Porto City Guide

Starting off with some brute honesty here… I liked Porto better than Lisbon (that being said, have you checked out my killer Lisbon City Guide)? Porto has the same charm and laidback lifestyle that SF does, even the windy hills! I felt comfortable and at home here. The tiled facades and sunsets over the Douro River became my daily eye candy and the endless port became my actual candy haha. But beware, those port tastings will knock you on your ass real quick!

As always, make sure not to miss the personalized map at the end of this post! Has everything I went to or wanted to go to 🙂

Where to Stay

Yet another perfect place to Airbnb. We stayed here, which was part of a complex of Airbnb’s called the “Douro Apartments” — highlyyyy recommend these guys, their properties are in an amazing, central location and have sweeping views of the Douro River/port houses across it (pictured above is the view from our balcony). We found a couple other cute hotels (Hotel Torel Avantgarde and Pestena Vintage Porto) but given that our main concern was a river view we found that Airbnb was much more sufficient for the cost.

Where to Eat

Zenith
Given that this was nearly 2 months into our eurotrip we were SO stoked to locate a proper brunch. This place was unreal we had to go back a couple times to try more menu items.

BOA BAO
Helloooo Asian food, I missed you! This place is the bomb, we found out it exists in Lisbon too and went back for takeout haha. Rare to find a Thai restaurant with good cocktails and buns but this place made it happen! 🥢🥟

Mito
Great Mediterranean inspired spot, with fresh ingredients, a nice change of pace from everything else. Get the steak for 2 and some red wine 👌🏼

Mercado Municipal Da Beira-Rio
Stumbled upon this market in search of port tastings but thank god for bringing it to us! ‘Twas a little break on the bank without sacrificing the food culture of Porto. (Went back for it again too  😆). Also, 100% get the beer tasting. 5 euro for like 6 local Portuguese beers?! That’s cray town. 🍺 I truly think this place is a Porto secret!

Cafe Santiago
A must-stop for the famous Francesinha sandwiches, a tradition in Porto but dear god get one to split haha. Think — bread, sausage, ham, bread, draped in cheese, topped with an egg, french fries around the side and alllllll set in a plate full of gravy. 😲

Where to Drink

Port Houses
I mean, of course haha. But lemme break it down…Taylors was my favorite because they have a super cute garden to sip in afterwards and very informative (awesome not boring) audio tour to learn about port. Graham’s is a little further away but has a patio with a nice river view and one of the few I found to have bites. 😋 Ferreira, a favorite among locals, was recommended by out Airbnb host, but unfortunately we didn’t make it there.

One of my biggest pieces of advice is: walk along the river on the Gaia side and find an outside table to sit and taste port. These mini cafe/bars (ex: Cafe Soraya) are awesome because you can sit and taste lots of different port houses at the same time without moving! 💃

Other than that……

Candelabro
This place has true charm, super casual spot you can hang outside with your friends all night, plenty of locals doing the same.

Royal Cocktail Club
Only pure cocktail bar in Porto. Upscale vibe, inventive and traditional cocktails but most importantly, great glassware 😉

Vogue Cafe Porto
What we thought was a gimmicky European joke, was actually a super legit, upscale bar/restaurant haha. Turns out there’s only 7 in the world and it’s actually run by Vogue headquarters. Good place for a nightcap Negroni 🥃

What to Do

Yes, Port tasting is the obvious suggestion but here are some Do’s and Don’ts:

• Do a tour, it’s important to understand the history of port and how it’s made because it really made me love it that much more (but only one haha because the tours get repetitive).
• Don’t do more than 2 tastings in 1 day. It’s is not like wine tasting, the buzz hits you hard and fast lol.
• Do taste outside of the port houses. some bars and markets offer tastings and if you take advantage of these you can taste from several different houses at once

Jardim Do Morro
Most definitely catch a sunset at the Jardim Do Morro, it’s across the river on the Gaia side so you get an AMAZING view looking back on Porto with the sunsetting behind it. Picture a cute guitarist serenading locals + tourists alike, birds dancing through the sky, and a drink stand serving all the alcoholic beverages you’d want for this moment. Everyone applauded and cheered when the sun went down…truly magical.

Livraria Lello
I never made it here, but don’t feel bad about it either. I know it’s a tourist staple but my mom went and confirmed it’s not worth the wait. You can barely enjoy the bookstore (or photograph it) because of the crowds. If you have several days in Porto, then go for it, but 72 hours? Skip it.

Sunset at Jardim Do Morro