10 Things to do in Porto, Portugal Travel Guide

Lisbon is beautiful, but Porto is magical. We arrived in Porto with our taxi driver's words still ringing in our ears, and we're happy to say the city did not disappoint. Our time in Porto was spent sipping on Port wine, soaking in the views across the Douro River, wandering through the hilly streets, and marvelling at buildings covered in blue tiles. In this travel guide, we're going to share a little bit of Porto's magic with you, and also show you some of the things you too can see, eat, and drink when you visit Porto. So first stop we are currently in front of Igreja de Carmo. And check out those blue tiles on the exterior. That's pretty fancy. Also known as the Chapel of Souls, this church is covered in tiles that represent moments in the life of Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Catherine. Okay guys so next up we're going to visit Libraria Lelo which has been voted one of the most beautiful bookstores in the whole world. And we tried to get in but you need to get a ticket and you have to buy that from the corner shop. So this right here is the corner shop. It is called Armazéns do Castelo so you go in there, get your ticket then you walk down the street, show your ticket and get in. It is just to the left of the place. Just to the left. Just like a few shops. Maybe 3 or 4 shops down. Yeah, exactly. Easy to find. So yeah and what is the price? We don't know. Your parents are paying for this. I thought I saw it outside. I think it is 4 Euros per person. 4 Euros per person. There you go. Once you set foot inside, the bookstore is a feast for the eyes. All across the room you have details competing for your attention. The carved wooden banister, the crimson staircase, the sturdy shelves all lined with books, and the busts of famous Portuguese writers. The bookstore was even frequented by JK Rowling when she taught English in Porto, and is reported to have been an inspiration in her Harry Potter series. So we just found the book for Sam. Simply Samuel. I feel like we should peruse through the pages and see if it is a good fit for you. So we just finished visiting that wonderful bookshop. Yeah, we sure did. What did you think? Well, I get why they charge admission. Yes. Because it is small in there. It is smaller than I anticipated. It is tiny. Yeah, it is tiny but it is so interesting inside. Like it is definitely worth visiting and apparently if you buy a book you get your admission price back. Yeah, right. So you pay 4 Euros to get in but then that is discounted from your purchase. So that is a good deal I'd say. We didn't get anything so we just paid admission. Your Mom got bookmarks. There you go. Yeah. So it is not every day that we come to a train station as a tourist attraction. I know. But this one. It makes me wish we could have got train tickets to come here. I know we came here by bus but imagine arriving here. It would have been epic. It is so centrally located too. Yeah. Most train stations are kind of on the outskirts but this is right in the heart of the city. Our next attraction in the city was Porto Cathedral, and just as we were approaching we retreated to these views. Porto Cathedral is one of the oldest landmarks in the city. Though cathedrals in Europe can start to get a bit repetitive, especially if you're covering numerous cities, it's worth seeing the cloisters where the walls are covered in blue tiles. We then continued even further downhill until we reached the neighbourhood of Ribeira, which sits on the shores of the Douro River. This neighbourhood is lined with many sidewalk cafes, bars, and restaurants, so it's a nice place to rest your legs and do a bit of people watching. We were feeling pretty hungry by the time we made it down here, so we wandered down some of the back streets until we found a small restaurant serving up some local specialties. Okay, so we are doing tapas for lunch today. Yeah, we just ordered a whole bunch of different things. So I'm going to start off with chorizo in a red wine sauce. Looks delicious. Mmmmm. Oh wow. It is so tender. Yeah, that is good. And very nice and rich. Now I'm going to try some fresh cheese in a pumpkin sauce. I'm going to put it on one of these little it looks like a crispy cracker. How is that? Mmmmm. It looks good. It is really sweet. Yeah, the jam is really sweet. The cheese is smooth. Sam is going to try the Bolinhos de Bacalao. Oh my gosh. We've been looking for these for days. They look beautifully done here. Yeah, so this is cod salted dehydrated cod. Mmmmm. And then it is shaped and fried. Mmmmm. With other ingredients like potato. Oh my gosh. And I think chives. Yeah. That is so good. It is so. I love how it is crispy on the outside and then kind of smooth in the middle. Yeah, nice and fluffy. It has got the fish taste but it is not overwhelming either. It is so good. With bellies full, we made time for one more attraction. The Church of St. Francis. So we just finished visiting the Church of San Francisco. It was six Euros per person but you are not allowed to film or take any photos so we can't show you but I went in with Sam's Mom and it was really impressive. It is like the whole interior of the church is covered in this really ornate wood with like lots of intricate designs and patterns and it is all painted in gold. And then you have these lights shining on the wood so it is all like glowing so it is really beautiful. And the admission price also gives you access to the catacombs and to the museum. So I would say it is worth it. Okay guys so it is our second full day of sightseeing here in Porto. And our first stop is the Bolhão Market if I'm pronouncing that correctly. So yeah it is already mid-morning. I'm feeling a little bit hungry. I could eat an early lunch. So we're going to have a look around and see if we can find some bites. So far I've only seen fresh produce like fruits and vegetables. Also lots of flour stands but I'm hoping that when we go to the lower level we'll find some tasty dishes. So that is the plan. Fingers crossed. So we may have arrived a bit too early for the restaurants on the ground floor to open but we did find a bakery so cake it was. So we ended up finding a little bakery and this is going to be our mid-morning snack. I went for the carrot and coconut cake in George. What did you get Dad? I don't know. Chocolate with custard in the middle. Oh awesome. Okay why don't you guys try them for us. Let's try it. How does it taste? Mmmm. Delicious. Delicious? All that is missing is a coffee in the other hand. Yeah, we could use a coffee. It is very cold this morning. The bridge we've all been waiting for. All been waiting for. The bridge in Porto. The famous bridge. Exactly. Let's go cross