Travel Guide to Porto & Gaia

Visited: June 2019

You may not know this (unless you recognize the origin of the name Tristao or know us in real life), but Jonathan is Portuguese-American. His parents are from an archipelago in the Atlantic called the Azores (or what I like to call “the Hawaii of Portugal”). Jonathan visited the Azores with his family as a child, and I visited the Azores and Lisbon with him in 2013. We fell in love with Lisbon, and I always thought I would want to live there.

But then, we revisited Portugal on our RTW trip, and we explored a few new areas for us, including Porto and the Algarve. After this visit, Porto has definitely taken the title of our favorite Portuguese city! If you get the chance to visit, we hope you love it as much as we did. Here are some tips to help you plan your trip to Porto:

Getting There & Getting Around

Porto has its own airport, Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport (OPO), and the metro will take you right from the airport to the city center. Porto is also easily accessible by bus or train from Lisbon. If you want to take a short road trip, there are plenty of small towns that make fantastic stopping places between Lisbon and Porto (including Aveiro, Coimbra and Óbidos, just to name a few; these would also be great day trips from Porto if you plan to stay more than 3-4 days). If you decide to get a one-way car rental, expect to pay a hefty fee (around 80-90 euros).

Speaking of car rentals, you really do not need a car in Porto. The city center is compact and walkable (albeit hilly), and there are public buses and trams if you don’t want to walk. Plus, driving in the city is somewhat of a nightmare, given the heavy pedestrian traffic, the one-way streets, and the limited parking.

To Stay

Because we were visiting Porto during the UEFA Nations League Finals and thousands of English fans had already descended and snapped up all the hostel rooms (seriously), we had to move to a different place every 1-2 days. I’d suggest finding somewhere that’s within (your) walking distance of both the Dom Luis I Bridge and the Clérigos Tower. If you can walk to both of those places, you’re pretty set for exploring Porto.

To Eat & Drink

Coffee & Breakfast

This is typically where we would recommend our favorite brunch spots, but Portugal isn’t really known for its brunch (or breakfast) culture. Breakfast in Portugal is often simply an espresso and a pastry. However, Porto is getting more touristy every year, and there are definitely a few establishments that are tapping into the brunch craze. Zenith is one popular place; we recommend the bacon and egg bagel, but there is a variety of appetizing choices. (There is also a Zenith in Lisbon, and it appears to have the same menu.)

Sadly, Portugal also doesn’t have the greatest coffee culture (according to this American’s expectations, anyway). Most coffee in Porto (unless you’re paying for a fancy drink) is small, dark and bitter. I never take sugar with my coffee in the U.S, but I usually added a packet in Portugal. The best way to have coffee in Porto (in our humble opinion) is a cafezinha (small coffee) with a pastel de nata. Yum! (Check out our favorite places to try pastel de nata in Portugal, including Porto.)

Lunch & Dinner

What to eat: Like much of Portugal, fish is a big part of the diet in Porto, especially bacalhau (codfish). You can order bacalhau a variety of different ways; our personal favorites are bacalhau com nata and bacalhau a braz. Porto even offers bacalhau pastries called bolinhos (known as pasteis de bacalhau in the rest of the country–pictured above left). These make a yummy and cheap afternoon snack with an espresso (or a beer!).

Specifically, Porto is known for a heart-attack sandwich called a francesinha. This is a sandwich made with layers and layers of meat, slathered with cheese (and sometimes a fried egg) and served in beer sauce. We actually weren’t too impressed by our francesinha, but we also only tried one, and every restaurant makes it a little differently. Word on the street is that Café Santiago has the best francesinha in town.

Love to eat? Check out our list of
19 Things to Eat (and Drink) in Portugal!

Where to eat: We barely scratched the surface of all the great restaurants Porto has to offer, so feel free to explore a little! Two specific recommendations we have are Gazela and Nova Era. Gazela is a no-nonsense eatery we would recommend for lunch; it is known for its cachorrinhos, sausages served in thin crusty bread with melted cheese [pictured above]. Like fancy hot dogs, except so much more! Nova Era was recommended by one of our hosts; it’s a little outside the city center, but this means the prices local reflect local prices and the servings are huge.

There is ample riverfront dining (and drinking!) available in the popular Ribeira neighborhood of Porto. Right across the river in Gaia, try out a rooftop terrace on the riverfront for a prime people-watching experience. We had a good and not-terribly-expensive dinner at Rabelos, but there are lots of options. Food is also available at the Mercado, where we enjoyed tasting port (see below for more details).

Drinks & Dessert

Well, drinks are pretty easy in Porto: Drink all the port wine (see more below about port tasting) and vinho verde (green wine) you can find! We recommend ordering the house green wine when available [above left at Nova Era]; you can usually get half a liter (or more!) for less than 5 euros. Also be sure to take a shot of ginja (cherry liqueur, also spelled ginjinha) from a chocolate cup. (Tip: After you drink the ginja, put the whole cup in your mouth to eat it. If you try to bite a piece off, you will make a mess!)

As for dessert, you know Jonathan is all about scoping out the best ice cream. Santini is a particularly popular shop (also located in Lisbon); we recommend getting one scoop of nata (cream) and one scoop of your favorite fruit flavor [above right]. (Tip: If you only want one scoop, order a children’s cone. Otherwise, the smallest size is two scoops.)

