Last time I spent a long weekend in Portugal was convincing enough to decide that just over 2 days in Porto will be worth doing. And boy, was I right!
The trip got off on the right foot when the lovely guy we were chatting to on the plane offered to give us a lift to our Airbnb, and it turned out he lived on the same street! We were staying right next to the Jardins do Palácio de Cristal where we spent our first evening sampling the craft beer at a little festival.
Saturday was spent by walking around the hilly streets of the city, marveling at the murals of the Sao Bento Station, strolling along the Douro, across the Dom Louis I Bridge, and by going all the way to the beach aboard the old tram.
We had dinner at this amazing restaurant that looked like a curiosity shop, had live music, and the best duck I’ve had since the last time I’ve had the best duck – in Lisbon. 🙂
On Sunday we checked out a few of the port houses in Vila Nova de Gaia, but in search for something a bit more authentic or at least less touristy we decided to walk all the way up the hill to Graham’s. It was the best decision ever. We joined one of their cellar tours and wine tasting sessions, and enjoyed the beautiful view.
After all that lunchtime drinking we headed to the beach again, this time with the intention of checking out the pools in Leca de Palmeira and braving the ice-cold Atlantic Ocean. We could not leave Porto without trying the famous Francesinha of course, which is a bread, wet-cured ham, linguiça, fresh sausage like chipolata, steak or roast meat and covered with melted cheese and a hot thick tomato and beer sauce served with french fries (Wikipedia). I do like meat, and it sure is really unique, but I doubt I will ever have it again…
I’m sure it’s clear to see that I fell in love with Porto, just like I did with Lisbon, and this time Fado was not even on the menu, so I would definitely recommend you put it on your bucket list. 😉
The Secret Costumier 
Gorgeous pictures. It makes me want to go back and spend longer – I was only there for a day and it clearly wasn’t long enough.
Thank you! Then you know what I’m talking about. 🙂 There aren’t a lot of places I would go back to, since there is so much to see in the world, but Portugal is definitely one of them.
all of this in just 60 hours???!! my goodness, i am SOLD! 😀 love the pictures. what’s that place on the 4th row of pics (from the top)? for some reason it reminds me of Hogwarts and the moving staircases, LOL. guess i just read too much Harry Potter books.
Thank you, it is a really photogenic little place. 😉
You actually are totally right. J.K. Rowling did live in Porto before she wrote Harry Potter…