Solo in Porto

Portugal has been on my to-visit list for a while, and what better time to go than to catch some winter sun that was still about in southern Europe. This blog covers what I did in Porto whilst travelling solo, and also (importantly!) picks out a few of my top vegan places to eat in the city.

This trip was also combined with a weekend visit to Lisbon, the capital of Portugal - more of that to follow in a later blog. After visiting the 2 cities, I would say I personally preferred Porto. It's walkability, old town charm and culture that hasn't yet been fully eroded by globalisation and mass tourism meant I got a good feel for what a Portuguese city is really like.

The map below shows all the spots I hit during my travels including: accommodation, food, attractions, airport/bus terminals etc. This will give you a good idea of where everything is location in relation to one another.

Transport to/in Porto

Travelling from the UK, flying into Porto was no problem, with many flight options on offer. It's about a 2 hour journey, whilst remaining in the same time zone as London. Upon arrival, to get into the city centre you have a few options:

• Taxi/Uber - The price of Uber is relatively cheaper here compared to places like London, and so I opted to get one of those which cost me ~€15. Local taxis are usually waiting by the arrival terminal too, but I'm not sure what they charge in comparison.
• Metro - Another option which would have worked well if you're travelling light is to take the metro from the airport. Porto's metro system is simple and easy to understand, and connects you to all the main spots in the city. I used the metro to get from my accommodation to the bus terminal when leaving for Lisbon, and I had no issues

• Porto TIC Campanhã Bus Terminal - If you're arriving/leaving Porto by bus, there is a huge bus terminal under the Campanhã train station. I used Flixbus (a bus company) to get from Porto to Lisbon. It's fairly cheap and easy to use. The buses also travel internationally to other European destinations. One thing to note: the bus terminal can be a bit tricky to find, so upon arrival at the train station ask someone for directions!

• On foot - the majority of my time in Porto was spent exploring on foot. I find it's the best way to get to know a city and means you spot little details as you wander around. Be warned, Porto is very hilly/steep, with the city rising steadily as you move away from the Douro River. For this reason, I opted to travel with a duffel backpack as opposed to a suitcase - making it much easier to climb stairs.

Things to do in Porto

Visit the Luís I Bridge

The apartment I was staying in was right under the Luís I Bridge, a double deck metal arch bridge that spans the river Douro between the cities of Porto (north side of the river) and Vila Nova de Gaia (south side). It was built in 1877 by Teófilo Seyrig, an individual who worked closely with Gustave Eiffel (yup, that Eiffel Tower!). The bridge is worth coming to see, but I'm sure as you're exploring Porto you will pass it at some point. Visit at day and night, and be sure to walk across the top deck to get to Vila Nova de Gaia. From the bridge you can get great views of the city with the river winding through it.

Porto Walking Tour

I always love doing a walking tour when I visit a new city, as it gives you an overview of the main sights whilst telling you the historical background of the place. I usually use GuruWalk to book my walking tours, as it has lots of choice. The Porto walking tour lasted about 2.5 hours, and took us all over the city. Some of the trivia that I can remember included:

• The Portuguese Centre of Photography used to be a jail until 1976.
• Portugal has only been a democracy since 1974. Prior to this, it was a dictatorship for the majority of the 20th century.
• "Portugal" means centre port.
• The university of Porto has 200,000 students.
• Sao Bento Train Station has more than 20,000 blue tiles - originally coming from the Arabic countries.

I'll let you visit Porto and find out the rest of the facts yourself! These walking tours are free to book, but work on a 'pay what you feel' basis. I really like this concept as it's up to you to choose how much to pay, with no pressure to either.

Ingreja do Carmo Porto

Ingreja do Carmo is a church for the monks that I visited. What's interesting about this building is next to it is the Ingreja dos Carmalitas, the church for nuns. Between then is a 1m wide house that separates both churches. This house was inhabited until the 1980s, and you can still go in and see the rooms. The church itself was interesting - as I found out on the walking tour real donated human hair was used on the statues of Jesus Christ inside...👀.

Watch the Sunset at Jardim do Morro

Jardim do Morro is a park located on the south side of the river, officially in the Vila Nova de Gaia part. It's popular to watch the sunset from, and on a clear day the city of Porto looks fabulous at dusk. The park usually has live music playing at that time, so it's worth coming early and soaking in the atmosphere with the other sunset chasers that have gathered. The easiest way to get there is to use the top deck of the Luis I Bridge.

Vila Nova de Gaia Walking Tour

The Porto Walking Tour covered the north side of the city. If you're interested in learning more about the other side of the river, the Vila Nova de Gaia walking tour is a good way to do it. Whilst the south of the river is mainly known for it's wine and port cellars, the walking tour also put it into historical context. Some trivia included:

• Originally Porto was predominantly Christian, and Gaia was mostly Muslim. This lead to conflicts over time which the Christians eventually won.
• Gaia was originally considered quite unsafe, hence people from Porto did not want to live there. Gaia is also a lot newer than Porto as it was this part of the city that was bombed and damaged over the years (Napoleon is partly to blame for that).
• Before the Luis I Bridge was constructed, people used boats to get from Porto to Gaia.
• Gaia stores port and wine that was made in the Douro Valley.
  • The colour and taste of Port depends on the years of maturity and the amount of oxygen that is let in.
• Portugal is the world's biggest producer of cork. Cork is the only natural ingredient that allows 10-15% of oxygen to come through into the port.

