Capela das Almas

The Chapel of Souls is a small church on Porto's busiest shopping street that's entirely covered in blue and white azulejo tiles — all four exterior walls, from ground to roofline, wrapped in approximately 15,947 tiles depicting the lives and deaths of various saints with the graphic enthusiasm that 18th-century Portuguese Catholics brought to martyrdom.

The tiles were actually installed in 1929, much later than most of Porto's azulejo facades, by Eduardo Leite in a deliberate attempt to replicate the 18th-century style. He succeeded so well that most visitors assume they're centuries older. The scenes include St. Francis of Assisi receiving the stigmata, St. Catherine's wheel, and the death of St. Francis, all rendered in the blue-on-white palette that makes Portuguese tile work instantly recognisable.

The chapel sits on the corner of Rua de Santa Catarina and Rua de Fernandes Tomás — two of Porto's main commercial streets — which means you encounter it unexpectedly while walking between shops. The contrast between the commercial buzz of Santa Catarina and the serene blue facade is one of Porto's characteristic surprises. The interior is modest compared to São Francisco's golden excess, but the tile work outside is the real attraction. Come in the morning when the eastern light hits the facade and the blue tiles seem to glow.