Best time to go: Probably July and August are the best months to visit the north of Portugal as the area in general is cooler than the rest of the country. Take in to account that the temperature during the nights drops substantially so a jacket will be handy!
General advice: For some reason it was quite challenging to pay with credit card so make sure you take with you some cash.
Recommended hotel is “Descobertas Boutique Hotel Porto”, amazing location and a beautiful and well decorated hotel.
Day 1: Arrival at Porto
Have a walk around the Ribeira if you have time so you can see the lights of the city during the night.
Recommended dinner to taste Portuguese food at “Voltaria”, make sure that you try the cod! The place is quite small with only few tables so you will have to book in advance.
Day 2: Porto
The centre of Porto is small and therefore very easy to get around, however take into account that the city is very steep. The best thing to do in Porto is to get lost on the beautiful streets filled with blue tiled buildings, however there are also few things to see.
Livraria Lello: First thing in the morning is the best time to visit the famous book shop. The queues to get into it are absolutely insane so make sure you get there early. You will have to get a ticket to get in but the price of the ticket will be deduced if you buy a book.
Church do Carmo: A beautiful church built in the 18th century with a magnificent panel of blue and white tiles, representing the Brown Scapular imposition on Mount Carmel. It is in my opinion one of the most beautiful buildings in Porto.
Clerigos Tower: This eighteenth century complex was commissioned by the Brotherhood of the Clérigos in the old town, on the “hill of the hanged men”, where the executed prisoners were buried. You can walk to the Clerigos Tower which is just 3 minutes from the bookshop.
Rua das flores: Have a walk around this pedestrian street that is surrounded by very nice buildings. At the end of the street there is a square with few nice terraces and a very nice atmosphere to have a quick drink or to come back in the evening after dinner.
São Bento Station: the station holds 20,000 magnificent azulejo tin-glazed ceramic tiles depicting Portugal’s past, its royalty, its wars, and its transportation history.
Porto Cathedral: On the top of a quite steep hill you can find Porto Cathedral. On the way up to the cathedral there are few points where you can see a nice view over the city. The Cathedral is in Batalha, very close to the walls that once protected the city. The building looks a bit like a fortress with crenels from the outside. I found other churches around the city more impressive than the cathedral to be honest...
Bolsa Palace: The next stop is at the Bolsa Palace, an impressive building particularly in the inside neoclassical style that is currently the headquarters of Porto’s Commercial Association.
Ribeira: After visiting the Bolsa Palace you are almost at the Ribeira that is an absolutely great place to have a walk and a drink.
Luis I bridge: Cross the most famous Porto bridge to get to the Porto Cellars side of the city. The view of the city from this side as absolutely stunning! The double-decker Dom Luis I bridge is an icon of the city of Porto. It spans the River Douro linking the Port wine houses of Vila Nova de Gaia with the bustling downtown Ribeira district of Porto. Construction took place between 1881 and 1886 with the bridge being built adjacent to an existing bridge which it replaced.
I would recommend to stop here for lunch at the market (Mercado Beira-Rio) where you will have the opportunity of trying some Porto wine as well as delicious Portuguese dishes.
After lunch there are 2 main activities that you can try:
Porto wine cellars tours: this is a bit different than a normal wine tour given that the vineyards are not actually there in the city. It is more similar to a museum guide tour where they explain you how Porto is done.
Taking the funicular to one of the highest points to see the spectacular views of the city.
It sounds crazy to recommend this restaurant given how good the Portuguese food is but... “Belos Aires” is a fantastic Argentinian restaurant to have an amazing steak for a great price! Try as well their empanadas with the best chimichuri sauce ever!
Dia 3: Aveiro
A great day trip to do is visiting Aveiro that is like a mini Venice in the north of Portugal. It’s very close to Porto (just one hour by car) so it is perfect and easy.
In Aveiro the most typical thing to do is to walk around the canals or to take a tour boat. It is very nice to walk around the colourful houses and neighbourhoods surrounding the canal. One great place to try good local wines and beer with a very nice terrace is “Trás os Montes”.
If you want to have lunch or dinner the 2 favourite options are “O Bairro”, Portuguese food with a modern twist and “Tasquinha da Ria”, that serves very very generous dishes that are really tasty. Make sure that you book as both places get very full.
If you are lucky and the weather allows you, you can go to the beaches of Costa Nova or Barra Beach. To get there you would need a car but these are just 15 min drive from Aveiro. There are super long beaches with amazing white sand!
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