Palácio da Bolsa

Palácio da Bolsa is open for guided tours, and if you've got a free hour I would recommend you come and visit. The only way to visit is through a guided tour, and they can get quite popular depending on time of day. Palácio da Bolsa is used as the centre of trade, commerce and business in Porto. Despite being called a palace, the Royal Family never resided there. The tour of the meeting rooms was most interesting, where I saw the original office of Gustave Eiffel during this time in Porto.

Livria Lello

A visit to this famous bookstore is a must-do for bookworms. Livria Lello inspired J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, during the years she lived in Porto. However, having visited the bookstore once I would no go again - finding it too commercialised and touristy. The best time of day to go to avoid queues is towards the end, from 17:45 onwards (it closes at 19:00).

Crowds aside, the bookstore itself is very nice, with an elegant staircase taking you up to the first floor which had a whole range of books. I managed to find the entire Lord of the Rings Trilogy in Portuguese, and saw some other classics on offer. If you do decide to visit, I would go with the €8 ticket option and arrive early so you're at the front of the queue for your allocated timeslot.

Porto Bike Tour

Exploring on foot is great, but there's only so far you can travel. I opted to explore the greater regions of Porto on 2 wheels, doing a ~20km bike tour starting in the city centre. It took me from the old town out to the coast and back. It was a great way to explore the other suburbs that Porto has (such as Foz), and explore some lovely parks. I wouldn't say I'm very confident with road cycling, but the guide was great and cycling in Porto is pretty chill.

Other things to do

I didn't end up going to these, but was recommended:

• Porto Cathedral
• Visit Estádio do Dragão, home of Porto FC
• Do a wine tasting tour in the Douro Valley
• Parque de Serralves - treetop walk
• Mercado do Bolhao - traditional market selling fresh produce
  

Plant-based in Porto

Francesinhas

A Francesinha is a Porto sandwich that originally is made with layers of toasted bread, assorted hot meats, cheese and covered in a hot beer-based sauce. I found a place that did the vegan version of this classic dish and decided to give it a go. Francesinhas da Baxia was the spot, and I went for the seitan based version of the Francesinha.

In all honesty, I wasn't impressed with this dish. Very heavy and lacked much flavour, it's quite rich if it's your first time having one. I probably wouldn't have it again, and if you're planning on trying it I would go halfsies with someone first.

Odetebakery

Portugal is also known for it's Pastel de Natas - an egg custard tart pastry. Outside of Portugal, these tarts are also common in former Portuguese colonies such as Brazil, Mozambique, Goa and East Timor. Odetebakery is a 100% vegan spot which sells the Pastel de Nata, so you know I had to go and try one! First thoughts - it was delicious. The combination of a crispy outer pastry with a gooey custard filling works so well. I recommend getting a cup of coffee to accompany it (per volume, coffee in Portugal is very cheap, costing ~€1.50 for an espresso).

Odetebakery itself is set away from the main area on Porto, on a quiet residential street. Get there early to avoid missing the Natas, as they make them fresh daily. The bakery is also a great stop for a sandwich (I tried the Mediterranean one) for lunch.

Timeout Market Porto

The Timeout Market in Porto is nice to visit and window shop, but has very limited vegetarian, let alone vegan, options. I wouldn't recommend eating here, although I did pick up a burger from Bursco Burgers (which was average and overpriced for what it was). It's nice to wander around and maybe grab a drink.

daTerra

If you're sick of eating junk food when on holiday, this is the vegan spot for you. Their dinner buffet range was amazing, a great variety of healthy options on offer for a reasonable price of ~€12.50. During the day, daTerra also sell pastries and coffee, so it's somewhere you can keep coming back to. My dinner consisted of plenty of salad, rice dishes, hummus and grilled veggies - just what I was craving!

Kind Kitchen

Another vegan spot that I would highly recommend is Kind Kitchen. I ordered the Kind Poke for lunch, consisting of sushi rice, tofu, soy beans, mango and pickled onions. It was filling and delicious, and I probably didn't need to order the Pastel de Nata and coffee that followed (oh well, I was on holiday 🙈).

Nola Kitchen

I gave the Beet Burger a go at Nola Kitchen, and was impressed with it. Nice to have a black bean and beetroot based patty as opposed to a Beyond Burger (which I was a bit sick of at this point). The dish was served piping hot, including the sweet potato fries. They didn't skimp out on the avocado either which I appreciated.

Apuro

The last vegan-friendly spot I've got for you is Apuro. A bar/restaurant, it had a laid back and friendly atmosphere to it. I got the Katsu and homemade lemonade and mint drink for dinner - both of which were tasty. The staff are also lovely, so be sure to pay them a visit.

And with that wraps up the first part of my Portuguese travels. Porto was a lovely city to travel solo - I felt safe and welcome everywhere I went. There were plenty of other solo travellers doing the same thing as me, so some days I had company to explore the city with. The warm temperatures, even at the end of October, make it a nice place to visit in the off-season. Next up, Lisbon!

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