Overview
** PORTO TOURS, PORTUGAL **
Read travel tips for Porto, Portugal from our amazing community of BLACK AND BROWN TRAVELERS that will help you find some of the best places to visit Porto, Portugal. Our variety of travel tips will definitely help you plan your next trip. Our tips range from best places to visit in Porto, Portugal, affordability, nightlife, local food, where to stay and even what it is like Traveling While Black. Lastly, we are working diligently to create a comprehensive city guide for Porto tours. Stay tuned! But in the meantime, scroll down to read tips below!
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Did a solo trip and had a nice time. Felt comfortable at every stop of the way. The people were friendly enough. The city is quite laid back. Very pretty. Not too much to do. Beautiful waterscapes and beaches. Great to visit once but I’m not rushing back. Too slow for me…
In Porto, I would recommend visiting the Port Wineries across the river in Gaia. Very scenic views that you can enjoy while sipping wine. Another recommednation would be a river cruise since that is one of the best ways to see Porto’s beauty. The city is hilly so keep that in mind when packing, but it is very walkable. I would also recommend taking a tour of the Douro Valley wineries if you have time.
Porto is such an adorable city. I loved it. It’s much less touristy than Lisbon, with all of the Portuguese charm. I especially liked visiting the port wineries and taking a tour (Croft winery) to learn about how the different types are made. Eating delicious and inexpensive beef stew in a restaurant in the Santo Ildefonso area, and a walking around galleries in the Miragaia area were a couple of highlights. I never felt super singled out by being black, just a few stares.
The city is quite small (compared to Lisbon for example) but the good thing is that you don’t have to spend a lot on transport and can visit and explore almost all the historic landmarks– such as the Monumento a Dom Pedro IV and the Palacio da Bolsa– by foot (Put your most comfortable shoes on, the city is built on 2 massive hills so pretty much everything there is a hike).
I lived in Portugal and Porto is and will be my favorite city of Portugal. . .You always want to come back.
It is a romantic city full of history. in 3 days you can know the most popular points of the city, everything is close.
I recommend you to know the city walking each place will take you to another until you reach the Ribeira do Douro (one of the most spectacular scenaries in Europe).
You can also visit the Praia de Matosinhos, eat Francesinhas and drink wine (one of the best in the world).
I love love loveeeeee Porto!! I went with a group of friends and we literally had THE best time each and every single night. The place is incredibly cheap for such amazing food and drink. You can easily do to a Port tasting and be back to enjoy dinner at a tapas restaurant before going out dancing. we were two blacks, two asians and one white and didn’t face any issues anywhere we went; it was more intrigue than anything.
The city feel is really young and “hipster”-y and def much more fun than Lisbon (which was great as well!)
I absolutely loved Porto. I visited while doing my study abroad. We actually spent most of our time but we were able to take a quick two day trip to Porto which was just enough. It is a small town full of great food, wine , and culture. I would suggest one of the free tours that they have. You can find the people in the square. They are free because it is just usually locals making extra money so you have to tip well. Because they are locals and not part of some city guide company they really know what they are talking about. They know the history, where to get real souvenirs, the most beautiful; spots for pictures and the best hole-in-a-wall restaurants. We toured the city one day and did a wine tasting the second day. You can’t go to Porto without tasting some Porto!
During my stay in Lisbon we decided to take a trip to Porto. It was a 3-4hour train ride that cost around 50 Euro. Although we only spent one night I have to say that the city was very lively. We went to a bar/club called THE WALL and danced all night long. The vibe, the DJ, the crowd were all great. We REALLY enjoyed ourselves there.
We stayed at REIS DE GAIA a nice little Apartment Hotel, they were fairly cheap ($115) considering we were a group of 5 and the flat was well distributed, 2 twin bed, one double bed and a double sofa bed and 2 full bathrooms. I believe breakfast was around 5 euro if you decide to eat there.
We did some touring the next by tuktuk stopping at the major sights, but we had to rush having to catch the train back to Lisbon at 4pm. My only regret is not having spent more time in Porto. If you decide to visit Porto give yourself at least 2 days. The people are nice, food is good and don’t forget to try a francesinha, (a typical Porto dish) and of course Port wine.
Cheers and I hope You enjoy Porto as much as I did!!!
If you ever find yourself in Porto (sometimes called Oporto), make sure you visit São Bento train station, probably the world’s most beautiful train station with walls covered with “azulejos”, blue and white tiles, depicting scenes of battles and transportation history. Next stop should be Ribeira do Douro, surrounded by the Douro river, colorful building, restaurants, and vintage stores and galleries.
Book lovers should definitely stop at Livraria Lello which is considered one of the world’s top ten most beautiful bookstores. JK Rowling was a frequent customer when she lived and taught in Porto and the city and bookstore provided inspiration for the Harry Potter series.
The Jardins do Palácio de Cristal is perfect for a stroll with beautiful views of the city from lookout points and peacocks swanning around the gardens. Next, you should get a tuk-tuk ride around town and make sure you stop to visit Clerigos Tower. After the climb, about six levels of narrow and steep stairs, you get the BEST view of the entire city. Porto is also perfect for art lovers. The streets are paved with calcadas, a traditional art of placing stones into intricate images, house are painted with bright colors, graffitis and tiles. Foods to try: bacalhau, francesinha, pasteis de nata and of course drink wine.