Porto - a love affair with Blue Tiles

For many people Porto, Portugal's second largest city which tips down to the banks of the river Douro, is all about bridges. 

This one in particular.

But if blue and white tiles are your thing, then I cannot recommend it enough.

On the outside of church's, 

In the railway station,

On the outside of our hotel 

And in the bathroom - it was a slightly eccentric hotel. 

We stayed for 3 nights at this hotel, Castelo Santa Catarina. 

Which also had a grotto in the garden!

It's a central hotel - not right on top of the main sights but a stroll down the hill (and a taxi ride back up) and you are in the thick of it. 

Porto is a great place for just chilling in a big city. The old town, and the old town of Gaia on the opposite banks of the Douro, are compact and though thronging with visitors ( Portuguese as well as tourists) somehow don't feel overcrowded. 

Perhaps it's the water - the river Douro meets the Atlantic at Porto - and the Port wine that give the place such a chilled atmosphere. 

I highly recommend it!