Azulejos: Portuguese Blue Tile Traditions
Azulejos: Pollished Stones
In June, we explored Porto, Portugal for the first time using tour books and websites to help decide what to see. One of the recommendations was to be sure to view the Porto Sao Bento train station.
The outside of the train station was a large impressive building but it didn’t prepare us for the beauty inside. Wow. We stood around with a crowd of other tourists viewing the blue tiles on the walls. We were in awe.
What beautiful blue and white tile scenes. Look how complex they are and how many tiles are in each one. If you visit Porto, visit the Sao Bento train station.
In Porto Sao Bento: You’ll be captivated by 20,000 tiles covering over 500 square meters, depicting important historical moments from the North of Portugal, including the region’s transportation evolution, crucial marriages, and defining conquests in Portugal’s history. (Source)
After Porto, we went to Lisbon, Portugal. On our guided tour of the Sintra National Palace near Lisbon, I learned more about the history of the tiles in Portugal.
