here) haven’t been allowed for the past 6 months since the owner found it difficult to maintain business with the influx of curious tourists. I was given special access thanks to ATTTurismo so don’t think I broke any rules. This time.
The Blood Of The Heart Is Made Of Port Wine
Although I’m very familiar with wine in a bottle (and glass), it was kind of Porto Calem to teach me where their ideas for every blend come from and the work that goes into turning grapes into goodness. A 20 minute tour of their cellars ends with tastes of their selections. 4 or 5 glasses and I’m out the door, my thirst quenched; followed by a francesinha to kill any lingering hunger.
Though despite this taste, there’s more much more of Porto to be found. Some of it you can see, others you taste, but I think the reason so many of you voted it the best city to visit is for everything that’s much less tangible.
Enter To Win A Nook Tablet With Every $10 Donation To Passports With A Purpose
For the past 2 years I’ve participated in the Passports With A Purpose (PwP) program; an annual travel blogger coordinated fundraiser whose objective is to raise $80,000 this year to build two libraries in Zambia. The PwP raises money $10 at a time – for each $10 donation you make, you can enter yourself for one of these wonderfully donated prizes.
Working With Room To Read
This year PwP is working with Room To Read, an organization that has built over 12,500 libraries and worked with over 6 million children since its founding in 1998. Neuroscientists regularly refer to reading as the most complex task our brains ever learn, getting parts of the brain to work in ways no other method can. [*] Putting more libraries where they’re needed and providing access to them unlocks the potential of the universe’s most powerful computer.
Every $10 donation is US-tax deductible and if you enter before December 16th, you can pick the prize of your choosing. You can donate here.
This year I’m offering up a Nook Tablet, one of my favorite new gadgets on the market. And yes, they don’t ship outside of the US so I’ll mail you one wherever you are in the world.
Why The Nook Tablet?
Aside from the ironic fact that it’s an eReader, it’s also the most versatile 7-inch tablet designed for ebooks. The Nook Tablet is a personal favorite of mine; and an eReader can lighten your backpack by letting you carry around a 400 gram library on your shoulder. Plus it’s wife-capable, letting you browse the Internet, and plays games as well. (Angry Birds on a long layover anyone?)
Details, Deadlines, And Donate!
Remember, for every $10 donation you get one chance to win any of these prizes of your choosing. They include 9-day tours to Costa Rica, a 1-year Boingo Global Account, and even a Kindle Fire if that’s more your fancy.
- Donations can be made anytime but if you to enter for a prize your deadline is December 16, 2011.
- Prize winners will be notified on Friday, December 23rd and prize delivered within 7 business days if you’re in the US. Those of you in other countries will receive your prize within 17 business days (the added time since I’ll need someone to forward it to your address).
- Prize is void if we don’t communicate by January 31, 2012.
In 2009 PwP raised $30,000 to build a school in Cambodia and last year $64,000 to help build a village in India. To be a part of this year’s effort and enter to win a Nook Tablet, or one of the other prizes, donate here.
The Best City To Visit Travel Tournament 2011 Winner Is Porto, Portugal
One month and 6 rounds later, the last city standing in The Best City To Visit Travel Tournament 2011 is Porto, Portugal. Congratulations to Portugal’s second largest city – getting by Madrid, Sydney, Bratislava, Jerusalem, Chiang Mai, and runner-up Prague was no simple feat. Originally nominated by Stephen, he’ll receive the contest prize of $150 $200 for being a subscriber later this week.
The Best City To Visit Travel Tournament 2011 - Championship: Prague vs. Porto
- Porto, Portugal - (Stephen) (75%, 24 Votes)
- Prague, Czech Republic - (Jeruen) (25%, 8 Votes)
Total Voters: 32
Loading ...I’m Going To Porto Before The End Of The Year
I can’t not visit the city all of you nominated as the best one to visit in 2011, so sometime before the end of this year I’ll be going to Porto. Portugal is one of the few western European countries I haven’t been to yet and (relatively) nearby Lisbon is also where I’ll begin The Ultimate Train Challenge in September. That’s where I’ll attempt to break the world record for longest continuous train journey.
The Best City To Visit Contest 2012, A Macbook Air, And Another Trip For You
I plan on running the tournament again next year, with a few modifications – including allowing people to write posts to pitch their city (thanks for the idea Priyank), as well as having a pool alongside the voting. That way, you can still participate when and if the city you nominate is eliminated. The prize pot will also be larger.
- 5 Ultimate Tech Guide For Travelers Readers Will Receive $100 Apple Gift Cards: As I mentioned late this past February, March was a month of contests on foXnoMad. My hope with The Ultimate Tech Guide For Travelers is to make it an ebook that’s alive; so as promised, along with 6 months of included personal tech support, 5 people who purchased a copy in March will have $100 Apple gift cards waiting in their inboxes later today.
This summer I’ll also have a Macbook Air for one of you and later in the year hopefully send one of you anywhere in the world you want to go. I don’t want to inundate you with plans but sometime in the coming months I’ll probably be hanging out in one place, catching up on heaps of writing, along with putting together ideas to help you travel more, for less. The best way to find out about the various contests I run throughout the year is to sign up for my bi-monthly newsletter, that group always finds out first.
You can view the entire tournament bracket in full size or click the image to view in wide-screen.
A Month Of Photos Slowly Catch Up With My Travels
I hope you’ve enjoyed the travel photos from this past month, along with the larger image format and shorter, more personal stories. Although I haven’t quite caught up to my movements (not even mentioned Bulgaria yet), we’re at least a few steps closer. Through Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, and my favorite city in the world, perhaps we’ll finally cross digital paths in Cairo, Tokyo, or somewhere else.
Don’t worry if you missed this contest, I run several throughout the year. You can be the first to find out about the next one by signing up for my email updates, RSS feed, or bi-monthly newsletter.
The Best City To Visit Travel Tournament 2011: Championship
It’s almost appropriate that Prague and Porto meet in the Championship of the Best City To Visit Travel Tournament this year. Both cities have been quite a force against against each opponent in every round thus far; and to be honest I can’t call or even begin to lean as to who will come out on top – winning $200 in the process. Of course, that’s all up to you. Your votes decide this year’s winner and who will hold the title of “Best City To Visit” in 2011. Register now to vote.
Rio gave Prague a run for its money but won’t be any easy rival to Porto. Vote to decide the best city to visit in 2011 – you must register to vote. The polls are open until next Monday, April 4th at 12pm US EST. (Email and RSS subscribers will need to click through to this page to vote.)
The Best City To Visit Travel Tournament 2011 - Championship: Prague vs. Porto
- Porto, Portugal - (Stephen) (75%, 24 Votes)
- Prague, Czech Republic - (Jeruen) (25%, 8 Votes)
Total Voters: 32
Loading ...You can view the entire tournament bracket in full size or click the image to view in wide-screen.
Rio, Chiang Mai, it was a great run but, alas, there can only be one. The final results will be posted next Tuesday, April 5th, so get your votes in now. Best of luck to Prague and Porto, may the best city win!
Don’t worry if you missed this contest, I run several throughout the year. You can be the first to find out about the next one by signing up for my email updates, RSS feed, or bi-monthly newsletter.
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