a last minute trip to Porto, never been to Portugal but heard only good things, so excited to see and explore what Porto and portugal has to offer.
Day 1- May 30 2022
We arrived mid afternoon so we ready for a late lunch and to try some portuguese food. Our airbnb host and a friend recommended brasão coliseu which is supposed to have one of the better francesinha sandwich plus it was in walking distance from our airbnb. the food was really good, although we were quite hungry the francesinha was super rich and filling. we then walked around the area stopping by the majestic cafe to just have a peak and walked through the shopping area on Santa Catarina street. as we were still so full from lunch we skipped dinner and instead had some natas from Manteigaria Fábrica. These were so good, different from the ones you will find in macau or hong kong, the dough crispier and filling more creamier and less eggy. we heard that they like to put a little cinnamon on top, we will have to try that next time.
First full day in Porto, as it had rained off and on we tried to do as much exploring in between the drier moments. most of the major sites were in walking distance so we took our time, some places to stop by are the sao bento train station, clerigos tower, flower street and the bolsa palace which wou do need to book ahead of time either online or in person as you can only go inside with a tour. in between exploring we had very delicious local portuguese food for lunch and dinner, mainly consisting of cod fish.
last day in porto and the weather finally cleared up, there were still a few clouds and grey skies but it was much more bluer and sunnier than the previous two days. we did a little shopping in the morning then in the afternoon it was spent on the other side of the river, doing a port tasting at adriano ramos pinto then taking the gaia cable car to the top to get a lovely view of the city. on the way back we stopped by the Mosterio da Serra do Pilar and Igreja de Santa Clara, beautiful buildings and even more beautiful views. then we finished off our trip with a nice dinner at DOP, rated as one of the top restaurants in porto. although porto is a small city, there is a lot to see and do and a lot of things to eat. you can do a lot in 2.5 days but i think another day or two would have been nice to explore more areas outside of the direct city center. I am sure we will be back again.