Porto – Sunday Times

A complete guide to Porto

Guyan Mitra
Published: 8 May 2010

Everything seems to be upside down in Porto. It’s a Latin, southern European city,
but it’s on the Atlantic Ocean. It’s Portuguese, but plastered across the rooftops are British names. It’s a coastal port, but instead of seafood it’s famous for tripe. The area had been famous for wine until they chucked in some brandy to the mix and accidentally made it even more famous for port. And finally, it’s renowned for its historic baroque architecture, but a bizarre 21st Century crystal-shaped building (the Casa de Musica) is the pride of the city.
Historically, we Brits have been tied to Porto since the early 1700’s, when one of
our many disagreements with France resulted in the area becoming our main source
of wine. To help the wine keep for the longer journey, they poured brandy into it,
creating port… the city’s never looked back since.
Beyond the sweet spirit, weekenders will find an off-the-chart cuddly town of charm,
history and romance. Scrunch up the map and get lost in the meandering medieval
passageways of Ribeira, the city’s old town. The ancient district is a hive of rippling ancient facades that tumble down to the riverbanks of the River Douro’s glistening mouth. Here you’ll find a medieval time warp, as stout, apron-wearing grannies gossip from their balconies across the narrow ally ways.
Paradoxically, the city is also Portugal’s centre of commerce, culture and creativity. Despite being steeped in history, the city’s youthful students – usually seen wearing medieval black capes – are reaching out to the future with some experimental attitudes to music, art and architecture, ensuring that complimenting a weekend of historic streets is a smattering of 21st Century treats…

10 things to see and do

1. Porto is too strange to appreciate when sober. So start your weekend by sampling the tipple the town lends its name to. At Vila Nova de Gaia, in the south, scores of the old port wineries brandish Brit names, such as Cockburn and Taylor’s. Sandeman (00 351 22 374 0533, www.sandeman.eu; £3.50; on map) is the best place to learn about Britain’s historic romance with the city and its famous drink.

2. Now you’re ready for a bit of time travel, with a trip on one of Porto’s ancient trams. Line 1 trundles prettily along the waterfront from downtown at Massarelos to Ribeira (the old town) at little more than a brisk walker’s pace. Devoted tram-spotters should poke around the Electric Tramcar Museum (Alameda Basílo Teles 51; £2.50, including tram travel for the day; ). Not just for anoraks, the museum also hosts alfresco summer concerts.

3. If its grand designs you’re after, the Neo-Gothic bookstore, Livraria Lello (Rua das Carmelitas 144; ), is one of Europe’s prettiest shops. Archaically easy on the eye, the store centres around two split, semi-spiral staircases that curl out towards an intricately carved ceiling. A stained-glass skylight provides illumination for the bookworms in the second-floor coffee shop, who leaf through tomes while chewing on cigars and sipping meia de leite (‘half milk’ – aka white coffee).

4. Time for reflection (in more ways than one), at one of the city’s numerous Catholic churches. Portuguese colonists imported a continent’s worth of New World gold back in the 16th century, and it seems as though most of it ended up here. Grandest of all, Igreja de São Francisco (Rua do Infante Dom Henrique; £2; ) is decked out in 100kg of gold leaf. Only the floors and pews have escaped a dazzling.

5. Brave the hollering fishwives at Mercado do Bolhão, a 200-year-old market (Rua Sá Da Bandeira). Though everything from fresh fruit and flowers to feather-dusters is sold here, many visitors make a beeline for the sensational market cafes. Here, nose-to-tail eaters tuck into Portugal’s most challenging national dishes, including tripe, brain and blood sausage.

6. Now for some 21st-century stimulation: the city’s greatest ode to modern architecture is the bonkers Casa da Música (Avenida da Boavista; 00 351 22 0120220, www.casa damusica.com; guided tours £2.70). Resembling a chipped sugar cube, the blinding white building makes no attempt at symmetry or logic. But inside, harmony reigns: the concert hall’s perfect acoustics complement everyone from Brazilian samba stars to the Porto National Orchestra.

7. You’ll find Porto’s hipsters loitering in the halls of Serralves (Rua Dom João de Castro 210; www.serralves.pt; £4.50 museum and park), the city’s sexily minimalist modern art museum. Check the website for details of what’s on and, afterwards, escape the all-white halls and wander the beautifully manicured lily ponds in the museum grounds.

8. It may be 20 years behind the rest of Europe, but raving is the height of fashion here. The warehouses in Zona Industrial do Porto (try Via Rápida or Vogue; ) are home to thousands of wild-eyed revellers, vibrating and gyrating to rapid beats. The party scene is refreshingly unpretentious – fun, even.

