Partying in Porto

Porto is Portugal's second biggest city with a population of almost two million people. Many international students pick it for their exchange abroad city because of its intercultural vibes, beautiful landscape and architecture in the heart of stunning nature and amazing food and wine. Just as Porto is the second biggest city in Portugal, the University of Porto (Universidade do Porto) is the second largest university in Portugal (right after the University of Lisbon). The charming city is also very known for its football club FC Porto.

It has won the Best European Destination award in 2012, 2014 and 2017. Because of the low-cost flight tickets of Ryanair, it is very reachable both from Lisbon as well as from other European cities. If you are planning to visit Portugal, it actually makes a lot of sense to first fly to Porto and then stay there for a day or two. After that, you can fly to the capital for less than 15 euros. There are many daily flights between Lisbon and Porto, so you have plenty of options.

Francesinha and Porto wine

Porto lies next to the Atlantic Ocean, same as Lisbon, which is great news for you if you like seafood. You can also try Francesinha - it is a typical Portuguese snack, sort of sandwich with different types of meat and cheese. Francesinha literally translates to small French (woman). To top it off, you should try and do some wine testing; Porto is famous for its strong red winewith a strong taste.

The Harry Potter Library

That is not the official name of the Livraria Lello. It is also not a library, but a very big and magnificent bookstore with plenty of books in English. But it is called Harry Potter Library among people and visitors because rumour has it that this place inspired J. K. Rowling for the famous magical library at Hogwarts. It is little known, but the famous writer - at the time still unknown - spent quite some time in Portugal while writing Harry Potter. Do you think it is a coincidence that one of the main antagonists of the Harry Potter series carries a name of famous Portuguese dictator from the 20th century, Salazar?

You will have to buy a 5 euro worth of ticket to get into the bookstore (you can also get it online), but you can use it as a voucher to buy any book you want inside! The children have free entry.

Festa de São João do Porto

June is the month of festivities all over Portugal, but the parties happen in different cities on different days. They are all part of the "Santos Populares" festival which could literally be translated as "the popular saints". There is plenty of food stands with fish dishes, decorations and parades happening all over June, especially at Lisbon, even at unusual hours. I can still remember a magical night when the fairytale-like looking parade of people in beautiful costumes marched over my street at 11 pm!

Each city celebrates with the biggest party of the year on a different day, according to the saint of the city. Porto's saint is Saint John The Baptist, therefore the name Festa de São João do Porto (Festival of Saint John of Porto). It is accompanied by a lovely, but unusual tradition. People will hit each other on the head with small plastic hammers that you can buy all over the city in advance, or with soft garlic flowers. The tradition is supposed to bring you luck, and do not worry: no one will hurt you with a hammer. They are very soft and made exactly for this purpose. You will also see many magnificent fireworks in the sky on that night that will make the view look truly magical.

Don't be surprised if you will see children on the streets even at late hours with their parents too; the festivities bring together whole families, including children. No one is left out on the São João night! The festivities will end up on the morning of the 24th of June.