Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
( 222 074 710; Rua das Flores 5; adult/student €2/free; 9am-noon & 2-5pm Tue-Fri, 9am-noon Sat & Sun)
North of Largo de S Domingos on the distinctly Parisian Rua das Flores, you'll find the
rococo facade of this 16th-century church, designed by the Italian baroque architect Nic-
olau Nasoni. The church's original nucleus is now a museum boasting a superb Renais-
sance painting known as
Fons Vitae
(
Fountain of Life
). The painting depicts Dom
Manuel I and his family around a fountain of blood from the crucified Christ.
Praça da Ribeira
SQUARE
Down by the river, narrow streets open out onto a plaza framed by austerely grand, tiled
town houses overlooking a picturesque stretch of the Rio Douro. From here you have fine
views of the port-wine lodges across the river as well as the monumental, double-decker
Ponte de Dom Luís I.
Ponte de Dom Luís I
Completed in 1886 by a student of Gustave Eiffel, the bridge's top deck is now reserved
for pedestrians as well as one of the city's metro lines; the lower deck bears regular traffic,
with narrow pedestrian walkways lining the road.
Its construction was significant, as the area's foot traffic once travelled across a bridge
made from old port boats lashed together. To make matters worse, the river was wild back
then, with no upstream dams. When Napoleon invaded in 1809, scores were crushed and
drowned in the rushing river as a panicked stampede proved too much for the makeshift
bridge.
BRIDGE
Palacio das Artes
(Largo de S Domingos 16-22; 9.30am-7pm Mon-Fri)
Rotating exhibitions of mixed media, sculp-
ture, photography and video art are curated by the cultural ministry and are usually worth
a peek.
PALACE
Igreja de Santa Clara
CHURCH
