Porto: Your Next European Travel Destination

04 Oct Porto: Your Next European Travel Destination

There’s plenty of excitement on the Douro riverfront and the historic, hilly streets of the Ribeira district. Yet, the whole of Porto is a gem.

Porto highlights

Porto has this relaxed, positive vibe which synchs well with its sunny, colorful environment and soundtrack of seagulls. It’s part traditional, part funky, and boasts lots of creativity.

 

The Luís I bridge is probably the most iconic landmark of Porto. This metal arch bridge connects Porto to Vila Nova de Gaia. Not only is this bridge extremely photogenic (can I refer to an inanimate object that way?), it has two levels that you can walk on. The lower level offers sidewalks on either side of the inner vehicle lanes. I happened to see some local teenagers jumping off the lower level and swimming in the river when I was crossing. The upper level is used by pedestrians and metro trams that come by every few minutes to pick up passengers. Here, you have incredible views looking down on the city as it slopes downward towards the river valley.

 

 

 

On the opposite side of the bridge are the Gaia port wine cellars. A great way to see these cellars is the sightseeing bus. You can also visit many of them by foot. We didn’t do an extended port cellar tour, so I can’t elaborate more. Not because we didn’t want to, but because I got ill for a handful of days. That said, when I was better, we did get to do a port wine tasting at C. N. Kopke and had a really great experience.

 

While in Vila Nova de Gaia, consider taking the cable car up to the top of the valley ridge where the upper level of the bridge meets the monastery. It’s the perfect place to watch the sunset over the city.

 

In addition to this stunning riverfront, Porto has lovely beachfront on the Atlantic Ocean. We spent an afternoon in Foz do Douro, having a homestyle baked cod lunch at one of the traditional seafood restaurants. Afterward, we took a long walk up the promenade and over to the large city park. Another day we hopped off the sight-seeing bus to watch a gorgeous sunset at one of the beachside bars. My love of sunsets is so transparent.

 

Porto beach at sunset

 

You can also spend some time in the modern, cosmopolitan areas of the city, like the Boavista neighborhood. Here you’ll find museums, shopping and a plethora of dining options.

 

Slow traveling in Porto

We chose Porto as our ‘remote home’ for September 2016. This was after targeting Lisbon but failing to find an affordable apartment during high season. Porto still wasn’t a perfect solution as upon booking the apartment we were notified we couldn’t stay the whole month. That left us with 17 days to explore this city, slowing down to appreciate the culture, its people and in some respects, day-to-day life.

First, we started by checking out the gym down the street, Virgin Active, and negotiated a two-week membership for the two of us. What a cool gym! I sweat it out with Zumba, Zumba step (which is way more intense), yoga, weights, and lap swimming. After our workouts, we would relax in the spa area with a large jacuzzi pool, steam room, and sauna.

Our apartment kitchen was quite disappointing, so we stuck to making salads at home and had an excuse to dine out at a variety of yummy restaurants. We even became ‘regulars’ at the restaurant of a nearby boutique hotel & culinary school, The Artist Bistro & Bar.

Some of our favorite dining spots were:

the Artist bistro & bar – prefix lunch and dinner menus, plus the most delicious burger in between lunch/dinner (~4 pm) in the library/lounge.

 

Dama Pe de Cabra – I declared their pork sandwich the most delicious ever – the owner was very gracious and told me it’s that good because it’s sourced from ‘happy pigs’.

 

Belos Aires Restaurante – this restaurant offers a fusion of Argentinean & Portuguese dishes. We couldn’t resist their empanadas and often overate when we dined here.

Maria Rita – a wonderful local spot with traditional dishes, good service, and great value.

Tasca Caseira – excellent Portuguese food and friendly service. Get the pork cheeks. The sangria here is pretty potent.

Taberna dos Mercadores – you’re in for an experience at this small restaurant off a narrow street near the tunnel and riverfront. The seafood is on-point and some dishes are flambéed table-side. Make a reservation a few days in advance by calling or stopping by.

 

eLeBe Baixa – for ~14 Euros/pp (plus tip) you can have a delicious 3-course executive lunch with wine 😉

 

To further immerse ourselves in Porto day-to-day life, we had to be FC Porto fútbol fans. Daniel had his eye on the Champions League soccer schedule and found a match between FC Porto and FC Copenhagen and secured us two tickets.

 

Lastly, we had issues with wifi in our apartment and had difficulty finding a cafe to work from. Had I only known about this site at the time, to locate places to work in the area.

 

Will Porto appeal to you?

If you consider yourself to be fairly low maintenance, spontaneous and a lover of eclectic cities, then you’ll definitely appreciate what Porto has to offer. Let me expand on this a bit…

First, you’ll need to appreciate old charm. Porto is a bit rustic. Some areas of the city are a bit dilapidated. You’ll notice many buildings undergoing renovations, but it’s still a small percentage.

You’ll also want to exercise some spontaneity and get a little lost walking the cobblestone streets and alleyways with laundry hanging to dry. Climb up to the highest hills and watch the sunset with a cold beer in hand.

Some of the best restaurants only have a dozen or fewer tables in confined spaces. Our advice would be to embrace the close proximity – you may even engage in a great conversation with your neighbor.

 

So you’re interested in going to Porto…here are some helpful planning tips

– Book accommodations well in advance. Consider the Moov hotel for a contemporary, clean, no frills budget hotel in the tourist district. We stayed here for two nights on our first visit to Porto, following our Azores trip. Another option that could be of interest is the Cale Guest House. We walked by it many a time on our way to Belos Aires and Tasca Caseira restaurants.

– There are a lot of hills – you will feel it in your calves and hamstrings! Wear comfortable shoes and as needed, use the metro and buses to hop around. A bike is improbable. Also, forget about bringing heels. It would be downright crazy to try to wear them here.

– One of the perks of walking so many hills is burning more calories… just enough to justify some gelato every once in a while. There is no shortage of delicious gelato shops in Porto.

– There are tons of seagulls flying around Porto and you might get bird poop on you. I did, twice. Have a shout wipe in your purse/bag.

– Regardless of how cool you think you are, this is a great city to jump on a tour bus for the day or get a multi-day pass and use it to hop around to Gaia to see the port cellars, to the beach and up and down all the hills. We did a one-day pass on the yellow buses and found it to be very worthwhile.

– The good restaurants (not obvious tourist traps) are in high demand. You should make reservations a few days in advance. If you try walking in, you might instead find yourself walking around for other options.

– Porto is a gateway to the Douro River Valley. We took a day trip and loved our visits to Quinta da Roêda | Croft Port near Pinhão and Quinta Seara d’Ordens near Andrães.

 

– Porto is also a great airport hub to catch a flight to the Azores, a remarkable Portuguese archipelago.

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Want to read about our Portugal road trip?

 

 

 

 

 

Or maybe you want to check out our post on island hopping in the Azores?

 

 

 

 

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Does Porto sound intriguing to you? If you’ve traveled there, what did you love about the city?

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