16/02/2020
Portugal
participants
This trip took participants to visit the city of Porto, the second biggest city in Portugal. Its main goal was to show more of Portugal's iconic landmarks, as well as a different cultural and historic city in the country, with different traditions and architecture than Coimbra. Furthermore, the trip also intended to foster intercultural dialogue and friendships, as the participants were mainly international students from all over the world.
The participants left Coimbra early in the morning and arrived in Porto ready to visit Casa da Música, an iconic landmark in Porto, known for its concerts and music-related projects, but mainly with its architecture. After lunch, everyone gathered at the city centre for a guided tour by the volunteers at ESN Porto, which ended by the Sandeman cellars. Here, the participants had the opportunity to visit the well-known cellars, to learn about the history of Porto wine and how it is produced, as well as taste it.
On the following day, participants were free to explore the city by themselves during the morning. After lunch, they visited the Clérigos Tower, another important landmark of the city, as well as Passeio das Virtudes, a city garden known for being one of the best locations to view the city and enjoy its sunset. Afterwards, they also visited the gardens of Palácio do Cristal, which was demolished in 1951 and replaced by Pavilhão Rosa Mota, but still maintains its famous gardens, flora and fauna. Following this visit, everyone boarded the bus and went back to Coimbra.
This activity was much appreciated by the participants, most of whom had never visited Porto. They were particularly enthusiastic about the guided tour and the gardens and parks they visited, as well as the visit to the wine cellars of Sandeman.