I began Part 2 of my tour of Porto with the beautiful Porto Cathedral. This cathedral is one of Portugal’s most important and oldest monuments and dates back to the first half of the 12th century. Throughout the cathedral, sacristy, chapter house, treasure room, and side chapels, there were more beautiful blue tiles along with amazing architecture and artwork. The Catholic Church really knows how to display beauty!

After visiting all that the Porto Cathedral had to offer, I headed to the Church of Carmo and visited the catacombs. This church is also known as the Church of the Venerable Third Order of Our Lady of Carmo and was built on land adjacent to the Carmelite Church on the west side. The blue tiles on the front of the church feature stories of Saint Anne. The side façade of this church is covered by a tile panel depicting scenes of the founding of the Carmelite Order and Mount Carmel and was completed in 1912. I discovered this church during my first day in Porto. Excited to see all that it had to offer, I bought a ticket and began the tour. This church was a maze of history and artwork and took over an hour to explore.

My next adventure took me to a popular bookshop in Porto. Have you ever heard of the Lello Bookshop? This bookshop is one of the oldest bookstores in Portugal and frequently rated among the top bookstores in the world. In addition to its historical, architectural, and artistic value, the bookstore has a unique ambience that includes ornamental ceilings, arches, a stained-glass skylight and a wooden staircase that has been made famous by the rumors of once being an inspiration to the writer J.K. Rowling in the writing of the Harry Potter books. Because of the rumor associated with the famous Harry Potter books, people come from all over to simply walk through the bookstore. As you will see from the video below, the line to get into the bookstore was extensive. I love to read but I hate crowds and would not dare to venture in.

To avoid the rain, my next adventure included an organ concert at the Clerigos Church. I visited this church on my first day in Porto when I learned about the daily organ concert. It was an interesting experience that is shared in the video below.

As I looked for more indoor activities on the rainy days, I found the Stock Exchange Palace or the Palacio da Bolsa in Portuguese. Normally, I do not like the guided tour experience. I prefer to visit things on my own. However, I decided to give this a try. While waiting for my tour to begin, I was directed to the Church of Sao Francisco nearby. This church is the most prominent Gothic monument in Porto and is declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Franciscan Order was established in Porto around 1223. Construction of the current church structure began in 1383 and was completed in 1425. A fire, caused by the siege of Porto in 1832, destroyed the old cloisters. In its place, the city built the Stock Exchange Palace which is right next door to this beautiful church. An interesting part in exploring this church was the catacombs of the Third Order of St. Francis located in the basement of the Dispatch House which was completed in 1752.

After exploring the Church of Sao Francisco, I headed back to the Stock Exchange Palace for my guided tour. This was an excellent experience with so much to see. My favorite room (featured in the video below) was the Arab Room which contained Morrish-style gilding and woodwork created between 1862 and 1880.

There was one other palace that I really wanted to see and that was the Bishops’ Palace located near the Porto Cathedral. This palace was the former residence of the bishops of Porto and has been classified as a National Monument since 1910. The interior is composed of a grand staircase and spacious halls with several beautiful murals.

Saint Nicholas Church was another unexpected find located near the Church of Sao Francisco. This church was initially built in 1671 but reconstructed after a fire in 1758.

As indicated in my previous blogs, I am doing a deep dive into the history of Saint Ignatius of Loyola and the Jesuits for my next book. During my research of Porto, I found Saint Lawrence Church which was built by the Jesuits in 1577. At this location, the followers of Saint Ignatius established a highly sought after school. Locals refer to this church as Igreja dos Grilos, which means Cricket’s Church. When the Jesuits settled in Lisbon in the 16th century, they made their headquarters in a street named Rua do Grilo which means Cricket Street. When the Jesuits came to Porto to establish a mission and build a church, the people joked about the origin of the priests and referred to them as Padres Grilos or Cricket Priests. The nickname remains to this day.

It was so good to see all the beautiful churches in Porto, but this adventure is far from over. The next day I took a train from Porto to Lisbon and spent five days exploring the city with two special day trips.

Enjoy the video below and stay tuned for all the adventures of Lisbon.

God bless and remember to check out my books by clicking the Amazon buttons below!