Mini-trip to Porto Portugal - January 2019
This was a last-minute trip with some of the family and whilst browsing for deals online, I found a holiday to Porto, the second-largest city in Portugal after Lisbon.
Flight: We flew with TAP Air Portugal (the national airline of Portugal) and it was such a good experience. Staff were friendly, seats were reasonably spacious and they also gave out a cold meal (wrap, cheese and crackers, and a hot drink) even though it is a short-haul flight from London to Porto, lasting 2 hours 20 minutes. Another bonus was that the flight going to (we flew on a Thursday), was practically empty so I went and got a whole row to myself.
Stay: The hotel we stayed in was HF Ipanema Porto. We got an Uber from the airport to the hotel which was only €12.91. The hotel itself is modern and clean and only 10 minutes walk away from popular tourist attractions such as the Crystal Palace Gardens and 13 minutes walk away from the National Museum Soares dos Reis. In our package we got breakfast which had a good variety from hot food (such as sausage, pancakes, beans and eggs) to cold food (cereal, muesli, yoghurt) and sweets (pastel de nata, chocolate rolls and orange cake), although each day was slightly different. We booked our flights and accommodation together and for 3 people for 4 days, it was only £755.
Do: When I was searching for places to visit in Porto one of the top 10 attractions is Jardins do Palácio de Cristal (Crystal Palace Gardens). We spent an hour or so walking round and taking pictures, they have a duck pond, peacocks walking around and this beautiful viewpoint below. There was however, quite a bit of construction going on in the park so in summer I imagine there would be more things to see there.
Just 5 minutes walk away from the garden is Museu Nacional Soares dos Reis. Entry is €5 for adults. We didn't stay for long as it was only me that enjoys museums but I think there is an ample amount to see, if you do enjoy museums.
Another famous attraction in Porto is Clerigos Church and Tower, a baroque-style church and the tallest free-standing tower in Portugal with 240 steps to get to the top. There is no entry fee for the church but there is an entry fee of €5 to go up the tower. After paying for your tickets and after the gate you have to follow directions through the church and walk around the whole place before getting to the tower.
Once you get to the bottom of the tower, it is quite a steep climb and the steps are narrow so expect moments of awkwardness as you unluckily bump into strangers coming down or going up (as there is only one point of entry) and either you or them having to squeeze into whatever corner or space there is for one or the other to pass.
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When we first arrived in Porto Airport the 3 of us could not ignore the massive poster in the airport that had "OUTLET SHOPPING - Vila do Conde Porto Fashion Outlet" written across it with a pair of happy shoppers grinning, of course we had to go explore. We took an Uber to the outlet mall from our hotel which came up to €18.82. We managed to come out with a few bits but the mall was smaller than we had expected, there are some good deals to be found though e.g. Coach had 50% off things that were already discounted and the Nike store was really big.
One of my favourite places, was O Porto dos Gatos (a cat cafe). There is no time-limit or the need to book a slot before visiting (such as the cat cafes in London and Glasgow), you need only to buy a drink or food when you get there which you can enjoy in the cat-free zone or in the outside terrace. There are so many cats there and they are all so friendly. There was one in particular which had a unique colour and he (or she) absolutely stole my heart and I didn't even get a picture of him (or her) because I was too busy playing with the cat. I did however get one of the cats sleeping which they do a lot so don't be surprised if 70% of them are sprawled out sleeping when you get there.
Porto is a lovely city to walk around and there are plenty of good photo opportunities with the buildings and the views,
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Another must-try is pastel de nata (Portuguese egg tart). The crispy pastry with the soft egg custard freshly baked and dusted with a sprinkle of icing sugar and cinnamon is just too good to miss if you're in Portugal. I'm salivating right now just thinking of these beauties. We bought ours from Nata Lisboa, a small cafe in Central Porto. I also got the hot chocolate from the cafe but it was a tad too bitter for my liking.
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One of the nights we did order takeaway as UberEats is operating in Porto and they have such a huge selection available in the area that we stayed in, which was handy. I found Porto was a pretty and quiet city with cheap but delicious food and a haven for fresh seafood; I would recommend Porto for anyone looking for a short stay in a European city.
This concludes my short post on Porto, I hope you enjoyed reading ( •ॢ◡-ॢ)-♡
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