Blog Posts

The uprising of the tavern keepers

23/2/2020

Est. reading time: 6min

"Long live the King! DEATH TO THE COMPANY!!"

February 23rd, 1757: Leading the crowd that morning were many tavern keepers followed by some coopers, wine merchants but most of them were... tavern regulars!

This blog post contains a short overview on one of the most humiliating episodes of the city's History, where 26 of the involved people were hanged, beheaded and quartered and their bodies displayed in several locations within the city...! (...)

Though this might have been a rather gloomy introduction, take it as an invitation to learn more about about the oldest Portuguese wine company and its recently opened restaurant, cigar club & wine tasting room and an interactive museum, '1756 - Museu da 1ª Demarcação'. We visited it: post includes photos & two short videos!

When it comes to gifts, the most memorable are the unexpected.

11/2/2020

Running itself is a gift.

Out front Jana and Hans-Christian's accommodation in Porto, just as I was about to wrap up our 2hr running tour (which was Jana's birthday present, btw), Hans-Christian reached deep into his small backpack for an item and handed it out to me: it was an oficial 2019's Nikolauslauf half-marathon official t-shirt!

In this blog post I'll unveil the reason for this kind offer and explore the fact that running experiences can be such a memorable gift , whether it is a race entry such as the amazing Nikolauslauf held in Southern Germany or a city running tour of Porto in northern Portugal.

Also taking this opportunity to tell you more about -yet- another Nicolau and his Porto-based wine company - the oldest still active!

Estimated reading time: 7 min

Unexpected gift, directly from Tuebingen, Germany: an official Nikolauslauf t-shirt!

Did you know...

21/1/2020

...Portugal's first filmmaker was a florist in Porto?

est. reading time: 6 min

In this post we unveil the story of how Aurélio da Paz dos Reis, a successful merchant and flower producer, decided to start his 'adventure' in the world of 'animated photography' back in 1896 here in Porto... and also how he failed to do business with the Lumiére brothers...!

Did you know...?

5/1/2020

Porto was the setting for Portugal's first ever F1 Grand Prix!

The urban circuit of Boavista hosted only 2 editions of the most prominent of all car competitions, in 1958 and 1960. Stirling Moss, the 'best driver of the world' who never won a F1 world title for himself, flew home from Porto with the first Portuguese F1 trophy, in '58.

Christmas mode: ON

2/12/2019

Porto is always a good idea

It's that time of the year : public Christmas lights were switched on last Saturday - the official kick-start to the holiday cheer here in Porto. For runners visiting the city during this season we prepared something special, too...!

30/11/2019 photo credits: AgoraPorto

Things to do in Porto - with kids

11/11/2019

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Tried and tested tips :)

Porto may not be the most child-oriented city but there's naturally a few places to take your little ones and have a fun half-day. No matter which one you choose, a bit of creativity will take you a long way when running for the podium in the category of <most fun parent in the world>...!! :)

Here's some suggestions that may help you plan a fun day out with kids (prior to that 'boring' wine tasting you have your eyes on) >>

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Running on history's tracks

21/10/2019

STCP Tramcar Museum - here's a sneak peek

The calls to fight climate change are now growing louder around the world and electric mobility has indisputably come into vogue but the silent and charming zero-emission tramcars are actually running on tracks here in Porto for more than a century now...!

Let's head down memory tracks and unveil some of the past, see how people used to move around the urban area of Porto - when run-commuting wasn't yet as popular - is it popular now??!

Jump in and grab on for a glimpse of the STCP tramcar museum & depot, once the not-so-green coal power plant that powered the entire tramways' network... (!)

A long list of... disembodied hearts?!

10/9/2019

Starting with Pedro IV's heart: Porto's most precious treasure

Here's a compilation of stories, some of which were brought round by visitors, about one peculiar topic: hearts that were separated & taken away from the rest of their owner's body to a fairly distant burial place or even to be scientifically studied. Today PORTO RUNNING TOURS is celebrating 4 years of operation and so, because one of our best-sellers from day one has been the HEART OF PORTO TOUR, let's start with a shorter version of the amazing story about our dear Pedro IV's heart, our city's most precious treasure, a true story we always share with running visitors...!

