Porto

[AvonCallingBarksdale]

Hi. We are going to Porto in April for three days - any recs for accommodation, must-do/must-see and bars/restaurants please?
Thanks!

It's been a while since we went (pre-kids) but I recall an amazing trip where you get the train up the river then a boat back down - including local wines/port on the boat.

Muu is a great steakhouse.

We stayed here

https://www.booking.com/hotel/pt/trindade-apartment.en-gb.html

Brilliant apartment and right next to good restaurants and cafes for that all important pastel de nata.

We are also going in April for the days so hoping to get lots of suggestions from here !

Thank you!

I can’t help with any specific restaurants or bars as we just wandered into any we found but I LOVED Porto! The river boat cruise definitely worth doing as is the port tasting but really it’s just a lovely place to stroll around. Enjoy!

Do Norte Cafe for breakfast/brunch. You can't book so may need to wait.

Make sure you prebook your restaurants before you go.

Any particular ones ?

We loved Porto! However went with 4 kids so I can mostly recommend the best macdonalds rather than bars 😆
we loved the boat tour and cable car, super high bridge, zipping about on electric scooters and the tram to the beach (in the pouring rain!) such a lovely city

I LOVED Porto, myself and my partner went in May 22!

Cantina 32 was amazing.. everything we ordered was delicious!! I do think you need to book in advance. We managed to get a random table quite early in the day but for the rest of a trip we were unable to get back in as it was fully booked at all times. Not sure if that’s still the case.
Have fun. I’m so jealous - would go back in a flash.

Porto is fab, we stayed in Espinho on the coast so didn't eat in the city in the evenings, can't help with restaurants. Espinho is probably very quiet in April, I would skip it at that time of year. You have to walk over the main bridge and also visit the port lodges, we went to Taylors but there are many options, we did the cable car in Gaia, it is a pretty short trip, husband felt over rated. Bolsa palace was lovely. I feel like the eye witness guide book had a walking tour itinerary for viewing the best of the blue tiles, but failing that devise your own route and eat lots of pasteis de nata. UNESCO listed Bom Jesus do Monte in nearby(ish) Braga is fabulous, but I think you'd be pushing it to get there with 3 days. I'd go back in a flash!

Any idea how to book that restaurant?

I’m not sure to be honest. Perhaps try to call or try to make your way there early on your first day to try to get a reservation. There was also another really nice Italian cafe/coffee shop called La Salumeria Porto. On the same main drag. I remember that being nice too but that could have been because the owner was so friendly and we were chatting to him - he told us his life story as he had relocated and set up his business, I think with his partner. And finally when we were at the airport we got chatting to a guy who was a Porto local and he recommended Tito 2 - a seafood restaurant/cafe. Don’t think it looks very flashy but apparently it’s worth the trip. You have to get a bus there or drive if you are staying in porto centre (I have a picture of the directions on my phone as he wrote it down for us) but apparently it’s really good. We never managed to get there but the reviews online seemed to match up his recommendation. Anyway have a great time! Don’t slate me if you try all /any and you think they are crap! Ha! We had a very boozy trip so we could well have just been really really merry and happy anywhere we ended up! Xx

Editory have a number of hotels in Porto - we stayed at the Editory Garden Baixa. Not cheap but fabulous

The cathedral and Bishops' Palace, Casa do Infante if you like history.

Get to grips with the public transport system, saves the legs a bit, buses can be crowded but we found people in Porto really nice. We made do with English, the odd word of Portuguese - and our school Spanish came in handy for reading things.

Also just wandering and sitting people-watching

I'd go back in a heartbeat.

Is the Porto card worth it?

We didn't think so. We wouldn't have gained enough discounts on payable attractions and public transport to warrant the cost.

We did get Andante card paper tickets which are rechargable, to use on public transport. We'd get 10 journeys for Zone 2 at a time, which we could use any day, not just within 24 hours. We got singles from the airport (which is in Zone 4) to the city centre on arrival and knew we'd be getting a taxi on the way home as check in was at stupid o'clock in the morning.

There's also the Andante 24 and Tour cards. More details here https://www.introducingporto.com/andante-card

For comparison, the 3 day Andante Tour card costs 15 euros and the 3 day Porto Card costs 25 euros, I think.

Edited: missing word

We’re just back from Porto and loved it! We stayed in Cedofeita and had some lovely breakfasts and brunches at Early and Zenith and really enjoyed Aldo for dinner. We did a Port tour which was great, boat trip, cable car, Livrario Lello (jury’s out as it’s so busy), Clerigos Tower, Igreja do Carmo and a lot of mooching. Half rabbit street art is worth a look in Vila nova Gaia. Legs could do with a rest from all the hills now! Such a great city!