I always encourage anyone coming to visit Porto for the first time to walk across the top deck of the Luís I Bridge, as long as they’re not afraid of heights. (The bridge is 45 metres high, and when the metro crosses the bridge it vibrates.) The most obvious reason to walk across is for the unobstructed views of both Porto on the north bank and Vila Nova de Gaia on the south bank.
The neighbourhoods that you see in these first two pictures are Guindais on the left, beside the Muralha Fernandina, and Fontainhas on the right, beside the Infante Bridge. I keep photographing this view because it’s my belief that these areas will gentrify soon, and I want a record of what they look like now. Of course, this won’t matter if you’re a tourist to Porto. But for those who live here, gentrification is a double-edged sword and something that alters the character of a city unless it is controlled. I’ll be keeping an eye on this view for developments.
{ More photos in the album. }
Mosteiro da Serra do Pilar and army barracks of Serra do Pilar Artillery Regiment, Vila Nova de Gaia
April 22, 2016
Album: Portugal [Spring 2016]