9. Pestana Porto Hotel (Praça da Ribeira 1; 00 351 223 402300, www.pestana.com). The 48 riverside rooms here are the city’s best, housed in three interconnected Medieval buildings. Insist on a view of the Douro, and open the windows to let the gentle patter of river life aid your siesta. Riverside rooms from £140, B&B.

10. Infante Sagres (Praça Dona Filipa de Lencastre 62; 00 351 223 398500). Porto’s oldest grande dame is a real Jekyll and Hyde. The newly updated rooms are a faux-Philippe Starck nightmare of red and white plastic-lined sofas and screenprint cushions. Yet, the impeccable regal suites seem untouched since the 1800s, all four-poster beds, oil paintings and antique chests of drawers. Suites from £268, room only.

Where To Eat

Piolho (Praça de Parada Leitão 43; 00 351 405 0456). This is the place to try Porto’s signature sandwich, the Francesinha – a monster mix of ham, sausage and steak, covered with molten cheese and a sticky tomato and beer sauce. Mains around £2.

Taberna San Pedro (Rua Agostinho Albano 84, Aforada; 00 351 916 585046). Here’s a hidden treat five minutes across the river by boat, in the fishing village of Aforada. There’s no menu, so point out what you fancy to the portly gents on barbecue duty outside. Sardines, squid and pork ribs are favourites. Mains around £2.

Pedro dos Frangos (Rua Bon Jardim 219; 00 351 222 008522). The name means ‘Peter of the Chickens’, so between that and the scores of birds spinning on a spit in the window, you can guess what’s on offer here. Local custom dictates you should stand at the bar whilst tearing at juicy thighs with your hands and shouting loudly at the football on the telly. Mains around £4.

Cafe Majestic (Rua de Santa Catarina 112; 00 351 222 003887, www.cafemajestic.com). For almost a century, the city’s finest cafe has poured the hoi polloi’s morning coffee. The marble chessboard flooring, leather seats and brass fittings are as pristine as the classic Portuguese menu. Try the ovos moles (sugar-coated egg yolks). Mains around £5.

Dom Tonho (Cais de Ribeira 13-15; 00 351 222 004307). Built into the riverside arches of the old town and owned by the Portuguese pop star, Rui Veloso, Dom Tonho is about as traditional as you can expect in quirky Porto. Hearty dishes such as bachalão (dried cod) and porco a Alentejana (pork and clam stew) are gobbled up by suited types. Mains around £9.

Bull & Bear (Avenida da Boavista 3431; 00 351 226 107669). Run by Miguel Castro Silva, Portugal’s answer to Spain’s alchemist-chef Ferran Adrià, this establishment has a sampler menu that includes excellent Portuguese-with-a-twist fare such as seabass carpaccio and port-soaked foie gras. Mains around £15.


Nightlife

Casa do Livro (Rua Galeria de Paris 85). In this dimly-lit converted bookshop, the city’s sophisticates dance and sip Caipirinhas around a piano, surrounded by leather-backed literature.

Zoo Lounge (Rua de Monchique). It’s non-stop waterfront partying on this open-all-hours converted boat on the Douro. The all-white beanbags on deck are much in demand at dusk – for viewing the city’s super sunsets over the water.

Solar do Vinho do Porto (Rua Entre Quintas). If you’re going to savour port like an aristocrat, do it here, in the palatial grounds of a 19th-century mansion overlooking the river.


Where to shop

Rua de Santa Catarina is the main pedestrian drag of boutiques, where you’ll find Spanish labels including Zara and Mango at cheap, cheap prices.

Ana Salazar (Rua Nova de Alfândega), Portugal’s leading lady of fashion fills her boutique with sultry and sexy party dresses – just perfect for a Porto night out on the (azulejo) tiles.

Travel independently
TAP (0845 601 0932, www.flytap.com) flies to Porto from Gatwick and Heathrow from £113 return. Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) flies to Porto from Dublin, Liverpool, Bristol, Birmingham and Stansted. EasyJet (www.easyjet.com) flies to Porto from Gatwick.

Go with a package
Expedia (0870 050 0808, www.expedia.co.uk) has three-night packages staying in three-star accommodation from £206pp, including flights from Gatwick. Cities Direct (01242 536900, www.citiesdirect.co.uk) has three nights in a four-star, from £345pp, including flights from Heathrow or Gatwick; regional add-ons available on request. Or try Cresta Holidays (0870 238 7711, www.crestaholidays.co.uk).

Getting around: The easiest, and cheapest, way to see the city is with an Andante Tour 1 card (£4.50), which allows unlimited use of public transport for 24 hours. If you visit for three days or longer, upgrade to the Andante Tour 3, valid for 72 hours (£10). Buy one at the Andante office at the airport Information Centre. And for more info on the city, see www.visitportugal.com.