HOME TOUR

Our trip to Northern Portugal started in Costa Nova with a day trip out to Monsanto & Obidos but we ended our summer wanderings in Porto, Portugal. Porto has received international attention in recent years being named “the best European destination” in 2014 and 2017 and “city of the year” by Food and Travel Magazine in 2023. It also has an easy, direct flight to Boston. I had mixed feelings, which I’ll share below. We checked out of our AirBNB in Costa Nova on Saturday afternoon and checked in to the Rebello in Porto that evening. We had a full sightseeing day on Sunday and left Monday evening on a return flight to Boston. You could easily spend more time here, we prioritized beach days over city wanderings.

THE REBELLO

The Rebello, a 5-star hotel on the banks of the Douro river in Gaia, is part of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World chain and was a lovely way to end our trip. It had an old world feel while being incredibly modern at the same time, more modern in style than I typically gravitate to but the amenities made it worth it. It has a lovely indoor pool, spa, rooftop restaurant and breakfast and our 2 bedroom suite had a balcony overlooking the city. Bonus, they offer free childcare at the kids club which is worth your weight in gold when you’re traveling with three kids and just want to go to a restaurant and not ask for butter pasta.

THE ONE DOWNSIDE OF GAIA

We hit the ground running when we arrived on Saturday, taking the gondola from the market area in Gaia up to the top of the Dom Luís bridge. We walked over the bridge and into the old city, wandering around the cathedral and some back lanes. This is the one drawback to staying on this side of the Douro river. It is a long walk / 15 minute taxi ride to get to the majority of the attractions in Porto. As this was the end of our trip and Cade had been spending his beach days running on his stumpies, his legs hurt and he couldn’t walk as far as we would have liked. We also did not get his new set of below-the-knee prosthetics in time before departing and his old ones were hurting. Hence, a slow walk through the city.

HIGHLIGHTS OF PORTO

For us it was the meandering. We hit many of the main attractions on our full day in the city on Sunday, starting with another gondola ride and walk over the Dom Luís bridge and straight to the train station (São Bento)  with its gorgeous tiled walls. This was quite busy and capturing photos people-free was next to impossible. We tell our kids all the time when we’re traveling to “go with it” and this was an example of momma just having to go with it.

DID I LOVE IT?

No. Oddly enough. Because it has awe-factor in the right spots. It’s quaint in areas. But ultimately, my expectations based off of what I had seen online and heard did not meet what I actually saw. It felt economically depressed beyond what is typical and there were complete sections of the city in disrepair, crumbling facades with graffiti covering every surface. The church with the famous blue tiles (Igreja do Carmo) was completely covered in cheesecloth which muted the tile. Apparently they are doing blasting across the street to create a new subway line to the airport. It has been completely covered for 3 years now with no end in sight. As long as your expectation is in the right place you won’t be as disappointed as I was.

PERHAPS THE WHY OF IT

Portugal is the 2nd poorest country in the EU and has struggled with its economy. We saw many homeless, trash abounded and I wouldn’t consider it particularly clean. Were there lovely areas, absolutely. Is it worth a stop, yes. Would I go back, probably not. I asked a rickshaw driver about the sections of the city, literally blocks and blocks of abandoned buildings which were confusing to me. He said it isn’t because they aren’t wanted, it is because when the owner dies the property gets tied up in court as every relative comes out of the woodworks vying for a chance at ownership. He said he can no longer afford to live in Porto because the prices have gone through the roof. So these buildings are very much wanted but being disputed. I have no idea if this is true and given the disrepair of some of these entire sections of the city, I’m frankly skeptical but it would be nice if they could be renovated. There’s so much charm here. So much potential lurking around every corner. We did enjoy the street art immensely, from large cats 3 stories high to the famous rabbit in Gaia by Bordalo II.

THE HARRY POTTER BOOK STORE

You have to buy a ticket in advance to enter Livraria Lello. They have arrival times and then you get in line. It was very crowded which is not my jam but the actually bookshop is adorable. The famous staircase does feel very Harry Potter. The kids each got a book and I came home with a coffee table book.

SUNSET BOAT RIDE

An easy way to enjoy sunset is to take a river cruise or charter a boat trip. We went under 5 bridges and enjoyed all the sites from a slightly different angle. Cade got to sit down and it was relaxing for all of us. Get in line early enough so you get a seat or better yet, plan in advance. We regretted not organizing this sooner.

And just like that it was time to fly home. Porto was easy to navigate. I wish we would have hired a guide to take us around the city given how much Cade was struggling. We would have seen more, learned more history and all enjoyed ourselves more. Find a great walking tour and dive in. I hope you enjoy these wanderings in Porto, Portugal.

AT A GLANCE

Favorite Restaurant: Mescla Restaurante & Bar — address: R. da Alfândega 15, 4050-029 Porto, Portugal

Great Gelato: Boutique do Gelado –address: R. de Ferreira Borges 67, 4050-252 Porto, Portugal

Best Pasteis de Nata: Nata Sweet Nata –address: R. de 31 de Janeiro 106, 4000-427 Porto, Portugal (near the train station)

Favorite Blue Tiles: Igreja do Carmo– address: R. do Carmo, 4050-164 Porto, Portugal (just be warned it is covered in cheese cloth at the moment as construction of a new subway line endangers the tile. The tile is very muted which was disappointing)

Where we Stayed: The Rebello in Gaia