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Porto

That’s a great idea!

Here is a wonderful view of what you'll see (from Mindera's Office).

A rooftop terrace with a parasol and picnic tables, looking out over the rooftops of Porto

Below you'll find places in Porto that I recommend to:

This list was first published in 2023 and has been updated monthly.

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94 of 94 places

32 places

Where to eat?

No food restrictions

A francesinha sandwich topped with a fried egg, sitting in a pool of orange sauce

Francesinha

Book in advance, since several are in high demand.

(If you still have room: at Brasão, ask for the cookie cake for dessert. Nice variety of beers as well.)

A bifana: a soft bread roll filled with thin slices of marinated porkA whole roasted quail in an orange sauce on a white plate

Bifana or Quail

Slightly spicy and super tasty

Cachorrinhos, thin toasted hot-dog sandwiches cut into pieces, with a plate of chips

Cachorrinhos da Batalha

(Little hot dogs)

Rows of chickens roasting on spits over hot charcoal

Do you like anything and everything chicken-related?

Welcome to “Peter of the Chickens!”

Ask for a “Canja” (chicken soup) and chicken for X people!

Roast octopus with potatoes, peppers, onion and olives

Traditional Portuguese food

  • Pote Velho
  • orTaberna Santo António
Grilled fish opened flat, with lemon slices

Fish / Octopus / Squid

(ask the staff for advice on which fish to order)

Vegan

High €nd

A plated dish of meat with grilled vegetables and mushrooms

Experimental cuisine

5 places

Have a drink/Tea

Inside the chapel wine bar: a carved altar behind café tables and chairs

Old chapel turned into a wine bar

Amazing place. They kept most of the chapel’s structure and altars, and it’s very charming. Good variety of wines; you can ask the staff for advice.

Inside a craft beer shop, with bottles on the shelves and small high tables

Craft beers

They have a great variety of beers, on tap and bottled, both Portuguese and foreign. You can ask for a taste of the tap beers if you’re undecided.

Cool terrace in the backyard.

People drinking at tables in a sunny, tree-shaded beer garden

Beer in a garden

Nice, helpful staff, plus good snacks and good-quality craft beer.

Go down the stairs for extra seating and the beer garden. A lovely, quiet place.

A leafy backyard garden with low tables, cushions and red lanterns

Teas from all over the world

Teas from all over the world with a lovely backyard garden.

A bright café room with a woman sitting by the window and cats lounging around

Cat Café

Purrfect place for cat lovers, this fairly recent space is the first cat café in Porto. The owners belong to an animal welfare association, so all the cats in the café were rescued from the streets and are there to socialise and be adopted.

1 place

Challenges - Who is brave enough?

A huge francesinha on a platter, with a bowl of sauce on the side

Brace yourself... and ask for the “Mega Francesinha”

9 places

Dessert or Snack

Two cream-filled éclairs with a chocolate topping on a plate

Éclairs

  • Leitaria da Quinta do Paço
A stack of jesuítas, triangular puff pastries with a sugar glaze

Jesuíta!

  • Confeitaria Moura
A slice of banoffee pie drizzled with chocolate on a square plate

Banoffee

(Grab a bite by the beach)

27 places

What to visit?

Places to visit - Porto

The baroque Clérigos church and its tall bell tower at the top of a street

Ex-libris of the city

Can be seen from many different points in the city.

It has a tower, a church and a museum.

A wide avenue with an equestrian statue, lined with ornate buildings

Considered the city centre

A majestic avenue lined with Beaux-Arts buildings, with the city hall at the top.

  • Aliados
An arcaded interior courtyard under a glass dome inside Palácio da Bolsa

19th century Stock Exchange Palace

A very beautiful historic building in Porto, with a special mention for the Arab Room (not the one in the picture, to avoid spoilers).

The red forked staircase inside Livraria Lello, surrounded by carved wooden bookshelves

The bookshop that is famous for inspiring Harry Potter

Super iconic bookshop. It is considered one of the most beautiful bookshops in the world. It has a beautifully painted facade and an amazing staircase inside. Because of the number of visitors, there is now an entry fee, but you can deduct it from the price of a book bought there. Be ready for queues and a bit of waiting.

The entrance hall of São Bento station, its walls covered in blue-and-white tile panels

Beautiful train station

A true icon of the city.

Right in the city centre, a must-see!

A fountain with lion statues in a square, in front of a church with a tiled side wall

A square in the heart of Porto’s nightlife

It has an important academic tradition and sits among amazing buildings like the Reitoria do Porto (where the University of Porto was founded) and the Igreja do Carmo (the tiled church).

Crowds along the riverfront, with colourful houses and an iron bridge behind

Riverfront pedestrian street

With narrow, colourful houses, loads of traditional restaurants and a very good vibe.

A red house reflected in a garden pond, surrounded by trees

Porto Botanical Garden

It has several ponds and greenhouses, and most plants have a little plaque with their species. Entry is free.

The ornate carved facade of the Majestic Café

One of the most beautiful cafés in the world

Expect a queue to get into the most famous café in Porto. It dates back to 1921 and has a Belle Époque architectural style.

Aerial view of the cathedral and its square, with an iron bridge and the river behind

Old cathedral

  • Porto Cathedral
View up the Douro river from a hillside viewpoint, with a bridge in the distance

Nice sightseeing

  • Miradouro das Fontainhas
A formal garden with a fountain, with the river and a bridge beyond the treesA small stone turret on a garden wall overlooking the Douro river

Nice gardens to visit

It's called Jardins do Palácio de Cristal (Crystal Palace Gardens) after its original building, now gone. It now has an event/sports venue, while keeping the original gardens with an amazing river view.

  • Jardins Palácio Cristal
A long stone building with a tiled roof on the riverbank

Old customs building (UNESCO World Heritage)

Now converted into a convention centre. It usually has some interesting exhibitions.

  • Alfândega do Porto
Aerial view of a pink villa at the end of a long formal garden with a fountain

Nice gardens and Museum

  • Serralves
The angular white Casa da Música building under a blue sky

Want to see a concert in an amazing place?

Venue for shows and concerts. Known for its advanced architecture and quirky design, it’s a modern symbol of the city.

  • Casa da Música
An Art Deco McDonald’s entrance, with a bronze eagle above the arched window

Named the most beautiful McDonald's in the world

  • McDonald's Aliados

Places to visit - Gaia

An iron arch bridge spanning the Douro, with Porto’s old town on the hill behind

Nice sightseeing - walk across the bridge to Gaia

  • Ponte D. Luís
A domed monastery on top of a rocky hill

Then see Porto from here

  • Mosteiro da Serra do Pilar
A square at night, with a light projection on the surrounding buildings

Beautiful view, museums and Porto wine tasting

  • WoW

Places to visit - Matosinhos

A green park and a lake seen through a stone window

Nice sightseeing and Park

  • Miradouro da Aurora / Parque da Cidade

20 places

Fun / Team Building

Porto & Matosinhos

A driver in a racing simulator seat facing three screens

Simuladores

  • Autódromo Virtual da Boavista
People inside inflatable bubbles playing football on a grass field

Bubble Football

  • Bubble Football Povoa Varzim
A group of paintball players in masks and camouflage holding markers

Paintball

  • Paintball Porto