17 places to visit in Porto - do you know number 10?

Hello everyone!

I'm writing you from the Hotel Belver in Porto, Portugal. I arrived in Porto yesterday with two of my friends and between then and today we have been exploring this special city. So here I am, with another blog entry to share with you once more the most important places in this city located in the north of Portugal. It is so beautiful and very gratifying to see my list of destinations visited continue increasing... Let's start!

How to get to Porto?

There will be thousands of ways for you to get to Porto. In fact, this city is full of foreigners, mostly French people who have arrived by plane. For us, who are from Galicia, Porto is practically next door so, how we did it was, we went to the bus station in Vigo and caught a bus from the Autna company. We bought the tickets online beforehand and they cost us €18 for a return ticket. The journey was about two hours, more or less, and the closest that they could stop to the centre of Porto town was the House of Music. The truth is that we thought about coming here by car, but Google Maps doesn't work in Portugal so we soon abandoned this idea.

What to see in Porto?

1. The House of Music:

   As the bus brought us right next to here, this was the first place we visited. The House of Music is a building with evocative architecture that is used to host concerts. We entered, and in the first room we saw a café that was full of artists. We got into the lift to explore more of what they had on the other floors, but we were stopped and told that we had to be accompanied by a tour guide in order to go through there. But oh well.



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2. The Crystal Palace:

   This was the second attraction that we went to when we arrived at Porto. We found it quite well-positioned, centred and right in the middle of the city. This Palace is stunning with an enormous dome that, strangely, is not made of crystal... It is surrounded by gardens of every colour and you can even enjoy views of the Duero River and the famous vineyards if Porto. There was a species of Royal duck (? ) waddling around all of the gardens, "guarding" the palace. Furthermore, it was a perfect, sunny day to walk around. In the gardens of this palace you can find the Romantic Museum. Something that puzzled us quite a bit was that there were policemen everywhere, patrolling the place. In fact, we went to visit one part of the garden and they told us that we weren't allowed in there... We still don't know why this was!





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3. Clérigos Tower:

   As its name suggests, this is a tower that can be found within an old farmhouse in the city. It was constructed by Nicolau Nasoni, who's life is explained throughout the different rooms inside the tower, as well as the tower's history and construction. I think that it is one of the highest buildings in the whole of Porto. We climbed and climbed the stairs, with each step giving me a little more vertigo each time. Finally, we reached the top and the views were spectacular. The ascent was a bit claustrophobic, but the 360° views of Porto at the top of the tower were liberating...



4. The Duero River:

   One of the most important rivers of the Iberian peninsula and it flows directly into Porto. It was the first time that I had seen it. If you guys wanted, you can actually rent a type of little boat to navigate around the river, like Pocahontas. We had found out before we went that it costs around €12 for a trip. Here is a photo of me and my friend at the river, going over a bridge called the Arrábida Bridge.



5. The Don Luis I Bridge:

   This is the most important bridge in this city. There are two ways to get to it: from below, walking past and leaving the restaurants in front of the river behind you, or from above where you have to climb some 200 steps to get to it. It gives you a little vertigo if you go from above, but the views are magnificent, different to the Clérigos Tower. Watch out though, there's a train that runs over the bridge, coming and going all the time, so keep an eye out for that.



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6. The Morro Garden:

   This garden is just past the bridge, it is small and it isn't very touristy at all, but I loved it because the panoramic views from here were incredible. It is next to the Sierra del Pilar Monastery, in case you want to go there too. The truth is that we lay down on the grass in this garden and so we were automatically half asleep. The sun and the views relaxed us too much and the lack of sleep made it unavoidable.



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7. The Lello Bookstore:

   This is really close to the Clérigos Tower and is one of the most beautiful bookstores in the world. In Porto they said to us that it was were they filmed a scene from the famous movie series Harry Potter. Recently, I have been informed that this is obviously a lie (? ), that JK Rowling was simply inspired to write here as she was working in Porto as an English teacher, but there is no proof of this either. It is all a mystery. Okay, the entry fee costs €3 (taking advantage a bit, no? ) and if you buy a book inside, they will give you a discount on the entry.



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8. The San Idelfonso Church:

   This is a church with a singular façade, full of tiles. This would not surprise us much if we lived in Porto, because this whole place is filled with tiles. In the train station, in the entrance specifically, the entire history of Portugal is told through tiles. We bought a ticket for the mythical Double-Decker bus and we could appreciate the church enough to detect that the tiles were a little worn away.



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9. The Bolhao Market:

   This is a normal and busy market which reminded me a little of a part of Camden Town in London, but on a more reduced scale. The best bit was the fruit, flowers and sweets, but there was everything here: from cakes to typical souvenirs to take home. They said that it is here where the authenticity of Porto lies, the people, the language and their traditions - I would definitely have to agree.



