Porto - Santo Ildefonso

Porto is with a population of about 250.000 the largest city in Northern Portugal. In "Greater Porto", the metropolitan area, live even more than 1.7 million people.

The historical center of Porto was proclaimed a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1996. Port wine is named after Porto, since the cellars of Vila Nova de Gaia on the southern banks of the river Douro are the centers for packaging, transport and export of the fortified wine. Some years ago I had been here for a couple of days before I started the "Camino Portugues" here.

Having a coffee in one of the coffe-shops around the "Praça da Batalha" with a view onto to the "Igreja de Santo Ildefonso". The church was erected in baroque style between 1709 and 1739, when finally the towers were completed. Since 1932, the facade is covered with (around 11.000) azulejo tiles