Porto and the North

Classic Porto shop facades on Rua da Cedofeita. This busy shopping street is a mix of cafes, old fashioned businesses and some newer hip and trendy shops. I can't remember which category these two fall into.

Some traditional Porto style downtown buildings on Rua da Cedofeita - one of the city's main shopping streets.

If you look at the buildings closer they have some quite fine details such as the wrought iron balconies and granite window frames. I also noticed the left and right buildings pretty much match each other in terms of both azulejo tiles and the balcony railing designs.

A view down one of Porto's busiest shopping thoroughfares - Rua da Cedofeita. Possibly the oldest shopping street in Porto this narrow, pedestrianised street is home to any number of independent shops, cafes and places to stay.

The street runs almost arrow straight from Praça de Carlos Alberto to Rua da Boavista and it's hard to mistake with its traditional black and white paving.

In the distance is the Torre de Clerigos, omnipresent on Porto's skyline, but also right in line with R. da Cedofeita.

Houses on Rua Dom Manuel II in Porto. This street is fairly central and runs past the university medical school and Crystal Palace gardens.

The Capela do Senhor da Boa Nova sits just across the road from the Crystal Palace gardens on the corner of Rua da Boa Nova and R. Dom Manuel II. It was built in 1782 with money from local residents to house a stone statue of Christ on the cross that had been sited in the adjacent Largo da Torre da Marca. The statue had become known as Senhor Jesus da Boa Nova and hence the name was passed on to the little chapel.

In the background you can just make out the castellated granite of the Torre de Pedro-Sem, a mediaeval tower built to protect the city.

An old window in Entre Quintas. This area of Porto translates to between farms and there is still plenty of rustic charm to be found here.

This building appears to have been somewhere between a barn and a house. Whatever it was it has probably seen better days. The quality of the stonework around the window suggests this was built for someone reasonably wealthy - possibly the owner of the farm/estate.

Another typically run-down Porto facade. This is part of Porto's charm, but also something of a head-scratcher. This particular example can be found right on the Porto riverfront on Alameda Basílio Teles.

I love the fact that this building hasn't been gentrified and si probably still home to long time Porto residents. That said, you wouldn't think a quick touch up with the paint brush would be too much considering how much this block is probably worth now.

The Porto Tram Museum (Museu do Carro Eléctrico) . As the name suggests it is home to around 20 vintage trams and trailers. Whilst I say vintage this doesn't really differentiate them from the current rolling stock that works the Porto tram routes, as they are all getting on for a century old. In fact there is some cross over with several of the trams housed here being used on a daily basis.

I've never really understood the abundance of faded grandeur and overall dereliction in Portugal. I can almost get it if it was somewhere off the beaten track or in the middle of economic hard times, but I've seen places like this in some of the most desirable locations in the country.

Looking out towards the mouth of the River Douro and the Ponte da Arrábida in Porto.

This is taken from Entre Quintas, a quirky old part of the city that seems to have remained little changed since its name, which translates as "between farms" was created. The area is located just west of the Crystal Palace gardens and tumbles down the valley side from this part of the city centre.

The Arrabida bridge is around 500 metres long and 70 metres high if you need an idea of scale.