10. Café Majestic:

    The most famous café in Porto and the 6th most beautiful café in the world! The truth is that it is very special: at €4, it is the cheapest café too! That's a joke, it has very unique decorations, very specific. Inside the café is full of mirrors and white figures (angels, I think) that decorate the walls. Entering inside here is like you are in the Titanic's dining room for the very rich. I don't know, it seems to be like a mythical place where very old ladies go with their fur coats... The waiters wear uniform and there is even a man who opens and closes the door for you, very Harrods. We asked for a cheese sandwich with fruit. Looking at other people's menus, we could have had the vegetable soup and croquettes, all well served with silverware. If I had to criticise? The tables were too small and the space too crowded, so at peak times it is a bit crowded. That being said, for me this is an obligatory visit.



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11. The Porto Coast:

    This is located a little outside the centre, but not much. If you have the opportunity, you have to go! It is beautiful, when we went it was a little windy but still, it was worth it. There is the main motorway filled with palm trees, like in Hollywood style. You can appreciate the open sea and the clear horizon line, as well as the waves crashing on the sand. There is beach and runners everywhere. There are hotels with sea-views, I don't know how much it would cost to stay here but it seems magnificent.



12. The vineyards:

    We didn't go here even though we got free entry, but for those of you who like this kind of thing, you have to go! The wine from Porto is famous and in fact, there are many locals here that will pay X amount of money for it and they will offer you some bottles so that you can refine your palate with different wines. The vineyards are usually on either side of the Luis I bridge, like I said previously.



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13. The Avenue of the Aliados:

    Many call this place the "Heart of Porto". It was one of the areas that I liked the best - it is a huge street. In fact, I'm not sure you could even call this a street, as the name indicates, it is more of an avenue. And it's really big. Here you will find the majestic town hall and a McDonald's, of course. We also saw a man cleaning another mans shoes while he sat on a chair.



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14. The Porto Cathedral:

    In Portuguese, it is the "Sé do Porto". Finally I discovered what "Sé" meant! It is of a Roman style and has a really big rose window. How beautiful it has been to have studied Art History and to have seen things like this "simple" cathedral, really. At night it must be incredible, even during the day it's not much less. The views from here are breathtaking!



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15. The Porto Tram:

    If Porto has something a little weird, it's that they still use a tram. Made in quite a strange style, a beige colour and a bit vintage, it comes and goes constantly and it usually is full. That being said, it is only suited to move through the city, to go further out you must use the urban bus services, which are quite good.



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16. The High Street:

    The High Street is a street that doesn't really match the rest of Porto very well. It is a little strange to see so many smaller streets with lots of tiny houses, each with a different colour, and then a street full of shops and chains like "ZARA" or "Massimo Dutti". But for fashion-lovers, it is perfect!



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17. Without a doubt, the best thing to do is wander around:

    Losing yourself in the streets of Porto, they all have a similar pattern but they are all different. You will find a small restaurant or bar in every single one saying that they have "the best "Frenchies" in Porto". Frenchies is one of the most famous things to eat in Porto, they are a kind of sandwich with ham, beef, steak, sausage, melted cheese with a lot of sauce and chips. It has to be good because it is the star dish of each restaurant.



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As a way of concluding, I would say that Porto is a city with a lot of history behind it. The small houses along the pavements under the shadow of the Clérigos Tower speak for themselves. The path by the river with the little shops offering souvenirs decorated with tiles... It is not a city like any other, you don't have to imagine it like huge city, nor with that style either. I would say that one day (an intense one) will be enough to se the main attractions. It is quite tight-knit and you will not get lost, there are also Tourist Centres everywhere.

The language? If you speak Spanish or Gallego you won't have a problem, the people are usually pleasant and will repeat themselves if you don't understand. Although, normally it is not hard to understand. Something that did surprise me was that there were quite a lot of French people visiting the city (there were also Chinese, obviously, this doesn't surprise me so much). On the tourist bus four retired people with British accents sat behind us, I died and I suddenly remembered how much I miss the UK sometimes.

The hotel that we stayed in was great, we had breakfast included and it was a buffet so in the morning we ate for almost the whole day. You have to take advantage of it, as they say...

Furthermore, the hotel had a pool and a jacuzzi where we spent a couple of hours relaxing in. The also had a sauna, but the heat was inhumane so we only entered for a second before we had to leave. Next door there was a supermarket where we bought dinner. It was in the neighbourhood of Amial, I will never forget this ever in my life - we asked for it so much. We became elite porters!

You definitely need to visit Porto if you can, you will love it!

So that is all for today's post. Tomorrow I will see you in my next one, bigger and better!

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