Escada dos Guindais

The Escada dos Guindais climbs the steep granite hillside from the riverbank up to the city walls. This narrow, winding staircase served as the main artery for workers hauling heavy barrels of wine and cargo from the docks into the medieval city center. In eighteen ninety-three, the Funicular dos Guindais opened right alongside these steps to handle the heavy lifting, yet the stairs remained the primary path for residents carrying their daily lives up and down the dizzying incline.