We’ve lived in Porto for a month, basically getting ready for our friends and families to visit, so we thought a lot about recommendations. Here they are.
Like Lisbon, Uber and Bolt are relatively cheap here. It’s around 10€ from the airport to the city. The city center is tough to navigate with Uber though as there are many one way streets, the optimal routes often end up being in a ring around the city.
Stay north of the river. Gaia, the suburb south of the river, is more of a local area, with shockingly few restaurants, although El Cortes Inglés is a nice department store. The main city and tourist areas are north of the river. Too far north, like Boavista, is also a dead zone (not dangerous, just boring).
Don’t stay at the riverside. Similar to Lisbon, there is a huge hill between the river and the main part of the city. There is a funicular to get up, but it always has a line. The river has the most tourist trap restaurants too.
I do think the river is worth visiting though. The best place to cross is either the top or bottom of Luís I Bridge, but the best views of the bridge itself (and running spot) is at the bottom to the west. The views of Porto facing north are great. 7g Roaster is on the south side and is my favorite coffee shop. All the port cellars are too, you often need reservations for these.
Sunset at Luís I Bridge is also great. The bridge is only trams and pedestrians. There is a park, Jardim do Morro, on the south side to hang out, but it gets busy.
Other nice places to visit: Jardins do Palácio de Cristal, Igreja do Carmo, Torre dos Clérigos, Miradouro da Vitória, São Bento station (look up), Porto Cathedral, and Chapel of Souls. Look for the blue tiles called azulejos. We didn’t go to any of the museums, oops.
There are plenty of day trips doable from Porto. There is a cheaper urban train leaving from São Bento to Guimaraes (good castle), Braga, and Aveiro. The Douro Valley is also an hour away.
McDonald’s Imperial is the fanciest McDonald’s in the world, it is UNESCO protected. They hire a lady with a falcon to stand outside and scare away pigeons.
One of our favorite spots was Mercado do Bolhão, a beautiful and functional market. They have all sorts of produce, baked goods, drinks, seafood, and much more.
The Manteigaria beside it is probably the best pastel de nata you can get around. They make them fresh there, which makes them extra good. Have it with cinnamon.
Porto’s most famous dish is the francesinha. A huge “sandwich” filled with ham, steak, sausage, and other meats topped with cheese and an egg and covered in a tomato-and-beer sauce. It’s one of those meals you need to try once, but I haven’t had it since. It perfectly acceptable to split one. Get it from a place that specializes in it like Café Santiago.
Although I’m not a huge fan of most of Portuguese cuisine, there are two restaurants I recommend.
One more highly recommended one is Casa Guedes, which is Spanish and serves traditional sandwiches. You order at the counter and then sit down which is fun too.
Portugal has the highest number of daily drinkers of anywhere in Europe and beer is their go-to drink. Super Bock is the preferred choice in the north of Portugal (and I recommend it too).
Coffee shop recommendations: C’alma Coffee Room, Simpli Coffee, Baco Coffee Lab, and GLAD for one of Luisa’s favorite hot/cold chocolates ever.
More recommendations: DONKO for gelato. OPO for burgers and loaded fries. Holy Sandwich Shop for burgers too.