Porto - where tiles tell stories

Arrival

Porto has its own airport and we could easily fly directly from Switzerland. I think the best way is to order a taxi at the airport. There is a short queue right at the exit. We only had to wait about 5 minutes because there were so many taxis. A ride to the city center costs about 20-25 euros.

Mercado do Bolhão

If you are in Porto, you must experience the Mercado do Bolhão. It is the most famous market in the city and has been around since 1850. The market has been renovated and reopened. The renovation was a big project, which was certainly not cheap. It is quite simple in design, which makes it very airy. Here you will find numerous stalls with vegetables, fruit, flowers, fish and meat. The market is largely covered, so you can relax even in bad weather. 

I think it's definitely worth a visit, if only because everything is so beautifully arranged.

Capela das Almas

No matter where you are in Porto, you will always see wonderful buildings with fascinating tiles on the walls. Of course, the churches and chapels are very beautiful. One of them is the Capela das Almas. The chapel has a beautiful blue and white facade depicting scenes from the lives of the saints.

Interesting fact, it seems that at each church in Porto a tile was deliberately set wrong to point out the fallibility of human beings. I found this thought very impressive.

Igreja dos Clérigos

This church is located right in the old town of Porto and you can see the 75-metre-high tower from afar. The view from the top is beautiful and you can see the whole city. It was built in the 18th century and is one of the city's landmarks.

But what I recommend even more than climbing the tower is to visit the church in the evening. The Spiritus light show takes place in the evening. This is a multimedia experience. The beautiful lights and the great music accompanying it gave me goosebumps. For me, this is one of the most beautiful experiences in Porto. I easily ordered the tickets in advance via GetYourGuide.

Eléctrico

Many say that tourist activities in Porto include a ride on the historic tram (Eléctrico). In Porto, these beautiful trams still rattle through the city, even climbing some hills. Unfortunately, in our case there were quite a few construction sites and the tram could not run as usual. Nevertheless, we were lucky enough to be able to see it once. Of course, we immediately took out our mobile phones to take a photo.

Livraria Lello

Every guidebook says you should visit the Livraria Lello bookshop. Yes and No. The shop is beautiful and supposedly inspired J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, but unfortunately there are more people than books in this little shop. You must book your tickets in advance and still you have to wait in a huge queue. So, my feelings about this tip are mixed. If you have patience, check out the bookshop, it's beautiful. If you don't like crowds like me, I don't recommend it.

Ponte Dom Luís

One of the top sights in Porto is definitely the bridge Ponte Dom Luís I. This beautiful arched bridge is located in the heart of the city and connects the old town district Ribeira with the port wine cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia. The bridge is the city's landmark and can be found on all postcards. From here you have a fantastic view over the old town and the Duoro with its many boats.

Cais da Ribeira

The Cais da Ribeira is a promenade with countless restaurants and cafés is the ideal place to drink a glass of port, eating delicious Bacalhau and enjoy the sunset. The Ribeira district has even been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  In the past, this part of the old town was more the home of the poor fishermen, which you can also see in the partly old and dilapidated houses. But that's exactly what this quarter is all about.

Vila Nova de Gaia

Officially, this part no longer belongs to Porto, but it offers a brilliant view of Porto. The town lies on the other side of the Douro River. Vila Nova de Gaia is known for its port wine cellars. Small wooden boats that used to transport barrels full of wine rock on the water. We did a river cruise from this site of the river. This gives you another perspective on the city of Porto.

Sardines

Sardines have an enormous importance for Portuguese cuisine and culture. Portugal is one of the countries with the highest sardine consumption rate in the world. Sardines also have a symbolic meaning in Portuguese culture. They are often used as a symbol of the southern part of Portugal and its rich fishing tradition. Sardines are also considered a symbol of summer and the joy of life. Every year in the month of June, popular festivals are celebrated in Portugal (festival de sardinha). The streets are full of stalls with grilled sardines and traditional music. There are always shops all over the city where these sardines are displayed in a really great way. I don't want to keep these pictures from you.

Miscellaneous

What I really liked about the city of Porto is that you don't have to explicitly walk to one of the recommended sights to discover something beautiful. No, you can comfortably walk through the city and find something beautiful in every corner. Therefore, I would like to show you a few more pictures of Porto here.

Hotel & Restaurant

We spent 3 nights at the Hotel Dom Henrique. It is a four-star hotel and the rooms were therefore quite spacious and the bathroom was also very nice. Unfortunately, we didn't have a balcony, which would have been cozy. Of course, the hotel also has rooms with balconies, but we thought when booking that this was not necessary. The breakfast was not really my cup of tea, but to be honest we didn't need it because we had chosen other places in advance. However, I would especially like to praise the flexibility of the hotel. Actually, the trip was planned for May, but due to my Covid illness I had to cancel the trip only a few days before departure. We were able to make the rebooking free of charge, which in my opinion is no longer a matter of course today. Therefore, a big thank you to the hotel.

Ok, now it's getting a bit funny. Before all my trips, I always research the main dishes of the country or what dish is popular in that city. When I first read about Francesinha and saw what this sandwich was made of, I thought there was no way you could eat it. But the first dish we ate there was exactly this sandwich. Hand on heart - it is a calorie bomb and for me as a flexi-vegetarian actually a no-go. BUT... it was delicious. It was so tasty that I took a picture of this recipe so I could make it at home. So, Francesinha is definitely one of my travel tips. We ate it at the Santa Francesinha restaurant, but you can find this dish in any corner of Porto.

For breakfast, I can highly recommend two places. One is Negra Café Baixa, which offers great bowls with fresh fruit. If you are a bit tired, there is also the power drink with acai, which is very tasty. Of course, you can also eat toast, pancakes or anything else there. I really liked the place, it was quiet, nicely decorated with colourful chairs and the staff was very friendly.

A little less quiet and very hyped (rightly so) is Zenith. Zenith is extremely popular. Most of the time you can't sit down directly. When we arrived, the queue was quite long, but nevertheless the waiting time passed quite quickly. Of course, one would like to skip this restaurant because of the number of people, but it is still extremely tasty. Therefore, this also belongs on my travel tip.