Porto or Istanbul?

[AshGreen]

My partner and I are looking for a week holiday in late September. We can't decide between Porto and Istanbul, if you have been to both of them which would you recommend and why? Thank you.

Would you mind sharing why?

I've been to Istanbul a number of times, back in the day with my now ex-husband, and just pre-covid with three female friends - we're all 60 plus.

Haggling is only if you're buying carpets, goods, etc., you don't have to haggle in restaurants or tourist attractions, so don't worry!

The hotel concierge arranged a private tour guide for us - a lovely young woman who took us on a morning walking tour, think the cost was about 100 Euros which is fine between four. Our airport taxis both ways were arranged by the hotel, so no problem there.

Can't remember the name of the hotel but it was an Ottoman style house, a few minutes walk from the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia. I would recommend you choose a hotel in that area. A visit to Topkapi Palace, boat trip out to the many islands for wonderful fish restaurants, so much to do.

Beware of men who invite you to their art gallery, usually after claiming they were once language students in your home town - it's really a ruse to get you to a carpet shop.

If four old gals can have a fun safe trip so can you!

Thank you @Westfacing that helps 🙂

istanbul. Adored it. Wasn’t crazy about Porto.

Istanbul is a city that makes you feel glad to be alive, cross the Bosphorous and enjoy Turkish coffee at the cusp of Europe and Asia, stay near the Blue mosque (so beautiful at dusk), walk as much as possible, shop in the grand souks, take in all the sights, smells and sounds of one of the world’s best cities, we loved it!

Been to both and they are both lovely however I’d go to Istanbul. A cliché but it really is east meets west. And there is far more to do and see. I loved it.

that said you could base yourself in Porto and do trips to other places, Braga, beaches etc.

In what way?

:D

Budapest has the hot baths

@orangelotus
@PizzaPastaWine

Here's a copy/paste of a message I sent to a friend who went to Porto not long after us!

We had a delicious meal here
https://www.instagram.com/murodobacalhau/ - really tasty sharing plates, meat, fish and veggie. And a great location on the river.

This place was fab too - we were lucky to get a table, but it was so good!

We had the best octopus ever here
www.meianaurestaurante.com/ Our guesthouse recommended it. Quite off the beaten track, and not in the prettiest area, but well worth a trip.

These were ones which were recommended to us, but we couldn't get into

Cantina 32 https://www.cantina32.com/en/
Modern take on Portuguese cuisine, trendy setting

A Grade https://a-grade-restaurant.negocio.site/
Down a little alley and not fancy at all but tasty and nice staff

Taberna Mercadores. Definitely need to reserve. That last one looked great - really tiny and cosy.

We spent a very nice afternoon at Restaurante Praia da Luz in Foz. Great tapas, lovely sangria. If you want cakes/coffee in that area, then Tavi is well worth a visit.

Thank you so much @ReviewingTheSituation

These look fantastic!

Do anything else but food?

We only did food at mealtimes! We went to the Taylor's port house, had a good wander on that side of the river, walked all around the harbour area, did a walking tour (from Lonely Planet), went in some of the lovely churches, climbed the tall tower (I forget the name, but it's famous), took the tram out to the sea and walked a long way up the coast, enjoyed the architecture of all the bridges, looked at the Harry Potter bookshop (but didn't bother going in, the queue was too long!), went to the cathedral, hunted out all sorts of interesting viewpoints to look at the city from different angles....
(Plus spent what felt like ages trying to find a very specific fast charging phone cable as someone (not me) left theirs at home and none of the cables I'd brought were compatible with his phone and an EU plug - but I wouldn't advise that as a fun way to pass the time!)

We would have taken a boat trip too, but we were spending a few days up-river, so we did our water-based sightseeing there instead.

Porto

I have done Istanbul twice

First time, amazing and easily one of my two favourite destinations.

Second time, the magic was gone, very conservative, eye wateringly expensive and just didn't feel the same. Or look the same (the Hague Sophia for one)