Porto: things to see and do

I love to travel and everybody who knows me is aware of that. I love to travel so much that I travel for school, for work, for holidays. Whenever I have the opportunity to travel I do it, it's that simple. Throughout the years I visited European countries such as France, Switzerland, Hungary, Denmark, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Spain but I knew I wanted to see much more than that.

Last summer I booked another holiday and decided to go to Spain with a friend of mine when all of a sudden I had to cancel it for personal reasons. Cancelling the trip made me extremely sad but I have been to Spain twice already, and the latest time was just one month before the cancelled trip so I was okay. The good thing about it is that I was actually able to save some money for my next travels.

Porto, Portugal

Portugal had to be next, one way or another, my life was going to take me there. Porto has been a really nice surprise. It is the second biggest city in the country but it definitely has the small-city feel. I loved the weather when I went and visited it in January, I loved its colours, vibes, the fact that it is big but not huge either. It offers all the basic services, plus it is close to some other nice places like Aveiro and Braga. It is also on the ocean, just like the capital Lisbon, and it is well connected to other Portuguese cities. It is also well served by an airport that is reachable by public transport.

What to do in Porto

You cannot miss out on Porto wineries if you go to Porto. I personally did the wine tour with Calem and they were really good. I think I paid something like twelve euros and with that, I was able to have a guided tour of the facilities, the little museum, and then to taste both the red and white Porto wine.

Since you are already in Gaia, which is the area of the city on the other side of the Luis I Bridge, I suggest you go for a walk along the Douro River. There you will see a lot of artisans trying to sell their stuff, from typical Porto table cloths to bracelets and jewellery. Through this river, Porto wine is transported to the city from the Tras-os-Montes and Alto Douro Region. You can walk back to the main area of the city by simply crossing the bridge back. The bridge has two levels.

If you are a fan of the Harry Potter saga, you should not miss the Livraria Lello, which is apparently the library that inspired J. K. Rowling. If you think you cannot miss this when you are in the city, please make sure that you go there super early in the morning, otherwise, the queue is going to be really long and you will probably, and most likely, spend there at least half a day. Another downside is that you have to pay to enter the bookstore, so I just decided not to get in line. I have watched Harry Potter and I liked it but I do not consider myself a huge fan and I did not want to invest money and time just to experience this particular thing in Porto.

If you love nature and want to take pictures of the city from a different angle, I highly recommend you to go to Jardins do Palacio de Cristal. I went there in March and it was absolutely beautiful. The flowers bloomed, the grass was super green, the seagulls were singing and flying around... it is really nice to walk around or even just to sit and sip a beer with your friends. I went at sunset and it was really nice. I did not see the sun setting but the sky turned into this magical pink colour I will hardly forget.

If you love food and want to try something extremely typical from Portugal, do not miss your stop at Casa Portuguesa do Pastel de Bacalhau. "What is that?! ", you may ask. In simple words, it is a deep-fried ball of codfish stuffed with cheese. I am not sure I can describe it in other words but it is really good! Just like Francesinha, which is a typical dish from Porto. It is a hard one to describe but I will try. It consists of basically a sandwich with meat and egg covered by a sauce made of Porto wine. It probably isn't as simple as that but that is what it looked and tasted to me.

I just described the few things I did and saw that made my trip there special but there are actually many things that the city offers, including:

• Liberdade Square;
• Church of Saint Ildefonso;
• Funicular dos Guindais;
• Mercado do Bolhão;
• Chapel of Souls;
• Porto City Park;
• Fort of São Francisco do Queijo;
• Clerigos Tower;
• And definitely, do not miss Sao Bento Railway Station!

Also, fun fact: apparently the most beautiful McDonald's diner is here in Porto. If you want to spot it, you can find it at this address: Avenida dos Aliados, Porto 4000-322, Portugal.

I am sure that I missed something worth mentioning about Porto but all I can say is that it is definitely worth the trip. Especially because it is surrounded by beautiful sceneries that you cannot miss, like:

• Braga;
• Aveiro and Costa Nova;
• Douro Valley;
• Guimaraes;
• Lamego...

Photo gallery