March 31, 2023

A WEEKEND IN PORTO

with Celina & Clara

We were able to visit beautiful Porto again and wanted to share our must-dos with you. For those who don't know it, Porto is a beautiful coastal city in the northwest of Portugal, divided by the Douro River.

First of all, if you want to visit Porto, wear comfortable shoes and be prepared to test your fitness, because wherever you want to walk, you can expect to find small, steep cobblestone streets. It can be tiring, but you can really discover beautiful corners everywhere, whether it's architecture, cute little shops or, and this is definitely our favorite, great views.

If you like Harry Potter, some corners will definitely remind you of this world and the students with their black cloaks could easily pass as wizard students.

Enough said, now we come to our 5 must-dos in Porto, apart of course from the typical sights such as the São Bento train station with the famous blue tiles, the arched bridge Ponte Dom Luís I, from which you get an incomparable view of the city, the Liraria Lello, again something for Harry Potter fans, but you should definitely plan time for this as the queue is always quite long, the Chapel of Souls and so much more that Porto has to offer in terms of sights.

But now really, here are our 5 must-dos:

1. A ride on tram line 1. You'll probably read this a lot, but for us it was just so charming. It's relatively slow, but you can still see a lot of Porto. Our recommendation is to go a little later, when your legs are a little tired, to the last stop, Passeio Alegre . Then you'll be right on the beach and then we come to number 2.

2. Enjoy the sundowner at the beautiful Praia dos Ingleses, a famous beach in Porto, which you may recognize from our photos. Just sit down and watch the sunset while listening to the waves, pure relaxation!

3. When you get back, treat yourself to a delicious port and tonic in one of the many small bars and restaurants in the small streets, super tasty and refreshing and a great alternative for those who don't like port wine.

4. A visit to Porto would not be a success if you haven't tried a Pastel de Nata at least once. We can definitely recommend the Manteigaria shop for that. You can see how the delicious dessert is prepared. Pro tip: eat it on the spot, then it will still be lukewarm and taste simply magical.

5. If you feel like shopping, the best place to go is Rua de Santa Catarina, which is one of the largest shopping streets in Porto. There you will find luxury brands, but also many small local shops that invite you to browse. This shopping street also leads you directly to the beautiful old town, where you can admire even more impressive architecture.

Not a must-do for us, but if you don't really want to eat seafood, we can definitely recommend the Italian restaurant Farinha. Sit comfortably on the terrace, enjoy a delicious port wine or of course port tonic and enjoy your pizza.

That's it from us for now, if you have any more tips for us, please let us know, because this was definitely not our last trip to Porto - we are madly in love with this beautiful city!

Best regards

Clara and Celina