Things to Do in Porto

I went to Porto after my trip to Madrid for a business trip. After thinking for a long time about whether to go by bus or plane, I decided to go on the bus and reached Porto from Madrid after an 8-hour journey with Flixbus. I don’t even remember the last time I traveled this long by bus. Of course, the fact that they offer the opportunity to buy the seat next to you at an advantageous rate is a really good option that makes your journey more comfortable. I never got off during the breaks, and since both Spain and Portugal are within the Schengen borders, there was no cross-border control.

We arrived at Porto Campanha terminal at 5:45, it was still dark outside. I decided to sit for a while at the cafe of the terminal. Of course, since it was Sunday, I didn’t expect to encounter too many people no matter how long I waited. Keep in mind that if you shop below a certain price in the cafe (I think it was 5 Euros), you have to pay in advance.

I somehow figured out how to get from the terminal to the metro by trying to communicate with a senior citizen who didn’t speak English. You go to the upper floor of the terminal, there is a connection from the inside, but unfortunately the arrows are inadequate. There is a machine at the stops to buy tickets, but it is not in English, luckily I managed to understand it more or less with my knowledge of Spanish. Even if you don’t know Spanish, you don’t need to be afraid. My friend, who was going to join my trip in the evening encountered the same problem when buying a ticket from the airport but managed to buy the right ticket by trial and error 🙂 Without losing any money, by the way. My friend also flew from Barcelona to Porto with Vueling. Flight ticket prices are also affordable for some hours; i.e. early morning and evening hours. In fact, I can say that even though the price was still cheaper than the plane when I bought two seats on the bus, it was a very small difference of around 5-8 Euros.

Even though many subways seem to pass from Trindade, the stop I wanted to go to, I wasn’t sure which subway to take or which platform it departed from. Since there were not many people on the platform I was on, I went to the platform where I saw more people, achieved to communicate with a senior who did not speak English, and got on the subway. I think no matter which one I take, it was going to pass through this stop, but I played it safe.

When I got off the metro, heavy rain was waiting for me in Porto. I was 6 minutes away from my hotel on foot but I coudn’t step out of the terminal due the rain. After waiting for a while, when the rain seems to decrease, I take my step, but this time, a challenge like walking with my suitcase through the roads that have turned into a lake with its wonderful (!) infrastructure awaits me. So the beginning of my story with Porto seemed to be turning into a hate story rather than a love story. “Do great loves begin with hatred?” What do you think?:)

Accommodation in Porto

When I arrived at the hotel, Vera Cruz Porto Downtown Hotel, it was around 7 in the morning and of course my room wasn’t ready. I left my belongings in the lobby, took a map, rested in the lobby for a while, and then hit the rainy streets again. After all, are we here to sit down and enjoy the lobby or what? 🙂 It’s my first time in Portugal, this city will be explored even if it’s raining mud.

While I’m in the accommodation section, let me tell you a little about the hotel before I start telling the spots I’ve visited at Porto. First of all, its biggest advantage is its centrality. The rooms are a little too small, especially for two people to unpack separate suitcases. An interesting thing is that while the room is small, the bathroom is huge. I wish they would have taken it from the bathroom and added it to the room a bit. The rooms are locked like a normal apartment, and you give your key to the lobby every time you exit. There is also a bar on the top floor, which we intended to go to but never had the opportunity. Since we only stayed for 2 nights, we didn’t complain much. When we left on the last day, they said they had available rooms if we want to extend our stay. When I replied that we are going to Lisbon, they said”why are you going to Lisbon? It’s much better here” :)) I will leave my opinion whether I loved Lisbon or Porto to the end of the article.

Places to Visit in Porto

Start the Day at Guilherme Gomes Fernandes Square

When I leave the hotel, I want to eat breakfast rather than see the city itself. I first go to to Guilherme Gomes Fernandes Square. The square is small, but the narrow, low-rise rows of shops, combined with a little greenery, create a sweet square. It seems like I have started liking the city.

Buy Yourself  a Book from the Famous Livraria Lello

Let’s continue with the most interesting place in Porto, the famous historical bookstore. Since I didn’t know its exact location when I first passed by it, I wondered what this crowd was waiting for in front of this tiny building. I saw its name while curiously looking around. For some reason, I had a perception in my mind that I will see a bigger place. When I see the long queues, I advised my friend to plan an earlier visit. The row in the photo is just one side of the coin, don’t be fooled 🙂

You need to buy your ticket online and make a reservation for a specific time. There is wifi in front of the bookstore, you can buy the ticket there too. Even though we couldn’t go very early, when we went before noon on Tuesday, we saw that the queue was reasonable and bought the ticket there. Since they only allowed a certain number of people in, there was no feeling of being crowded inside. In fact, when we first entered, we found the staircase empty and were able to capture a few shots.

