Museums, Porto

Like much of Porto during July the modern art museum was under bloody construction, so there was only one exhibition on the day I arrived. They gave me a discount, but it was disappointing all the same. It was made worse by the fact that the advertised Warhols were not in evidence, and only the lacklustre work of Israeli abstract artist, Moshe Kupferman was on show. The work was pretty uninspiring, and included a few pieces that could have been described as "scrawling the floorplan of my house in pencil while blindfolded". When the cases used to show the art appear to have more effort, skill, technical expertise and (basically) art than the art being displayed it says something about the work and I don't think it is all that deep.

Maybe I'm a philistine, but I think I was just disappointed.

Despite the lack of artwork, the gardens were a delight to walk through, and they did give me a discount on the usual 5 euro entrance fee. You can also check out in advance on their website what's going on, if you want to make sure you catch it when its in full swing.

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In Portugal we use to say that "one image speaks more than 1000 words". Having that in mind, and more than 1000 pictures to post, I decided to change my behaviour, posting the pictures as soon as they are ready, and adding the comments later.
Don't get mad on me - I'm glad to share my pictures with you, and the comments will be added soon.

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We didn´t visit so many museums in Porto as we use to do at all places.Only"real museum" was this.It was smaller than we thought,but nice anyway.Many different kind of trams,and some other machines,used to upkeep the tramways.
There´s also a tram witch was dragged by horses.
Little museumshop also.
Strange was,that there was lots of trams at kind of huge open carage,but when we tried to go and see them,they said it´s not allowed.Can´t understand why.

The building was the former court of appeal and prison of Oporto.
Nowadays it houses the Portuguese Center of Photography.
The center organizes thematic exhibitions of photography, courses and conferences.

Acording to the CPF website, its exhibition center is open from Tuesdays to Fridays, 10:00am to 12:30pm and 3:00pm to 6:00pm. On Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays, it's open from 3:00pm to 7:00pm. It's closed on Mondays.

The website is only in Portuguese.

Oporto has this brand new music venue. It's though to be the most important in Portugal. It is used for all sorts of music concerts, from classical music to rock.
The building was designed by the Dutch architect Rem Koohaas. We can see that it could look like one of those modernist buildings of Rotterdam, simple and austere in decoration but with a complex shape that defies gravity and poses complex challenges for its construction.

It was meant for the event in 2001 Oporto, European Capital of Culture, but the building was ready only in 2005. The construction cost was initially estimated in 33 millions of euros, but swelled to 111.2 millions, once again raising concerns about the money spent.

If you go to the hall of the building and there's a concert taking place inside the auditorium, you can listen to the music being played.
For concerts, ask for the program or check Casa da Musica's website.

In the west part of town there is a foundation dedicated to Modern Art called Serralves. It was created in 1989 with a partnership between the Portuguese state and many private institutions. The foundation is composed by a big park (3,5 acres) with lakes and modern sculptures and a museum design by the portuguese architect Siza Vieira that has already won a Pritzker award. The park is peaceful and quiet nice to stroll around and has a nice tea house.
This area belonged to the Vizela Duke that did the plans to build the park and the house that is an example of art deco in Portugal.
The museum has its own collection and hosts several collections from artists throughout the world being already quite known internationally.
Persoanlly, I was quite excited for visiting the museum but was a bit disappointed by what was at display at the time. But modern art is like that, a target for endless discussion. Is an empty room with a light and a doll, art? Who I’m I to say it is not.
In June there is often a 40 hours non stop event in Serralves.
Every Sunday morning until 14h the entrance is free and so hords of families invade the space. In the other days the price is 5€ for the park and museum and 2,5€ just for the park. People under 18 and students of university and masters enter for free.
Serralves is one of the most visited museums in Portugal and closes every Monday. Normally it is open until 19h at Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays and 17h during the week. It opens always at 10h.
There are guided tours and audio systems available.

Although Palacio da Bolsa looks quite ordinary, not to say dull, from the outside, its interior leaves you awestricken. It's a tangible proof of how prosperous Porto merchants were in the 19th century.
It's not a stock exchange any longer; beside being a sort of a museum it serves representation purposes. It's a venue for conferences, official meetings but also wedding receptions.
There are several rooms on two floors, each sumptuous and grand. But the 'most glittering jewel' is the Arabian room and its gold and blue intricate decorations with a repeated motif of Arabian inscriptions. It is said that the model for it was the Alhambra Palace in Spain.
I also loved the beautiful parquet floors arranged in complicated patterns or a unique in-laid table in the Portrait Room.
The imposing stairway and its decorations made of granite made me wonder how the artists managed to achieve the sense of lightness sculpting the rock so hard to work with. The large-sized chandeliers hanging from the ceiling with 1.5 tons of bronze each are also real masterpieces.
Summing up, a visit to Palacio da Bolsa is highly recommended. It's a pity that taking photographs inside is not allowed, so I can't share with you any photos.

Visiting only with guided-tours.

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This charming house used to be the home of the former poet Guerra Junqueiro. It is an 18th century baroque building and has such a peaceful feel to it. The house has a collection of the poets’ private collection of rare ceramics and furniture. Unfortunately we did not spend long in here but long enough to appreciate this gem of a house.