Porto Holidays

Waterfront restaurants, attention-grabbing buildings and an old-meets-new skyline are the headliners on city breaks to Porto.

Portugal’s second city

As far as city breaks to Portugal go, Porto is one of the big boys. It’s the right-hand-man to the capital, Lisbon, and rules the roost in the north of the country. And while Lisbon lives life in the fast lane, Porto pootles along at a more leisurely pace. The focus is on centuries-old architecture, cosy wine cellars and lip-smacking local food, with dashes of modern living filling in the gaps.

Clear-cut culture

Shopping, sightseeing and even snacking all come with a side of character here. Well-trodden cobbles run along the centre of fashion-filled Rua Santa Catarina street, and Avenida dos Aliados has architectural gems everywhere you look – the clocktower-topped Câmara Municipal town hall is a standout. For something with a less urban vibe, the Jardins do Palácio de Cristal botanical garden brings sculptures, fountains and manicured hedgerows to the party.

Beaches and boats

Porto’s known for its city rep, but it knows its way around a beach day, as well. The city brushes shoulders with the sea, so you’ve got plenty of sandy stretches within walking distance. They range from sunbathing specialists, like Praia de Carneiro, to coastal walking spots like Praia de Gondarém. And if you’d rather float than flake out, boat trips along the Douro River take you beneath the grand Dom Luís I Bridge and past the riverside restaurants of the Ribeira area.

Treats and tipples

The people of Porto are seriously passionate about their grub, and you’ll have no trouble getting your mitts on local favourites around the city. For your meat and cheese fix, practically every café will have a francesinha sandwich on the menu – this full-to-bursting snack is on the saucier side, and comes with a fried egg plonked on top. If you’ve got a sweet tooth, custardy pasteis de nata tarts are a prime pick.

At a glance

Munch on a signature francesinha sandwich
Take in the ornate tiled interiors of Sao Bento Station
See the city’s grandest architecture on Avenida dos Aliados

Surprising selection

You might not expect a hamper of beaches to come as part of the package on a city break, but that’s exactly the hand that’s been dealt to Porto. Just outside the city limits, you’ll find almost every inch of coastline’s home to either a pocket of pebbles or a string of sand. There are some that are ideal for catching rays, and other’s come with old-school snippets of architecture for company.
The big beach

For a tried-and-tested sunbathing spot close to the city, Praia dos Ingleses is the one. It’s about 15 minutes’ drive from the city centre, so you won’t have to venture far to get there. The seafront’s not the biggest around, but its soft sands and surrounding selection of restaurants makes it a decent pick for days by the water.
The secret beach

If you’re serious about finding a proper under-the-radar sunbathing sweep, Praia do Paco beach comes up with the goods. Hop in a car, and you can reach this little gem in about from Porto. It’s a no-frills sort of set-up, with scenery and simplicity doing most of the heavy lifting. Sand dunes and rolling green hills fill the viewfinder behind the shoreline, and the shallows are polka-dotted with rocky outcrops and big boulders. The result’s a spot that’s sure to make city living feel like a distant memory.

Bargain Buys

Shopping is stripped back to basics at Mercado de Bolhão – this market has done things the same way for more than 150 years, having first set up in the mid 1800s. You’ll see locals dot-to-dotting between the stalls and counters, which cover all of the grocery mainstays. There are fishmongers selling local catches, butchers’ counters, plus whopping stacks of fruit and veg. There are even a few sellers with souvenir stands, to keep visitors from going home empty handed.
Mid-Range Buys

The Mercado do Bom Sucesso is a bit of a hybrid shopping spot – it started out as a market space in the 1940s, and has had fresh life injected into it thanks a recent refurb. It’s gone from being a down-on-its-luck spot to one of the trendier retail areas in Porto, with a food court, fresh produce stalls and live music and entertainment sets.
Designer Buys

The biggest high street names team up with independent boutiques along Rua Santa Catarina – the city’s shopping heartland. The street snakes right through the middle of Porto, and there’s even a whopper of a shopping mall that’s bolted on midway along. Cafés, bakeries and coffee shops fill in the gaps between the retail spots, so it’s easy to take five between buys.

Laid-back evenings

Porto’s Ribeira neighbourhood is just the ticket when you want a night out that’s a little less intense. This waterfront area – particularly a promenade called Cais de Ribeira – is home to a host of wine cellars, authentic Portuguese restaurants and cocktail bars.
Lively evenings

You might look twice at the Galerias Paris street by daytime, and not realise the part it plays in Porto’s nightlife scene. This narrow, tree-dotted avenue is swarming with partygoers after dark, who chop and change between the bars and clubs until the early hours. In fact, the whole thing often feels like a street party, because revellers prefer to mingle outside.

Francesinha

When you think sandwich, this Porto classic might not be the conventional pick-up-and-eat item you’re imagining. Francesinha sandwiches are more of a knife and fork job than its name suggests. Chunky slabs of bread are packed to bursting with loads of meat – usually bacon, beef steak and slices of smoked sausage. Then the whole shebang’s drenched in melted cheese, dolloped into a dish of tomato-and-beer sauce, with a fried egg playing a part of the cherry on top.
Bifana

The bifana is case-in-point for the argument that basic is best. These classic sandwiches are a street food and café mainstay, because they’re such a quick and easy snack. Pork steak is loaded into a cooking pot with garlic and spices, and stewed until it’s reached the melt-in-the-mouth stage. The final step is loading it into a crusty roll, and sometimes slathering a layer of peri-peri sauce inside the lid.
Super Bock

Ordering a cold one in Porto is a must after a day’s exploring, but you need to keep your wits about you when it comes to your choice of beer. Portugal’s pretty territorial when it comes to which brand you back, with Porto favouring Super Bock and Lisbon putting its faith in rival Sagres. So if don’t want to turn any heads when you’re at the bar, make sure you go for Super Bock in these parts.
Caldo Verde

Literally translating as ‘green soup’, this dish does exactly what it says on the proverbial tin. Kale and potatoes form the basis of this hearty option, and there are thinly sliced strips of kale and slices of smoky chorizo thrown in for some extra texture.
Tripas à Moda do Porto

This dish doesn’t quite fall in the fine-dining remit, but you need to try it if you want to earn your authenticity stripes. The dish is made using tripe, after Porto residents faced a lack of other options in the 15th century. Lashings of paprika, veg, smoked ham and onions give it a signature flavour, and it usually comes with rice. It’s such a staple, that locals are sometimes even referred to as ‘tripeiros’.