To Do & See

Take a day trip to Douro Valley

If you’ve heard of Porto, it has probably been in the context of its famed fortified wine: port. Most of the grapes for port (and other wines) are grown in the Douro Valley, located about an hour and a half from Porto by car. We organized a day trip through Cooltour on TripAdvisor, and it was one of our favorite days in Portugal! Definitely look into a day trip to Douro, whether you take an organized tour or drive yourself. The guided tour was nice because neither of us had to drive home. 😉 If you really like wine, I’d even suggest staying overnight to enjoy more of the area.

Enjoy port tasting in Gaia

All the port cellars in Porto are actually not in the city of Porto but across the river in Vila Nova de Gaia. You can taste port pretty much anywhere; we enjoyed a Ferreira flight [pictured above] at Gaia’s indoor market. The flight cost 8 euros and included a dry white, white, tawny and ruby port. I was also interested in trying a rose port (a fairly new development in the port world), and the nice young man at the stall added a glass to our flight for free! Many places along the riverfront also offer 5 tastings for 5 euros. Espaço Porto Cruz is another popular place to try port; it is part museum and part tasting room, plus there’s a lovely rooftop where you can have lunch and/or a drink overlooking the river.

Furthermore, if you opt not to travel to the Douro Valley for a wine tour, you can take a cellar tour at many port shops in Gaia, including Ferreira, Calém and Taylor’s (and many more!). Book ahead to ensure availability.

Admire the beautiful tiles

Some of the most recognizable examples of beautiful tiles in Porto include the Igreja do Carmo [feature image], the Igreja Paroquial de Santo Ildefonso, and the São Bento Railway Station [pictured above], but you’ll notice the gorgeous tilework on any residential street in the city.

Visit Livraria Lello (or not)

I don’t feel right creating a guide to Porto that doesn’t include this bookstore because it is such a popular and iconic spot. However, I also don’t feel right hiding the fact that we really didn’t enjoy visiting this bookstore. You can read more about our personal experience here, where we also share travel tips if you want to visit.

Do some Harry Potter tourism

As I explain in this post, Livraria Lello is so popular in part because it inspired Flourish and Blotts, a bookstore in the Harry Potter series. J.K. Rowling lived in Porto for several years while writing her first book, so you can find influences on Harry Potter all over the city. For example, you might see university students wearing long black robes—the inspiration for the Hogwarts robes. Another hotspot for Potterheads is Majestic Café [above right], where Rowling wrote much of The Sorcerer’s Stone. (Just FYI, stop by and take a peek at its grandeur if you wish, but an espresso at Majestic will cost you five euros. You can find espresso for 60 to 70 cents almost anywhere else in the city.)

See the six bridges from the river

A popular tour in Porto is the “Six Bridges” Tour: a river cruise that takes you down the Douro River and under all six bridges in Porto. There are various boat companies that offer this tour; expect to pay around 15 euros. Boats depart from both the Porto and the Gaia side of the river, so be sure to double-check where to catch your boat. We purchased tickets for 14 euros each from a ticket office along the Gaia riverfront. Our tickets also included vouchers for free port tasting at two tasting rooms in Gaia. (Most boat tours include port tasting vouchers.)

Catch a game at Estadio de Dragao

If the Portuguese national team is playing a soccer match during your visit, definitely go! The stadium is walkable from the city center (if you don’t mind a 30-minute walk), or you can take the metro.

What to Expect: General Travel Tips

Water

Safe to drink! Enjoy. You can ask for tap water at restaurants if you don’t want to be charged. Some restaurants will only served bottled water, but it doesn’t hurt to ask.

You Eat It, You Pay For It

Speaking of restaurants, Portugal has a “you eat it, you pay for it” policy. So all those bread baskets and butter and cheese and olives and sardine pate they bring you before your meal? Not complimentary! You can ask the server to take it away or just not eat it, but be sure to check your bill that you weren’t charged if you choose not to eat it. You can typically expect to add 2-5 euros to your bill if you enjoy the snacks.

Money

Portugal is part of the EU and uses euros. Almost everywhere we visited accepted credit cards (smaller cafes and bakeries may be cash-only). Suggested tip is 5-10 percent. If paying with a credit card, ask your server to add the tip when they process your payment. They usually won’t ask you about tip, so you have to tell them when they bring the bill, unless you want to leave your tip in cash. ATMs are easy to find in the city.

Language

Nearly everyone we met in Porto spoke English—perfect English, in fact. More than one local told us their English is so proficient because Portugal doesn’t dub movies or shows, so whereas other countries might watch American entertainment in their own language, the Portuguese hear English frequently when watching movies made in the U.S. It definitely makes a big difference! Many people who work in tourism in Porto also speak French, and Spanish and Italian is often doable. Also, fun fact: The people of Porto are self-proclaimed pottymouths! So your visit could be a good opportunity to learn some Portuguese swear words. 😉

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Overall, we loved Porto and we already hope to return one day! It’s a city we think you could really enjoy in a long weekend, but you could also stay for several weeks and not get tired of all it has to offer–especially considering all the great day trip options around Porto. Had we stayed longer, we considered visiting the nearby city of Braga, the coastal fishing villages (Apulia), or the nearby national park (Peneda-Geres).

Have you been to Porto? What did we miss? Share your recommendations in the comments below!