I don’t know if it’s just me but when I asked people about their European vacations, I hear Paris, Madrid, every city in Italy, and others but I never hear about Porto. Because of this when someone from my job mentioned it, I was intrigued. She said it was an amazing trip so I quickly went home and did some research. You know….the normal google searches: things to do in Porto, Porto reviews, trip advisor: Porto, to see what the city had to offer. Porto is the second largest city in Portugal but is overlooked by many or passed through while they are exploring the capital, Lisbon. The images I saw were stunning and it seemed like there was enough to do to cover 3 days. So when I decided this would be the 2nd stop on my birthday trip (read about that here), I got some questions from my friends and some blank stares like why not Lisbon?? Well, that all changed when I got back and shared my travels! My goal is to share the beauty of Porto with you and encourage you to include it on your travel lists! Here are the 5 reasons Porto is underrated:
Super Affordable
Unlike the capital city of Portugal, Lisbon, Porto is one of those cities where your dollar goes a long way. I don’t know about you but that always puts a smile on my face. Porto is one of those cities where you can get a 5 course dinner for the cost of one entree and desert at a nice restaurant in the United States. Even beginning with the planning, the flights to Porto were pretty cheap. We were flying from London but we were able to grab a flight on Ryanair (the Spirit Airlines of Europe) for less than $100. Don’t worry…the flight was quick and didn’t pose any problems. Our Airbnb was pretty inexpensive as well. There were 6 of us in a 3 bedroom house in the center of Porto. We each paid about $100 for 3 days in the Airbnb. Overall the food and shopping were inexpensive. Now there’s always a caveat, like any other city, if you choose to go to the super touristy places you will encounter pricey food and drinks. When I travel, I try to spend more time in the areas of town that aren’t necessarily super crowded and touristy. Go where the locals go…that’s where you can always get the best food and the food that’s specific to that city or region for a cheaper price.
Beautiful Landscape
Porto is Instagram approved! There was a cute vintage charm about the city that I loved! It was as if you were stepping into a postcard or an image you may have seen online. Everything was picturesque from the tiled buildings, to the iron bridges, the markets…I could go on and on and I will so keep reading :).
There are some definite stops that you need to see while visiting Porto. One of them being the Dom Luis I Bridge. It connects the two sides of the city and has the Duoro Rivers beautiful sky blue waters running beneath it. The bridge is the gateway to Duoro Valley. The home of Port wine. The rolling hills and vineyards are a site to see! I’ll tell you a bit more about the wine later in this post. Definitely not something you want to skip!
There are so many beautiful historical buildings in Porto. We stopped by some Cathedrals and libraries and if you’re a Harry Potter fan like me I had to make a stop by the cafe that J.K Rowling is rumored to have gotten her inspiration from, Majestic Cafe. It was a beautiful cafe, one of the pricier tourist spots but even if you just get a drink it’s worth visiting.
Did you know Porto had beaches? Not only do they have beaches, but they’re beautiful and only 10-15 minutes outside of the city! You get the best of both worlds. The hills/vineyards and the beach.
Port Wine
The Port wine I tasted in Porto deserves a post of it’s own! If you don’t do anything else in Porto, please go to Duoro Valley! That is a must do in Porto. I will admit, I wasn’t a dessert wine drinker prior to coming to Porto but I was willing to try it. The absolute highlight of our time in Porto was the wine tour in Duoro Valley ($100/person). They have plenty that you could find on Trip Advisor or Airbnb experiences. The tour arranged for a bus to pick us up right in front of our Airbnb early in the morning and drove us to the Duoro Valley which is the wine region of Porto. There are so many wine terraces and vineyards that you’ll pass along the way. On this tour we stopped at about 3 different places for wine tastings. At the first stop we learned a lot about how Port is made. Before coming to Portugal I really only thought about Port as an incredibly sweet wine made for pairing with desserts. Boy was I wrong…Port can be really strong depending on how long it ages. We tried some that were just as strong as a liquor but much smoother. Our next stop on the tour was lunch at a wine cellar and they paired all of our meals with Port wine. There was also a river cruise that was included on the tour where of course we got to drink even more Port. It was a fantastic experience and gave me a new appreciation for Port.
Amazing Food
If you have read any of our other posts, you should know by now we love food! Some of the first discoveries we make in a city are the food. The first day we did some exploring while we were trying to find food. We didn’t have a specific place in mind, just an area of town and a direction to go in. The goal was to stumble upon a hidden gem. Here’s a tip….always leave time for exploring. You can find the best things that the town or city has to offer. You may not find it on Google or on TripAdvisor. These are the small but good places that the locals go.
The waiters and waitresses barely spoke English but were so friendly and accomodating. Am I the only traveler from the US that always feels terrible about how accommodating people in other countries are to Americans and other foreigners? Like other cities abroad they had menus in multiple languages with great descriptions of the food and pictures. I know I can’t speak for all Americans but we need to step up our language game! But back to the food, there is a popular local dish called Francesinha. It’s a really heavy dish but soooo good. It reminds me of a lasagna your mom would cook but on steroids. Its stacked with cheeses, ham, sausage, and other cold meats smothered in a tomato sauce. You can pretty much find it at every restaurant you go to. So delicious!
As far as eating in Porto goes, I don’t really think you can go wrong. I ate lots of seafood while I was there because it was so fresh! And as mentioned above, Porto is super affordable so even if you decided to get fancy and go to one of the more luxurious restaurants when you get the bill it doesn’t feel like splurging. I had different types of fish, a lot of seabass, mussels, scallops, etc. Wonderful flavor! Porto is also known for their olive oil so remember not to skip the bread. We chose to go to a lot of the restaurants that were lined along the Duoro River. It was the perfect spot to stop and eat and these views were jaw dropping. One of the restaurants I went to for my birthday there was called Cafeina. I highly recommend it! The service and food were equally amazing!
Small Town Feel
Porto felt like a small town where everyone knows everyone. While it’s the second largest city in Portugal, it’s not as busy and crowded as other major cities in Europe. As I’m writing this, I may be ruining this by encouraging the travel. Haha. As it stands, Porto is not saturated with tourists, so you can still feel the culture of the city and the people. I loved that I didn’t have to seek that out like I normally do. The whole city still feels charming. They had nice markets filled with colorful handmade items. There were lots of different things offered from purses and handbags to artwork and woven pieces. It was a great area to pick up souvenirs. The city is walkable but for places like going to Duoro Valley and the beaches you’ll have to call an Uber or get a taxi. Yes! I forgot to mention, Porto has Uber which makes it a bit easier to get around.
Overall we had a great trip to this quaint city. Next time you think about European destinations, don’t leave Porto off of your list!
Have you been to Porto?? If so, drop your favorite things about the city below!
Connect with us @WorldCitizensTravel !!
Comments are closed.