Coimbra to Porto

We had a slow morning today as we didn’t catch our train until 1.45pm, so we stayed in the apartment until 11 am. Our plan was to head down to the city centre, have a coffee followed by an early lunch. Once we left our apartment, we had about 200 metres of rolling our cases over cobblestones that were so uneven I was sure we would break the wheels, but the cases survived. We decided to wander down to the end of the mall and then down some narrow side streets to kill some time. We ended up doing this for about 45 minutes, and then chose a cafe for lunch - we had the best coffee so far in Portugal at this place. We then shared a small serve of crumbed octopus, and a chicken salad. Both were excellent, and we then indulged in dessert, which was also very good.

We then headed down to the Main Street to order an Uber to take us to Coimbra-B Station, where we caught the train to Porto. Our train was running late (which we didn’t realise), as was another train that was also going to Porto via the same platform. A train arrived at the scheduled time, so we got on, but it didn’t look quite right - when checking with a staff member we were told it was not our train, so we got back off the train. It was all very confusing, as the announcements are only in Portuguese and the electronic board provides minimal information. The trains usually only stop for a couple of minutes, and it is then a mad rush for passengers disembarking and those waiting to get on! Our train finally arrived, and the trip only took about an hour. Our Airbnb hosts had arranged a transfer from the station, and our driver was waiting at the exit to take us to our apartment. As we are on the waterfront, he couldn’t drop us at the apartment, so he dropped us off about 200 metres away and the host, Paola, came to meet us and checked us in.

Our apartment is very nice indeed, with great views of the river and all the activities happening on the waterfront. We are located in the Ribeira district, which is the oldest part of Porto. It has lots of narrow streets and lots of steep inclines, but is so full of atmosphere and colour.Read more