Experience in Porto, Portugal by Mary

What is it like to live in Porto? Would you recommend it? What is the city like?

I would recommend to live in the centre cause is close to everything, markets, theatres, nightlife. You don't have to take public transports you can simply walk and since there's a lot of people in the streets it is quite safe too.

What is the student lifestyle like in Porto?

Amazing. You have different bars with different type of music and its cheap (if you know where to go).

How much does it cost to live in Porto?

At least 400e per month and that includes accommodation, transports and groceries.

Is it difficult to find accommodation in Porto? Is there any advice you can give?

It's not. You can use social media to get in touch with people, or search in websites. Even at university there are a lot of advertisements and in the streets you can also find them in the street lights. Another tip is to ask in cafes or restaurants!

What is the food like? What are your favourite dishes?

I prefer fish than meat (but you can eat a lot of meat if you want). So for me my best dishes are Polvo a Lagareiro or Bacalhau a Lagareiro. I also love seafood so a good seafood rice is amazing and you have good restaurants where you can eat it in Porto.

What places would you recommend visiting in Porto?

Ribeira, Cais de Gaia, Serralves, Aliados, City Park and Matosinhos.

Is it good to eat out in Porto? Can you tell us your favourite spots?

It is good and some places are not too expensive. So I usually take foreigners to Cais das Pedras (you can try different small dishes there, traditional from Portugal).

If you want to eat a good Francesinha I can tell you two places in Porto. I like Cacula in Praça Carlos Alberto and Bugo in Rua Miguel Bombarda is very, very good.

Is the nightlife good in Porto? Where is good to go?

Depends on what you like. I personally don't like discos so usually i go out in Galerias de Paris, I like Piguim, Breyner 77, Contagiarte, 77 for cheap beers, plano B and Maus Habitos.

What advice would you give future students heading to Porto?

Enjoy Porto! Try to meet Portuguese people cause they will take you to the best places and can even travel with you around the country ( I did that before). We are open people and i think most of us like to meet foreigners. If you like music go to concerts (there are a lot in Casa da Musica and sometimes in some pubs, like plano B).