Capela das Almas

Porto is a city of tiles, and if São Bento station is the grand interior showcase, the Capela das Almas is the great exterior one. This modest chapel stands on the corner of Rua de Santa Catarina, the city's main shopping street, and from the outside it looks as though it has been wrapped in blue-and-white porcelain. In 1929, its exterior walls were covered entirely in azulejo panels, an estimated sixteen thousand or so tiles, painted in the traditional style with scenes from the lives of St Francis of Assisi and St Catherine. The effect is striking in any light: the deep blue against white catches the sun on clear days and glows softly under grey skies, and the scenes reward a slow walk around the building to follow the stories. The chapel itself is older than its tiles, with roots in the eighteenth century, and it remains a working place of worship with services through the day. Entry is free. Inside, the space is small and simple compared with the facade, with stained glass and a modest altar, so most visitors spend just a few minutes before returning outside for another look. The real visit is the exterior, and the best photographs are taken from the opposite side of the street or the corner, where the long side wall stretches away down the hill. Because it sits in the middle of the shopping district, the Capela das Almas is an easy stop rather than a destination: combine it with a stroll along Rua de Santa Catarina, a coffee at one of the historic cafés on the street, and the Mercado do Bolhão a few minutes away. Mornings are the quietest time, before shoppers and tour groups arrive, and it is particularly lovely in the soft light of late afternoon.

Understanding the tiles: azulejos have decorated Portuguese buildings for five centuries, first in geometric Moorish-inspired patterns, later in blue-and-white figurative scenes influenced by Delft and Chinese porcelain. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, tile facades became a Porto signature, both on churches and on ordinary houses, partly because they protected the stone and plaster from the damp Atlantic climate. The Capela das Almas is one of the most complete examples: the panels follow the architecture, wrapping windows and corners, and the scenes, with their saints, angels and landscapes, are deliberately devotional, meant to be read as you walk past.

Visiting respectfully: this is a working chapel with regular services, so if you go inside, do so quietly and avoid photographing worshippers. Hours are generally from early morning into the evening on weekdays, with a break at midday at weekends. Outside, step back across the street or uphill to frame the long side facade, and take time to look closely at the detail of the panels at eye level, where the painting is surprisingly fine.

Building a tile trail: the Capela das Almas is one stop on a self-guided azulejo walk through Porto. Start at São Bento station's great hall, walk up to the cathedral's cloisters if you have a ticket, then to the Igreja de Santo Ildefonso near Praça da Batalha, the Capela das Almas on Santa Catarina, and finally the Igreja do Carmo near the university, whose side wall is another huge tile panel. It makes a satisfying half-day for photographers and anyone captivated by Porto's blue and white.