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Oh my, it is terribly late and honestly there really aren’t any good excuses, but here finally then is a post on our trip to Porti in Portugal this year. We were in Lisbon for our honeymoon in 2022 and also added two days in Porto then. It was quick enough to get a glimpse of the city, but to really experience it, we had to come back and this year we decided for a good full week in Porto.

This time we really wanted to get to know the various parts of Porto and with a full week we had plenty of time for that and some time to visit neighbouring cities as well. But we started in Porto. More specifically we went to see the Mercado Bolhão of Porto, the food marked where they sell produce and have stalls selling to eat food and wines and coffee and anything you like. There are even guided food-tours. People with glasses of wine in the hand following a guide and testing oysters, sardines, shrimp, and anything the marked has to offer. The market itself then has cheesy pasta which comes fresh form the cheese, loads of sardines in cans, spices, fruits, wines, coffee beans and more and more. Go up a level and you’ll find the local arts and handycraft market. It’s a good place to start a culinary vacation for sure.

The churches and the Sé do Porto cathedral  in Porto are pretty impressive too. They have a real grand and warm feeling, feeling old and rooted and with loads of gold-painted ornaments. Places for refuge, contemplation of to just enjoy the architecture.

And if you’re anything like us and you like walking around in a city in order to see, feel en smell it all instead of going by bus or metro, you’re going to have to climb some stairs. It’s either going up or down in Porto, but once you are up, the views are fantastic. Either over the city, of with a view to the Duoro river, it’s marvellous.

Also there are plenty of parks around in Porto too, so to just get out of the city-feeling for a bit and relax surrounded by trees is always possible. If you choose the right park (Jardins do Palacio de Cristal) you will find yourself surrounded by free walking chickens, roosters, peacocks and other birds as well as beautiful maintained gardens and incredible views.

Close to Porto -easily reachable by bus) is Matosinhos, where you will find the Conservas Pinhais factory and sardines museum. You can get a tour there explaining the origins of the factory, showing the old part of the museum and you also get a tour through still active part where every day the handpack a huge amount of conserves. Handcutting the fist and the vegetables and the eventual wrapping of the tins. Be sure to wave to the workforce 😉 It really is a well recommended tour and if you take the full on tour you get to wrap and keep a conserve for yourself.

From the tour we walked back to Porto along the beach. So no bus for the way home and this is really a very nice walk. You can enjoy the beaches a bit, see people surfing (or attempting to) in the sea and walk along the path slowly until you get back to Porto.

Although we wanted to get to know Porto well this time, with 6 full days and a bit it’s also a shame not to explore the surroundings a little bit, so we also went to Braga. We could have planned that better. On arrival the sky was quite cloudy and before we knew it it was pouring down hard. We stayed under the canopy of a store for what felt for ages until we gave up and went into a restaurant. A very good one indeed so that was not a bad solution at all. When we finished out meal, the weather cleared up and we headed into Braga toe explore.

The ‘Jardim de Santa Bárbara’ garden is nice to visit and the architecture is lovely, but what made the biggest impression on me was the initiation of students that we were lucky enough to see happening there (called Praxe). In the way the students paraded around in their outfits it’s impossible not to be reminded of Harry Potter and Hogwarts and it cannot be that J.K Rowling was not inspired by this for her stories. We saw a female Praxe first and at the end of the day we also saw a male one (with something akin to a New Zeeland Haka performance). It’s impressive to see, but if you read up on the Praxe, it seems to be a heavy ritual and student life.

Back in Porto we ended one of the days with Fado music in a traditional location. They request that you respect the tradition, so quiet during the songs as the songs are heavily drenched in emotion as the singers are singing about love lost and found. Two guitar players ar the instrumental part, and two singers -one female, one male- switch a few times. It’s a very impressive concert.

We then head out to Aveiro, another city in the area of Porto and this is deemed the ‘ Venice of Portugal’. It is a very beautiful city to visit, especially if you like architecture as there is a lot of Art Nouveau (or Art Nova) architecture there and a museum that is well worth a visit. But the Venice-part…. it was a nice boat-trip that sent us down a canal that led to the salt-harvesting area, one down the fishermen’s quarter and one a bit more into the centre, but to compare it to Venice is a bit much. Still: the city is absolutely worth a visit and do go on the boat if you’re there!

And then wi just had one last day in Porto where we enjoyed the day and in the evening we crossed the bridge to go the the ‘Jardim do Morro’ park, much like many, many other people and watch the sun set on the horizon. It was magical! The perfect end to a week in Porto.

Oh and some tips for eating: anywhere. Honestly, the food in Porto (and Portugal) is simply amazing, just so delicious. Go out somewhere out of the main touristic areas and you’ll find local restaurants with the most delicious and diverse food possible.

Underneath this blog is a selected set of my photos, click on any photo and you’ll open a browsable ‘Lightbox’. If you’d like tho see the full set (it’s a lot!), then have a look via this link.