Porto
January 2023
4 Days
We wanted to take a long weekend trip with some friends to eat as much good food as possible and we settled on Porto as none of us had ever been before. Porto is the second largest city in Portugal so it had a good number of dining options for us to try, but was also small enough that we felt we could cover most of the city in just a few days.
Contents
Daily Itinerary
Start vacation with a rooftop drink at Mirajazz
Traditional Portuguese food family style at A Cozinha do Manel
Breafkast Pasteis de Nata at Mercado do Bolhao
See some of the city's main sites on a free walking tour from Liberdade Square
Visit the tiled walls of the Sao Bento train station
No frills Portuguese lunch at O Buraco
Dinner with frills at Casario
Night walk along the Douro river
Continue the night on Rua da Galeria de Paris
Visit the bookstore that inspired parts of Harry Potter
Stop by the tiled Carmo Church nearby
Walk up 240 steps to the top of Clerigos Church Tower
Take in the panoramic views of Porto
Traditional Portuguese Sandwhich at Casa Guedes
Cross the Douro River
Taste some port wine at its origin
Try to not have a heart attack at Brasao
Day trip to the Douro Valley to visit wineries and of course taste it
Modern dinner at Tasco
Flights
Air France Economy ORD-CDG-OPO: 15,000 Citi points one-way transferred to Flying Blue + $75 taxes & fees
United Business OPO-FRA-LHR-ORD: 66,000 United miles + $110 taxes & fees
Hotels
Intercontinental Porto: Cash using Citi Prestige 4th night free
▸ Luxury hotel right on the main square of Porto and just a few steps from the train station. While under renovations while we were there, we could not hear any noise
Lobby of the Intercontinental Porto - Porto, Portugal 2023
Food (With Beli Ranking)
A Cozinha do Manel (9.2) - Serving authentic traditional Portuguese food family style, this was a perfect restaurant for a group. What little wall space that isn't covered by photographs is covered with colorfule tiles and all sorts of other knick knacks. A must try for a first time visit to Porto.
Tascö (8.7) - Modern restaurant with a fun atmosphere, great food, and great service. Highly recommended for a nice dinner with a fun vibe.
Casario (8.0) - Located in the Gran Cruz House and with great views overlooking the Douro River, Casario serves refined modern takes on local dishes. A nice place for a more upscale dinner out.
Casa Guedes (7.6) - A small shop serving the best pork sandwiches in Porto since 1987. Simple, cheap, delicious.
Brasão (5.8) - There are several locations throughout Porto serving one of the best Francesinhas in Porto. They even have vegetarian versions.
O Buraco (5.7) - Like stepping back in time 40 years, the food is as simple as the building looks. There's no reservations, so you'll have to line up but the food is simple, tasty, and not expensive.
Mercado do Bolhão - Historic market with vendors selling fresh produce and meat, stalls for drinks, as well as restaurants serving food.
Full Itinerary
Day 1
Mirajazz
To get our trip started properly, our group found a bar with a small rooftop bar where we could get right into some Portugese wine before dinner.
Mirajazz - Porto, Portugal 2023
If you search for best traditional Portuguese food, A Cozinha do Manel is probbaly the first restaurant that comes up and for good reason. Stepping in feels like stepping into a Grandmother's kitchen with mugs, dishes (and a sewing machine?) hanging from the ceiling. Walking past the bar to the restaurant in back feels similar to a Chicago Italian restaurant - blue checkered (instead of red) tablecloths and lots of pictures of famous people on the walls.
The food is excellent and the servings huge, so make sure to come with an appetite. I couldn't tell you what we ordered - I only remember one dish was definitely cod. But, I am confident that no matter what you order it will be excellent.
A Cozinha Do Manel - Porto, Portugal 2023
Day 2
Mercado do Bolhão is a traditional Portuguese market where you can find all sorts of fresh meats and produce. Along the outside of the market are a number of stalls where you can also purchase drinks. We stopped here in the morning for a quick bite to eat but also came back later in the trip for some drinks, meats, and cheeses to take back to our friends' apartment.
Mercado do Bolhão - Porto, Portugal 2023
Praça da Liberdade
Liberdade Square is the central square in the city with the town hall at the far end. Our hotel was located on the opposite end from the town hall and with its central location, the square is usually the meeting point for any tours. Often on trips to new cities we do the free walking tour as it's a great way to see some of the main sites and get a bit oriented with the city.
Praça da Liberdade - Porto, Portugal 2023
Porto São Bento
The São Bento train station is just steps from Liberdade Square and is definitely a must see even if you aren't getting on a train. Three of the walls of the station are covered with approximately 20,000 painted tiles, all of which tell stories of Portugal's history.
