Porto.

Made my way back into Portugal after being away for a year and some months. This second time around I was sharing it with my sister and my boyfriend. My boyfriend and I spent a day in Lisbon and then I broke off from him and joined my sister. From Lisbon we made our way to the city of Porto.Also, check out my travel vlog to see our Lisbon/ Porto footage!

There are a few ways one can reach this city. Your options are train, plane or bus.

Train:

We opted for the train route, as I had flown into Lisbon (airport code LIS) from Madrid (airport code MAD).

You can purchase train tickets from the Lisboa Santa Apolónia or the Oriente Station. The major difference between these two is LOCATION. If you are starting from the city center I would recommend Santa Apolónia Station. If you are starting from LIS airport choose the Oriente Station.

The train goes past both stations on the way to Porto, but depending on your location one is easier to access than the other. The station you will arrive and leave from in Porto is Campanhã.

The train should take around 3 hours give or take 30 minutes depending on the amount of stops it makes.

PRICE: we paid $28 going and $33 coming back. We purchased our tickets directly at the station. They can sell out, so no hurt in buying it a day ahead. The company we used was Comboios de Portugal.

Airport:

There is an airport in Porto (Airport code OPO). This can be reached by cities like Lisbon, Madrid and Paris.

See the City.

After our 3 hour train ride from Lisbon we hoped in a 20 minute UberX ride to our airbnb for $5. Our Airbnb was called the Notebook (Porto Concierge) and we loved the location so much. Once we got all settled into our place we headed out into the city. The city had so much movement. We started north and made our way clockwise around the city to see all the sites we had mapped out.

Truly the feeling of this city was different than Lisbon. It was about 80 degrees outside but incredibly hazy. Taking photos was a huge struggle but nonetheless we were out exploring and seeing everything out there.

We wove our way through cute streets from the Porto Cathedral all the way to Prince Henry’s Square. There are plenty of colorful and historic buildings.

Also, apparently it’s a trend for me to get pooped on by birds because as I was walking up the steps at the St. Francis Church I got a new little accessory on my jumpsuit.

Day 2.

On the second day we wanted to get up early and beat crowds to some of the spots on our list. A must see attraction in Porto is Clerigos Church. This was one of the reasons we got up early. The cost is 5 Euros and it covers the entrance to the church and allows you to climb the tower.

With the early start to our morning we ended up wandering to a church called Carmo Convent that we were in love with. There were barely any people out so we had plenty of time to sit around and snap pictures.

A big tourist attraction in Porto we decided to skip, because the line was SO LONG, was Vivraria Lello. This Library is said to have inspired J.K. Rowling in the designing Hogwarts. Inside there is an incredible staircase that twists around. If you are a big Harry Potter fan you can wait in line for close to 2 hours just to walk up and down it.By the time we arrived at opening the line was already stretched out far down the street. Instead of waiting around we walked away and that’s actually how we stumbled upon Carmo Convent.

Once you feel you’ve seen all there is on the north side of the river, cross over the Luis Bridge. You can walk on the top or bottom. We started over on the top, which is great for views. After looking at Porto from across the river and snapping some pictures we descended down the hill.At the bottom you will find restaurants to sit down and have a glass of wine. There are also street markets with souvenirs. I purchased a black crochet style bag; bargaining was apparently okay to do here.

Where to eat:

Majestic Cafe is a must if you are looking for a quick treat or even a coffee or tea. The interior is a vintage pink cafe. We sat here and has really good tea and some scones serves with jelly and fresh cream.

An additional pastry shop, Brasileira, caught our eye as it was a similar vintage style. This was a great place to grab a snack and some water.

I love the pastries in Portugal, but didn’t really have a favorite food yet. We kept walking past people eating a dish with a sunny side up egg. This dish is found all around the city of Porto and is called Francesinha. A sandwich filled with various meats, covered in cheese and a tomato sauce then topped with a fried egg.

Supposedly the best one in Porto is located at Lado B. Here they also serve the dish vegetarian style!