When I visited the beautiful city of Porto over Easter, my friend Emma and I spent a lot of time wandering around. But we weren’t aimless – far from it. Instead we discovered plenty to do and see tucked into the hills beside the Douro River. Here’s my top picks – and one for next time!
1. Drink Port
Fairly self-evident, really – but a try of the city’s famous tipple is highly recommended. The city’s port warehouses offer various tasting tours for a few euros, where you will be guided around their cellars, learn the process of port production, and get to try a glass or three at the end. We visited Burmester and Offley, both of which were great. I particularly liked learning about how the different types are produced – from lacryma to tawny to ruby, it’s not necessarily all in the grape! If you’re not much for a tour, you’ll still find port on every restaurant menu – ask your waiter for a recommendation and make sure you check whether it is best drunk before or after your meal. Saúde!
2. Eat your way around Porto
We had some delicious meals in Porto, and some equally delicious snacks! One high point was an incredible long lunch at Casa Santo António, as recommended by Courtney Adelante. It serves the Portuguese equivalent of tapas, known as petiscos, where they start you with one dish and keep bringing them until you beg for mercy are finished. The food was fresh and totally delicious, and the perfect way to warm up after a blustery hike around the city in the rain. Another great recommendation from Courtney was Flor dos Congregados, which was so popular the first night we tried that we ended up having to book in for the following night. It was worth the delayed-gratification, as my ginormous, melt-in-my-mouth fresh fish above testifies.
If you’re staying in accommodation where you can self-cater, take a walk to the incredible Mercado do Bolhão and pick up some fresh ingredients for breakfast, lunch or dinner. And wherever you are in the city, if you’re walking around lots you’ll probably need a sugar boost. Portugal is definitely the country for that! There’s the famous pasteis de nata (custard tarts), and lots of other sweet treats sold at bakeries all over the city. Delicious!
3. View the city from up high
Given all the delicious food and drink in Porto, it’s lucky that being a hilly city it’s very easy to walk it off! That also means there are hundreds of spots to view gorgeous panoramas, tucked around corners or situated on landmarks. My post on Porto’s Panoramas has some of the best spots, but you can’t go wrong with heading to the Dom Luis I bridge over the Douro and gazing between the old town and the port cellars on opposite banks.
4. Visit some of the city’s quirky buildings
One of the best parts of wandering round the city was spotting all the unusual and quirky architecture. From nineteenth century to twenty-first and from gothic-inspired to brutalist, there was something for everyone in Porto. And so many back stories too – for example, the beautiful little store in the bottom-right picture above is Livraria Lello. This little store is famed not only as one of the oldest bookstores in Porto but also as being the inspiration for some of JK Rowling’s Harry Potter descriptions. Note: closed on Easter Sunday *face-palm*
5. Head to the coast for a breath of fresh salt air
When our last day was sunny we knew we had to make the most of it, so we headed to Porto’s coast and promenaded for kilometres along the coastal path. It was such a great decision – the pounding waves, the sea breeze, and the snapshots of Portuguese life along the way made for a brilliant outing.
6. Go crazy for beautiful doors and tiles
Crazy for #doorporn? Then Porto is your city!! I love the intricate doorways and beautiful tiles we saw everywhere. Way to make your entrance-way unique!
7. Visit the Douro Valley
One activity we didn’t have time for on this trip was an outing to the Douro Valley, where the port grapes are grown. I’d love to take a boat up the river to see the vineyards for myself – next time for sure!
Have you been to Porto? Any activities to add to the list?