The crystal palace of Porto

16/7/2019

A symbol of progress

'PROGREDIOR' was deliberately written over the front doors of the first grand Exhibition hall of Porto, the 'PALÁCIO DE CRISTAL' - the word 'progredior' means 'progress' in Latin and it was deeply symbolic. In the mid 1800s, Portugal, and in particular the city of Porto, were trying hard to catch up with Europe and US's industrial revolution and, at the same time, going through a period of intense... romanticism!

The merchants and industrials of Porto were bohemian, wealthy and seeking class and personal affirmation. A small group of Industrials - an association called AIP - decided it was time for Porto to have a grand exhibition hall, one that could host trade shows, large scale festivals, huge banquets, a space worthy of the the rising bourgeoisie of Porto... all of this surrounded by these 'staged' romantic gardens filled with exotic trees and wandering peacocks, fake ruins, fountains and small lakes, classical looking statues: a dignified space for poets and artists looking for inspiration or for those merely looking for romance, during those long lazy Sunday walks... wearing their best Sunday outfits...!

Crossfit box - Durius

21/6/2019

An effective weekly ritual to stay injury-free

(first person narrative) In the past I had to deal with some nagging injuries, brought on by running, which kept me away from doing it for weeks... They were overuse injuries from repeating the same movement, done over and over again, maybe with a slightly off-balance gait... and then maybe also the result of previous injuries that were not given enough healing time... (...)

While I am not saying that you should stop running I am saying that, for me, my body has welcomed the change in movement and also the strength gains that I have been making since I began to train differently and gave Crossfit a try on a weekly basis. The strength that I have gained is having a noticeable impact on my running as well because my legs are feeling much stronger with each stride.

Sometimes we just need to mix things up and try new things to refresh how we feel.

Crossfit Durius has since become my second favorite place to work up a sweat - the first being... my office, the streets of Porto!

PORTO BRIDGE CLIMB

16/3/2019

Walking up the arch of the Arrábida bridge ✔️

This wan an item on the list for a long, long time...! It took me 3 years, many excited reports of visiting runners who had done it and one kind invitation to make up my mind and do it. All I can say I am really glad I did it!

Read on for some (fun) facts about the construction of this bridge and its project's designer, Edgar Cardoso, an inventive engineer way ahead of his time...! Bonus: a short video of the experience, the highest point of my week :)

A CLIMATE CHANGE SUMMIT in Porto

8/3/2019

2019's SUMMIT

For the second consecutive year, the Climate Change Leadership Summit's keynote speaker was an American politician and Nobel Peace prize laureate. After Barack Obama's presence in 2018, this year Porto welcomed Al Gore, the most prominent and inspirational opinion maker of this century, regarding the topic of global warming awareness (...)

Places to visit in Porto - Palácio da Bolsa

1/3/2019

Est.reading time: 7 min

Why was there never a royal palace in Porto?

This blog post provides you a virtual guided tour to the interiors of Palacio da Bolsa, which was never royal, despite its majestic appearance. In fact, this is somewhat odd for a second largest city of a country that was a monarchy for almost 8 centuries: there was never a royal palace built in Porto, by any of the Portuguese kings of any dynasty (...)

"HERE BE DRAGONS", NOT SARDINES

8/1/2019

Everybody loves a good fridge magnet.

From a few visits to souvenir shops in the city I realized that dragon-shaped fridge magnets and souvenirs are much harder to find than the sardine or rooster-shaped ones... so, let me tell you: that's deeply upsetting...! :) It reminds me of the over-abundant Russian matryoshka dolls sold in every souvenir shop I've entered while visiting Czech Republic's capital, Praga...

Because Dragons are indeed the symbol of the city of Porto, this blog post has the clear purpose of setting things straight, once and for all :)

The district in Porto that is named after Santa Claus

6/12/2018

Est.reading time: 5 min

Unlikely old stories

Read on to learn more about Porto's relationship with the friendliest and most generous of white-bearded-red-suited old chaps - and find out more about Santa's origins!