Porto was our very first city that we visited in Portugal. After blasting in from León, Spain, we pulled up in a campervan parking space for the night. I distinctly remember talking with Carlie about how ‘We’ll only need to stay here for a night or two.’ Four nights later we were still in the same spot, having spent an extremely excellent couple of days in town. Believe me, you need to go here, right now.

UNDERSTAND

Porto is Portugal’s second largest city. While the city centre is relatively small (housing only 300,000 residents), the greater Porto area is home to about 2,500,000 people, making this city the capital of the North of Portugal (sounds like game of Thrones, right?) Porto is only starting to become a hot-spot for backpackers, after long suffering in the shadow cast by Lisbon, Portugal’s capital. However, with amazing streets, very tasty food, and a perfect style of life, Porto should be a must for any backpacker.

get in and around

Porto has two major rain stations; "São Bento" (Saint Benedict - the instagram one) station, and the "Campanhã" station. Trains from and to Madrid (Lusitânia Comboio Hotel) and Paris (Sud-Expresso) are regular. You can also get a bus to the city form other parts of portugal and Spain pretty easily - most will drop you off at Casa de Musica station or at Companhella.

Generally speaking, Porto is a pedestrains paradise, and after walking the streets here for 5 days, I would not recommend driving. As the cty was designed with the horse and cart, rather than the car in mind, the streets are winding, narrow and gorgeous, but thoroughly unnavigable to a foreigner in a car. I’d recommend that anybody in town uses the light rail/tram service that criss-crosses the city - return trips in the main tourist zones will cost you around 3 euros, and the trains are regular, and run till about midnight most nights.

WHY SHOULD YOU GO?

Porto is gorgeous. Let me say that straight off the bat. Whether you’re wandering the medieval streets of Casa De Ribeira, strolling the river banks, or cruising the port houses of Vila De Gaia, Porto offers up view after view of un-parallelled gorgeousness. i was personally unprepared for just how often I needed to crack out my camera whilst there - each turn in the street led directly to another amazing view point, another unbelievably old alleyway, or another beautiful church. Aside from beauty, Porto offers up some of Portugal’s very best food and wine, and does it for a price that is affordable. Moreover, Porto is the home of Port - you know, the fortified wine. While most people’s experience with port will most likely to be of sticky, overly sweet desert style wine, the port you can get in Porto is out of this world - and you can drink it without breaking the bank. Finally, the people of Porto are some of the most welcoming, lovely, and engaged people that we’ve come come upon. Far from the ‘gloom’ of the Alfacinha (a person from Lisbon), the Tripeiros (people from Porto - ‘tripe eaters’) are young, vivacious, and very eager to show their city off.

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?

First, you should read my other post on the topic here for a more detailed guide, however, in summary, you should absolutely do the following whilst in town;

• Crystal Gardens: An awesome series of gardens that over-look the city and the Douro river below. Completely free of charge and open all year round, these gardens are truly excellent. Expect awesome views, manicured gardens, and a flock of peacocks wandering about (R. de Dom Manuel II, 4050-346 Porto)

• Porto Bridge Climb: While climbing up a bridge may sound slightly daunting to some, and overly touristic to others, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the steep ascent up Porto’s Arrabida Bridge. Completing the ascent for the very reasonable price of 16 euros, Carlie and I were lucky enough to make the climb right on sunset, and were afforded completely panoramic views of the city. Absolutely recommend, and suggest that you book here. (R. do Ouro 680, 4150-553 Porto, Portugal).

• Wander Cais da Rebiera: While I try to avoid vague activities such as ‘get lost in described suburb,’ or ‘ wander the streets of Rome,’ exploring Cais da Rebiera is an activity in and of itself. Endless alleyways that are beautiful by day and gorgeous by night, this river-side suburb is centrally located and well worth exploring. Tiny eateries dot the alleys, and you’l find more than one perfect wine bar along here. Give this at least an afternoon.

• Real Companhia Velha: While it would have been easy for me to simply state, ‘go drink port,’ as an activity, I’m opting to suggest that you visit the big-dogs of Port in Porto, the Real Companhia Velha. Take the tour, explore the caves underneath, and sip the finest fortified wine that you’re likely to get anywhere. (4431-952, R. Azevedo Magalhães 314, 4431-952 Vila Nova de Gaia)

WHAT SHOULD YOU EAT?

Like the above, I’d strongly encourage you to read my post on this topic, A guide to Coffee, Wine and Food in Porto, or my guide to eating where Anthony Bourdain eats in town here. However, for the summarised version, here goes;

• Cheap: Gazela Cacchorinos Da Batalha - this place is awesome, extremely fun, and highly affordable. Get a beer a steak sandwhich and pull up by the bar.

• Medium: Capela Incomumm - A half wine bar, half share plate eating experience, Capela Incomumm is a perfect bolthole for any lovers of Portugese wine. They do excellent things with Portugese flavours here - transforming the heavy calories of the standard fare into excellent, bite-size slices.

• Splurge: Tabua Rasa - A degustation of artisanal tinned sea-food? Yes please. Pair that with a bottle of red, a glass of port to finish, and you’re absolutely set. While not out of this world expensive, Tabua Rasa is certainly a ‘special occasion’ kind of place - but i’d recommend stopping by and getting one of the degustations for sure.

Tell us about your experience of Porto in the comments below! Better yet, any questions about visiting Porto? Hit us up in the comments!