Porto • Portugal

A week-end in Porto • City walk tour • Capela das Almas • Mercado Bolhão • Gaïa • Douro river banks • São Bento train station

We arrived by train directly from Lisbon, about 4h.

Day 01 • City tour, Capela das Almas and Mercado Bolhão

We went on a walk tour to visit the city. It’s always a good idea to do it on the first day you arrive, so you can spot cute places to come back to later. We went with Porto Walkers and we had such a great time. It’s a good way to learn about the country and the city History. Plus they gave us some advice for places and restaurants.
One of the key point of the walk tour was the São Bento train station. In that particular case it was great to have a guide, he gave us a lot of information about the story behind the tiles.

After the tour we walked to the Capela das Almas. That authentic church is covered with blue tiles. Be careful while contemplating this place though, it’s pretty crowded. Nearby you’ll find the Mercado do Bolhão, where you will find delicious typical Portuguese dishes and cute souvenirs to bring back home.

🙈 STORY TIME 🙈
Unfortunately, the real Mercado Bolhão was closed due to renovations. Instead we visited the temporary one. I visited Porto 3 years ago, and I remember that Mercado was really cute. This one was way less authentic but we were still able to find portuguese food and souvenirs.

Day 02 • Gaïa and Douro River

We started the day by having brunch at the Zenith and I had the best egg benedict of my entire life. But be ready, we arrived around 10:30 and people were already lining up and they don’t take reservations.

For this day, we choose to walk by the Douro river banks. We started at the Cemetério Prado do Repouso, which is kind of creepy (yes you can say it), but it’s also authentic. Once we’d reached the Ponte Luis we crossed it to reach Gaïa. You might not know but once you’ve crossed the river, you’re not in Porto anymore. There, we’ve found the Mercado Beira Rio, which was amazing for lunch. This food court is way cuter than the Time out market in Lisbon. We just spent the rest of this hot summer day, strolling around in Porto and having ice cream at El cremosi.

🔥 BY THE WAY 🔥
I deeply love Porto Identity, I mean the graphic design is insane !! That is, I had to say it. I’m a graphic designer after all 🤩

Porto is the perfect city to disconnect for a weekend. It’s so authentic and the atmosphere is really chill. I went there twice and can’t wait to visit this city again.