Entrance is very expensive for such a bookstore, but they reduce the ticket price when you buy a book. I think they tried to prevent people from crowding without buying anything, because entrance was free in the past. Of course, it is impressive that it has been open since 1906. The architecture of the interior is nice, the staircase that stands out in all the photos is of course the most beautiful element. Although its ceiling has not been photographed as much as its staircase, it is another prominent and impressive element. Also, it was a great honor to have Orhan Pamuk’s (nobel winning author for those who haven’t heard his name before) books greet us as soon as we climbed the stairs to the upper floor. We couldn’t hide our surprise when one of the employees approached us and said hello, but we didn’t ask why he knew Turkish 🙂

We liked the cover designs of familiar books that they published themselves. They published the classics with different covers and papers. The Little Prince, Tom Sawyer, The Wizard of Oz etc. Since there is a wide range of modern children’s books, we couldn’t decide easily but chose The Little Prince eventually. Unfortunately, the ticket price discount does not apply to non-book products, but we also loved some notebooks and bags.

Another factor that made this place famous is the rumor that Rowling was inspired by this place while writing the Philosopher’s Stone during the period she was studying at the university in Porto. It was also written that the Flourish and Blotts bookstore in Diagon Alley was inspired by this bookshop. Since I don’t remember that detail, I will leave the comment to those who could.

See the View of Porto from Portuguese Center for Photography

Portuguese Photography Center was a recommended location on Spottedbylocals. It was used to be a prison back in the days and now is now used as a photography center. Since its entrance is free of charge, we thought why not visit it. It is possible to see everything about photography from old to new, it is almost a nostalgic journey for those who are interested in photography. You can also catch a nice view of Porto from the small windows of the center. We wouldn’t know that it was used as a prison if we didn’t read the article on the spottedbylocals and there weren’t some sections dedicated to the pictures and stories of the prisoners as the building itself does not look like a usual prison.

See the Colorful Houses around Clerigos Church and Tower

Clerigos Tower is one of the points you inevitably see in the center. I read that the view of Porto from the top is beautiful, but I’m not sure if there is really a need to look at Porto from so high. Maybe it makes more sense in very clear weather, but we encounter slightly hazy weather. One also wonders how impressive the view of Porto can be for someone who is accustomed to the views of Istanbul? Anyway, we did not go in, but the road and the square along with the tower provide beautiful photographs. Additionally, the same musician played twice across the tower on the road, which was one of the details that made my day better as I passed by. If you happen to come across it, let the music accompany all the feelings that Porto creates in you.

Watch the Sunset at Douro River

In my opinion, one of the most enjoyable areas of Porto is the Douro riverside. As you go down to the river from the center, you come across beautiful squares, boutique shops, nice houses and cafes. When it comes to coffee or food, I suggest you to be patient until you get to the river. Because there are restaurants and cafes like ours that have tables placed by the river. If the weather is nice, it is quite enjoyable to have a meal or a coffee while looking at the view. We only had coffee, beer and port wine 🙂

The views are said to be more beautiful when you walk from the top of the Luis Bridge, but we preferred to skip this part because we didn’t want to climb to the top and then walk in the wind. I think it is quite sufficient just to walk through the first platform. You can take beautiful photos of the river, especially if you time it at sunset.

There are also nice restaurants and cafes on the opposite side of the river (Gaia). You can go to the cellars where you can taste wine as well. In one of the side streets (Dom Afonso III) there is a Half Rabbit, one of Porto’s most photographed examples of street art made of recycled materials.

Visit the Blue and White Tiled Churches

Igreja do Carmo (Carmo Church) and Igreja dos Carmelitas

These two churches are located in Gomes Teixeira Square, where the rectorate of the University of Porto is located. I came down here completely by chance, since it is very central and of course I pass by a few more times. Although they are called twin churches because they are two churches side by side, there is actually a very narrow house in between. I never noticed any of those, but when you go there, you will look more carefully now that you have red this. The outer right surface of Igreja do Carmo is covered with Porto’s blue-white azulejo ceramics. I think the churches are visually appealing, perhaps because they are of a type that we have not seen in other parts of Europe, or perhaps because they resemble the sea, but I am not sure if it attracts you to go in. At least this wasn’t the case for me. Churches with an entrance fee, I guess, will not be draw me inside after seeing so many churches already.

Igreja Paroquial de Santo Ildefonso

It is the most majestic church from the outside. I’m not sure whether the blue and white ceramics suit this church the best or whether it’s an illusion from seeing it from a distance. More than 11000 of these ceramics were used in its production. I cannot make a comment about the inside as it was closed everytime we passed. However, I saw from the photos that some people went inside, but as far as I understand that the inside is not as impressive as the outside.