São Bento Train Stations - Porto, Portugal 2023
Stepping into O Buraco looks just like you'd expect from this picture. It feels like you've been transported back 40 years. I don't think they take reservations (if they even have a phone) so we just waited in a line outside for about 20 minutes to get in for lunch. The food is simple, tasty, and cheap. I would say this is definitely a better lunch spot as it did not feel like a place you would sit around and drink a bottle of wine.
O Buraco - Porto, Portugal 2023
After our very simple lunch, we happened to plan well in having a more modern dinner at Casario in the Gran Cruz Hotel. Overlooking the Douro River, we had some great wine and some great food and ended up closing down the restaurant. Definitely a great find.
The View at Casario - Porto, Portugal 2023
Rua da Galeria de Paris
After dinner we made our way to Rua da Galeria de Paris, the go-to street for nightlife (which is like 10-11pm for us). The street was filled with people and we found ourselves in a bar called Fish Club with quite the mural on the wall.
Fish Club on Rua da Galeria de Paris - Porto, Portugal 2023
Day 3
Livraria Lello
Livraria Lello is a bookstore rumored to have inspired JK Rowling in various depictions in Harry Potter such as the staircases in Hogwarts. The store is so popular you have to pre-book a ticket and time to get in. Normally, I wouldn't say something like this is worth it but this is definitely a unique bookstore unlike any other I've seen. The staircase and stained glass ceiling are worth going in to see.
Livraria Lello - Porto, Portugal 2023
Igreja do Carmo
Just a short walk from the bookstore is Igreja do Carmo which features a side covered in tiles which is popular for photos.
Igreja do Carmo - Porto, Portugal 2023
Igreja e Torre dos Clérigos
Another short walk from the bookstore is the Clerigos tower which has 240 steps you can climb. Just be warned this was built before modern regulations so the staircase is steep and very narrow.
From the top of the tower, you have 360 degree views of Porto. However, the walkway is only narrow enough for 1 person so you are at the mercy of the people in front of you. For me the views are worth the climb, but if you are someone that gets claustrophobic I would definitely recommend staying on the ground.
View From The Top of Igreja e Torre dos Clérigos - Porto, Portugal 2023
Another simple lunch spot, Casa Guedes is known for serving the best pork-leg sandwhiches in Porto. There's usually a line, but it goes fast since everyone's ordering the same. I can vouch that the sandwich is excellent and definitely recommend.
Casa Guedes - Porto, Portugal 2023
Ponte Luís I
Ponte Luís I is the recognizable bridge crossing the Douro River. On top is a tram and pedestrian walkway, below are train tracks for crossing. On the other side from Porto is monastery overlooking the bridge and river from which this photo was taken.
Ponte Luís I - Porto, Portugal 2023
Porto Augusto's
Lining the southern bank of the Douro River are a number of Port Houses where you can taste and buy port wine produced in the Douro Valley. As we got there a bit late, some of the bigger houses were closed already but after going a bit behind the main strip we found a smaller house called Porto Augusto's where we were able to taste some port wine.
On our walking tour we learned of a dish called a Francesinha which was invented in the 1950s by a guy who wanted to adapt the French croque-monsieur for Portugal. It's basically a sandwhich made with toast and meat inside, covered with cheese and gravy with an egg on top. And I think this thing has to be at least 5,000 calories.
But, when in Porto we had to try one so we did some searching online and found that Brasão is known for having a really good Francesinha and there are several locations throughout Porto. As far as taste, yes it's good - what's not to like? But I felt like I was going to die after eating half of this thing, so probably worth trying once. Not something I need to have regularly or maybe even ever again.
Francesinha at Brasão - Porto, Portugal 2023
Day 4
Douro Valley
Our group booked a day trip to the Douro Valley from Porto and for our short trip this was perfect, but much like other wine countries you could probably spend a number of days staying in the region during the summer or especially harvest season.
Our guide took us to several wineries where we of course tasted the wine, learned abou the Douro Valley, and at one winery we had lunch.
As part of the tour we also took a boat ride (with wine onboard of course) which was a fun and unique activity compared to just driving from winery to winery.
Douro Valley - Porto, Portugal 2023
To wrap up our trip, we had a final dinner at tascö, a very modern restaurant which definitely felt like the cool spot to be at for dinner. While some restaurants have good presentation, but bad taste that was not the case here. This octopus tasted as good as it looked. You can eat great food and take Instagram worthy pictures at this restaurant!
Octopus at Tascö - Porto, Portugal 2023
Overall
Our long weekend trip to Porto with the goal of eating good food was a great success. I loved everything about Porto and while it's big enough to have more than enough options for anything you might want to do, it's still small enough that it wasn't overwhelming and four days felt like enough to get a good feel for the city.
I very much like traveling to Portugal in the winter, but I think it would be an amazing experience to spend an extended period in the Douro Valley in the spring or fall.
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