it. The bridge we'd all been waiting for was Dom Luis, the first bridge, which spans the Douro River. If this structure reminds you of the Eiffel Tower, that's because it was designed by student of Gustave Eiffel. The lower deck carries regular traffic with narrow walkways for those on foot, and the upper deck is reserved for pedestrians and the metro lines. For the best views of Porto, you need to walk the upper deck. Alright guys so we just finished crossing Louis the First bridge across the river. We had done it yesterday on the lower level. Today we took the top level. And woo! There goes my hat. And if you're wondering if it is a little windy. Yes. Yes it is. It is windy. I better hold on to this. Um, yeah it is a little freaky going on the top level just because you're so high up but the views that you get of the city are just incredible. So it is worth doing it even if you're inching your way across. The bottom level doesn't cut it compared to the top. No, not at all. You have to walk on the top level and voila there you have Porto. So there is basically 3 things you can do around the Douro River aside from just walk across the bridge. You can take a cable car for some really scenic views. You can also take a funicular to help save your legs. And there is 15 minute river cruises that are running currently for 15 Euros that you can also take. Once we had walked across the bridge, there was only one thing on our minds. To visit one of the many wineries that line this side of the river. We ended up walking into Croft for a wine tasting without need for an appointment, and this turned out to be one of our favorite activities in Porto. Queijo de Ravação, Queijo de Azinha, which is a little bit spicy, something like that. Very spicy. Very good. And then we also have a King Queijo de Terrijo. And it is especially made in Portugal. This is made in Portugal. So we've ended up at Croft for our wine tasting and Sam and I have ordered two different types of wines. You went for the Ruby Reserve. I have the 10 year old Tawny and I've already had a sip of these and they are really tasty. Really sweet, right? Mmmhmmm. They are almost like honey like and syrupy. They are really good. Do you have a favorite amongst the two? I really like my 10 year old Tawny. I paid a little extra for that and it was worth it. That one was 5 Euros and the other one was 3. Yeah, and to pair with our wines we also ordered a platter with four different Portuguese cheeses. And we also have some nuts and apricots and crackers. And Sam couldn't resist getting some chocolates. So we have two raspberry chocolates in here. Yeah, we're well set. Now it is time to enjoy it. Filled to the brim with port wine, cheese and chocolate, we enjoyed a light stroll along the Douro River, watching the boats bob in the water. Not a bad way to end our second full day in the city. Alright guys, so if there is one meal that you have to eat when you come to Porto it is the famous Francesinha. We've been hearing about this sandwich forever so we're super excited to finally try it. And basically this sandwich is said to have roots in Belgium and France. Apparently a Portuguese man had been living overseas and then when he returned back home to Portugal he was like I'm going to bring the Croque Monsieur to my country and kind of give it a little twist so the locals will enjoy it. And so the Francesinha was born. It is a massive sandwich. We've seen them preparing it out front and it looks so so good. So we're going to show you a few clips of that. Also we're eating at the most famous restaurant of them all. We've come to Buffet Cifaze and they just specialize in the Francesinha. That is all they serve. There is no menu. You get this and you order a beer with it. And a beer. You just come here for your sandwich and a beer. It is a must. So that is what we're having. And these things are massive. Behemoth. So yeah, I don't know how we're going to tackle this but let's talk about the ingredients. Yeah. So two slices of thick bread. Apparently the thicker the better. Yep. Then inside. Grilled bread too. They grill it. Yeah, they grill it. It has got I believe sausage. Oh my gosh. Steak or roast beef. Look at all of that cheese. Copious amounts of cheese. Yeah, it is three different kinds of meat. Oh my gosh. Let's cut it down the middle so you guys can see the inside. This is the die section guys. Yeah. This is the die section. And yeah it is covered in cheese. It is all melted and the sauce it is in. Yeah. It is a tomato and beer sauce. Woah. Look at how thick that is. Woah. Can you separate it more for us? Yeah. Oh wow. There we go. Check that out. Let's try to get a piece with a little bit of everything. This is so thick. Look at all of that cheese. It is going to be a bit of a challenge. Woah. Look at that. That is redonkulous. Oh my gosh. That is redonkulous. And this is like freshly made. It is still steaming. Oh yeah. Mmmm. What do you say? What say you? Oh my gosh. Life changing? Life changing. Hahaha. There is no way I would want to share this with you. Yeah. Now that I've tried it I'm glad I have mine. We need our own. We're not going to be having much else today but we need our own. Oh and we asked for the sauce to be spicy and it is. Oh good. That is good. Yeah, that was one of the things they asked. Do you want spicy sauce? And we're like. I'm impressed so far. I've only had one bite. Yeah. Mmmm. Good stuff huh? Just going in for this. Grabbing a bite with tons of cheese. Taking it for a gigantic swim. Oh yeah. Look at that meat. Look at that meat in the dripping sauce. All of those layers of steak and ham and sausage. Whoever invented this was onto something good. And I mean this is. This kind of reminds me of like if you were to challenge yourself like say during your University years with just like leftover ingredients. You're like how can I make a really awesome sandwich. You might come up with something like this. We thought we were done but we're not. I know. Because they just brought us more sauce for the fries. It is like they read our minds. Yeah, seriously. We're like a little over halfway through our meal. Oh yeah, load that up. And they brought us more sauce. Pour that for me too please. That is amazing. Oh my gosh. Yeah. This is good stuff. I think we're going to need to see how stacked it is. Oh yeah, this is so filling. Like I'm struggling but it is so good I don't want to stop. And that's a wrap for our visit to Porto. We hope you guys enjoyed following along and that you got a few ideas for your own trip. As always, if you have any other suggestions of fun things to do in and around Porto, feel free to share those with travellers in the comments below. Wishing you happy travels and until next time!