Capela das Almas (Chapel of the Souls)

It is one of the most crowded chapels since it is located on the shopping street and its entrance is free of charge. Fortunately, we were able to go inside when it was less crowded. I wish they had used these ceramics in abundance in the inside as well instead of scattering them, it would have been really impressive.

Stroll Through Porto Streets

The streets of Porto are, in my opinion, the most must-see places, so hop onto the one street, then to the next and admire the beauty of the houses. Most houses in Porto are covered with unique ceramics in different shapes, inevitably adding liveliness to the streets with their colors and patterns. I can say that I came across the best examples in non-touristy spots, especially while walking from one end of Cedofeita to the other end of Santa Catarina, between two shopping streets. Rua Alvares Cabral, for example, was one of the nicest streets in this sense.

On the day I arrived at Porto, there was a welcome celebration for new students starting the university, and students dressed in all black, almost in Harry Potter style, were walking around the city. When I first saw those, I thought if they had a religious role 🙂 Then I learned that those who were wearing black uniforms are usually senior classes at the university. The celebrations started with marches and anthems in the morning and continued in the evening.

You can find one of the colorful and frequently photographed street arts on Rua Actor Joao Guedes: Painel de Azulejos Joana Vasconcelos. Actually, this is a Steak’n’Shake restaurant, the exterior of the restaurant has been turned into an artistic style by being covered with ceramics by Joana Vasconcelos. Don’t you think it’s heartwarming?

Take the Tram No. 18 to Passeio Alegre

Taking the nostalgic tram is one of the touristic activities in Porto. Tram No. 18 takes you around Porto along the river. The last stop is Passeio Alegre. This area is where the river meets the ocean, and if you go to the lighthouse on a windy day, you can witness big waves hitting the shore. I’m sure this area is very lively in the summer, but when we went there, we saw a copule of cars inside which the girl gangs were having a drink by the river. Even the restaurant/cafe in the park was closed.

Since we arrived a little late and the last tram was only 40 minutes away, we couldn’t explore much, but if you go a little further to the inner areas from the beaches, you enter the streets of the Foz region and the locals wrote that this place is very beautiful. This region gave me the impression that they used the houses here more like a summer house. So note to myself that I need to go again in the summer 🙂

Shopping in Porto

The most well-known street for shopping in Porto is Rua de Santa Catarina. Here, both the brands we know and the brands specific to Porto are listed side by side. It is also the liveliest street as there are restaurants and cafes. There are more chain brands than boutique businesses though.

Another shopping street was written as Rua Cedofeita, but instead of places to shop, I came across nice cafes for brunch on this street.

When you get off from Porto center near Clerigos Tower, there are souvenir shops. You can discover more boutique businesses on the side roads leading from Clerigos Tower towards the river. We bought earrings from a very sweet uncle, and also saw very nice t-shirt boutiques.

Finally, there were jewelers and souvenir sellers who set up stalls on the opposite bank of the river, on the Gaia side. We also bought beautiful earrings unique to Porto. The Portuguese Heart, which looks like an owl at first glance but actually depicts the shape of Portugal on the map, is often embroidered in jewelry. Also, you can the influence of ceramics used on the houses on the design of the accessories.

Restaurants and Cafes to Visit in Porto

We discovered many enjoyable places in Porto, and our palates were delighted in some of them. I saved the spots for a different article. You can access it here.

My General Impression About Porto

The answer to the question “Porto or Lisbon” will vary for everyone, but for me it was Porto. It’s small, but maybe that’s why it preserved its texture better. It is also easier to walk around. Yes, the slope is a problem here too, but in general you can overcome this problem without using a vehicle. So, if you ask whether great love started with hatred, I wouldn’t say great love, but I think it was a little affair we had 🙂 I left a small piece of my heart, I hope to return and take it another time.

We stayed for 2 nights, but 3-4 nights would be better to enjoy it, especially if you went during the summer season. It is not very affordable for shopping, but you can still find at least different products in their own brands. Even though most people don’t speak English, they understand Spanish. If you know Spanish, you won’t have much trouble.

What we had trouble with in Porto was the difficulty in finding a supermarket. Unfortunately, there is no grocery store every step of the way like in Spain, so I suggest you buy what you need as soon as you see it.

On our way back, we used a taxi to go to the terminal to go to Lisbon. Although Porto is small, traffic is very bad in the evening hours; especially after work. Therefore, my advice is to be cautious on flights/buses or use the metro during the rush hours.

You can also visit my post on “Best Restaurants in Porto“.