Teleférico de Gaia integrated into the urban environment. Image by Nicholas Chu.
The Teleférico de Gaia graces Portugal’s second largest city, Porto – a charming, old-world burg built on the steep banks of the Douro River. The system has been operational since 2011, but has yet to catch people’s attention outside of Portugal — and arguably even within Portugal itself.
It is difficult to ascertain exactly why, but there are many possible reasons. For one, there’s nothing particularly controversial (for better or for worse) about the system from a reporter’s perspective. So naturally, the media hasn’t picked it up.
After all, in this day and age of instant gratification and internet rage, a news story about a well designed and integrated gondola isn’t exactly headline material for major media outlets. This is unfortunate since the Teleférico de Gaia deserves a lot more credit and attention that it has garnered so far.
Maybe this system tour will help break the silence and shed some light on an important urban cable car.
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