I had the luxury of visiting some beautiful cities when I decided to move abroad, but wow, Porto blew me away and exceeded expectations. Porto is a coastal city located in the northwest part of Portugal, and home to many of the cellars responsible for producing and exporting port wine. Here are some of the general tips and things we did over the weekend.

General Tips

• Recommended Days: Porto is a small city, but I think you need at least 2 days to see everything and truly enjoy the city
• Tipping: Like in Spain, you either don’t tip (especially at bars and in cabs unless you are feeling super generous) or provide 0.5-2€.
• “Free olives and bread”: At most restaurants, the waiters will bring some bread and olives (some nicer places will bring olives flavored with other things, other cold dishes, or chorizo). These aren’t free so if you don’t want them, either put them to the side or let the waiter know you don’t want them.
• Traveling from Porto (OPO): The ride from the airport into the city center takes ~30 min and goes through the other towns / countryside. Head downstairs after baggage claim (signs were a bit confusing). Get a metro card. Porto metro is similar to NYC metro – pay for the card, insert credit, and travel is based off of nominal value based on the zone you are going to (slight difference) so many people could share a card. Validate your metro card before boarding (like in Italy, place your metro card next to the black circle on the yellow machines).
• Things to try: Portuguese egg tarts, chocolate, and wine (not just Port)
• Language: Most people speak English very well – in general, much better than in Spain (even the Spaniard SGDF agrees)
• Safety: In general I felt safe walking around, but just be careful of people who will come up to you to see if you want to buy drugs (I was very confused the first few times).

Day 1

City Center: Unfortunately, it was raining when we arrived, but SGDF and I made the most of it by exploring the side streets and attractions. You can still find traces of the British influence in Portugal, for instance, the signature red telephone booths.

Luckily the sun came out. It is crazy how clear blue skies and the sun can make a place look completely different. SGDF and I went to Capeal Almas (truly showcases Porto’s ceramic buildings) and then a little further down to Igreja da St Ildefonso (below image). I highly recommend just walking around and wandering the side streets to get to the big attractions.

We walked down Rua Santa Catarina and then Rua de Cimo Vila to get to the Se Catedral (great views of the city and gothic architecture style, image below). We realized how late it was getting and struggled to find a good lunch spot. Oh I was HANGRY, but finally stumbled upon this great local “bbq” restaurant called A Brasa (get the octopus and any of their grilled meats).

Post lunch, we walked down the Av. D. Afonso Henriques to the top level of the Ponte de D. Luis I bridge (view from afar of the bridge below) to get to Vila Nova de Gaia, the city across Porto and home to many port wineries. Tip: If you are scared of heights / don’t want to hike up many hills or a massive amount of stairs, then you can also walk across the lower level.

The Mosteiro da Serra do Pilar is located directly across the top level of the bridge in Vila Nova de Gaia and sits on top of a hill overlooking both cities. The military has owned this church / monastery since (blanking on the date)…for a very long time and is currently operating as 1) church and 2) military base.Tip: Take the ~$5 tour so you can learn about this place and see the cloisters and dome, which has the best views of Porto in my opinion since you are on one of the highest points (image above). It was interesting seeing the mix of religion and the military, for instance, there are restricted areas to the military base and you have to be escorted by a solider to enter the dome since you can see the base from there.

Post our history stop, we walked along the Rio Douro via Av. Diogo Leite and went to Calem – the oldest Port winery in the city. We took the $15 tour, which includes a lesson about the different types of Port, production, and the history of Calem, and two tastings at the end. Yums.

There are many wineries on this side of town so I recommend just exploring and tasting…drinking a lot. We did our second tour at Kopke where you can pick different types of port to taste, and paired with chocolate. Tip: Pick up a bottle of port, some bread, cheese, and chocolate, and then sit by the river and enjoy the amazing views of Porto (image below).

Day 2

SGDF and I passed by one of the many bakeries in Porto and got some pastries for breakfast. Tip: Try the Portuguese egg tarts or Pastéis de Nata!

We then walked off all those tarts and headed to Camara Municipal do Porto to admire the architecture and buildings on the Av. dos Aliados (image below).

We then went to Torre dos Clerigos and climbed the stairs to the top. One thing I should have mentioned earlier about Porto, and also Sintra and Lisbon, there are a lot of hills / stairs… I mean a lot. Tip: Bring and wear comfortable shoes. I remember seeing many tourists wearing trainers / running shoes and thinking, “Oh, I won’t be like that. Must not look like a typical tourist.” By the end of the trip, I was about to go into the nearest shoe store to buy anything with laces. At least you burn a ton of calories and see some amazing views, for instance, below is a snapshot from the top of the Tower.

Around the Tower is the park, Praca da Cordoaria with a cool structure and shops in the middle. Also nearby is the famous Livraria Lello, the bookstore that inspired JK Rowling and the Harry Potter books. It looks exactly like the wand store where Harry got his first wand. Tip: Spend some time just reading and soaking up the atmosphere, but remember you cannot take photos.

There is also the very impressive Igreja das Carmelitas church (image below). The surrounding area transforms at night once the bars open and the streets are filled with people drinking.

For lunch, I recommend Taberna Barquiero, on the way to the Museu dos Transportes e Comunicacao. When we went, they offered 2-3 main dishes that were very traditional, cheap, and delicious. We wandered around the town more to digest and got some hot chocolate at Landeau Chocolate.

I’ll fast forward to dinner, which in Portugal people tend to eat either around 8 to 9PM or 10 to 11PM on the weekends. By far one of my favorite restaurants was Tasco, which SGDF’s Portuguese coworker recommended. I can see why because the food was amazing and had a modern twist to traditional Portuguese food (some snaps below), the service was incredible, and all for a reasonable price. Tip: If you are kind of hungry, 3 tapas are enough for two people. We couldn’t finish the food below. Also, get the warm chocolate cake dessert. I would eat that cake as an appetizer, dinner, and dessert.

Like other towns, the nightlife here is most lively Thursdays to Saturdays and particularly on two parallel streets called Galeria Paris and Candido Reis, which are very close to Torre dos Clerigos. These two streets have bars literally 3 feet next to and across the street from one another. However, the bars are pretty small inside so people flood the streets since drinking outside is legal in Portugal so grab a bottle and hit the town (see image below). Also, Porto is home to the largest university in Portugal so there is a big student culture / students in general.

If I had to sum up my Porto trip to a list, then – friendly people, amazing food, inexpensive, impressive views, many beautiful churches, Port wine (of course), and so many side streets that I would love to get lost in.