Perhaps one of my favorite cities I’ve been to. Ladies and gentlemen…Porto, Portugal.
Where I Stayed
I debated between staying near the beach or in the city center. This time, staying near city center won because I wanted that walkability to and because it was too cold to go to the beach anyway. I stayed at NH Collection – Porto Baltha, which is located directly in the center of Porto. It was near stores such as Foot Locker, Sephora, Zara, and steps away from the local farmers market, which was a huge plus.
I booked this hotel through my credit card travel portal so that I could take advantage of the benefits offered, such as, a room upgrade, breakfast included (the breakfast spread is immense), some spa things, etc. They also had a pool, a gym, a full-service restaurant and a full-service bar.
Overall, I really did enjoy my stay here, the staff was great and I felt extremely safe staying here. If I ever returned to Porto, I would definitely stay here again.
What I Did
Douro Valley Boat Ride + Wine Tasting
Porto is most famous for Duoro Valley, the wine region in Northern Portugal.
I did a ten-hour tour, through Viator, and included was a tour of four wineries with lunch, a boat ride through the Duoro River, and a tour of many towns in the Portuguese countryside. To be honest, I was debating between doing this or horseback riding, and I am so glad I chose this activity because not only was the tour guide great, the wine and wineries were great, but it just was genuinely one of the best things I’ve ever seen and experienced in my life.
(Edit: It’s been two years since this trip and I still think about this often.)
Pastel de Nata Class
While I was in South Africa, I had a pastel de nata and I fell in love. Knowing that pastel de nata was actually a Portuguese dessert, I just had to do a class on how to make them. On Viator, I found a cooking class for pastel de nata, and it was wonderful! The instructor discussed the history of the origins of pastel de nata and she also provided a recipe to take home.
Livraria Lello
Porto is most famous for the Livraria Lello, a bookstore that features a giant red sprawling staircase in the middle of the building, is said to have inspired JK Rowling when she was writing Harry Potter.
You must grab your tickets online, which also acts a voucher for a book (~8 euros), as there is a certain timeframe you must attend, (they are strict, and there will be a line).
Although I did not purchase a book from there as they had limited English selections (and many of them were books I had already read), they had a diverse selection, with authors from George Orwell to Toni Morrison, but I was most impressed at the architecture.
Sao Bento Train Station
Next, the Sao Bento train station is a popular tourist attraction and is most famous for the blue hand-painted tiles that are plastered all over the train station wall. This was a “must-see” that was recommended to me by Portugal natives.
Mercado de Bolhao
The Mercado de Bolhao is an open-air market that has fruits, vegetables, cheese, olive oil, pastel de natas, etc. where individuals can purchase things for cheap. The market was beautiful and also had plenty of restaurants on the top floor.
Nata Sweet Nata
OK, so, I don’t have that many food recommendations because I honestly barely ate (and slept) when I was her. However, I went to Nata Sweet Nata, a cafe located in the city center of Portugal near the train station (they have two locations).
Overall, I enjoyed my time in Porto and I highly recommend visiting Porto, even if it just for a couple days. Everyone I encountered was extremely friendly and the city was very safe.
Until next time.
-C
Leave a Reply