One Day in Porto: 8 Unmissable Activities

Considering how many people visit Europe every year, it's surprising how few itineraries feature Portugal. And even then, the majority of tourists are flocking to the beaches in the south. But there's more to Portugal than beaches, and with these 8 unmissable activities you can have an unforgettable day in Porto.

1. Climb the bell tower at Clérigos Church
This is the highest point to look out over the city, and a great way to get your bearings when you arrive.

View over the Douro river from the top of the bell tower.

2. Have lunch at café Ancora D’Ouro O Piolho
It might not be much to look at, but this 100 year old café has some of the best food in Porto. And Porto has some of the best food in Portugal.

3. Pop into a church you stumble across accidentally

The interior of Portuguese churches can make you think of El Dorado; the infamous city of gold. Jaw-droppingly ornate churches are everywhere. Pop into a random one that's not in your guidebook.

4. Walk along the Ribiera
The Ribiera is Porto's UNESCO world heritage status waterfront. On the day we were in Porto, there was a regatta. There's no railing, so this is the perfect place to sit with your feet over the edge and celebrate being alive.

5. Visit São Francisco Church
This 600 year old cathedral in the world heritage Ribiera is quite possibly the most ornate I've ever seen (plus the crypt downstairs has skeletons).

6. Drink sangria by the Douro river

Right next to the Dom Luís bridge, there's a little café sitting out over the edge of the water. The food is unremarkable, but this is a fantastic spot to enjoy the sun with a jug of sangria.

7. Tour one of the port wine cellars

Porto is (as the name would suggest) the port wine capital of the world. On the Vila Nova de Gaia side of the river, there are a dozen or more port wine cellars, each offering tours for €3-5. We chose Burmester, because we'd heard that their location cut into the cliff face was the most remarkable. It was extremely interesting and the highlight of our day in Porto. Plus I discovered a new-found enjoyment for port.

8. Take the gondola

The gondola in Porto is relatively new, and some think of it as a tourist trap. But when you see the historic Ribiera from the air, the view is priceless.

A Weekend in Portugal

When I realised that Portugal was the largest country in Western Europe that hadn't been ticked off the list, I made it a bit of a mission to book something. Daniel's upcoming birthday made it the perfect opportunity to go on our first Flat Trip. Just a quick one, flying in to Faro for a relaxing weekend.

We stayed at Clube Praia da Oura in Albufeira, which was monolithic to say the least, and made me thankful we weren't there at the height of summer along with the rest of England!

The pool

The morning was spent at some local markets where Daniel found proper cheese and Zoe bought so many veggies I was convinced her bags would be overweight.

Afterwards, the beach about 100m from our room beckoned.

We spent the afternoon lazing between the beach and the spa pool.

Once the sun started to go down, we headed to nearby Praia da Gale where my friend Emily had recommended a restaurant by the water. Our meals were fresh and delicious.

View of the sunset from our table.

I had my first late-night swim in many years after we left the restaurant, then sat sopping wet and shivering in the back of the car for the short trip home... but it was worth it.

On Sunday morning we woke up to watch the *wait for it* rugby. Watching the All Blacks wallop the Wallabies was an excellent start to the day.

Lunch was spicy Piri Piri Chicken in the town of Albufeira. In Portugal, all chicken tastes like Nando's... I consider this a good thing!

Paul, from our lunch table.

After lunch, we drove inland to the town of Évora, where they have a Chapel made of bones, called Capela dos Ossos. They're all hundreds of years old. Creepy, but interesting.

 

One thing I found really strange in Portugal was the birds' nests. At first glance they looked like wasp hives, but closer inspection revealed them to be hummingbird-esque habitats. They lined the guttering of every old-fashioned building.

 

Realising we had half an hour to kill before we were due at the airport, I suggested we check out the local beach. I imagined that a beach just a kilometre from an airport terminal would be a pathetic algae infested estuary, but thought it would make do for killing time. How wrong I was!

Yes, this is just 1km from the airport!

In typical fashion, Ryanair made the trip home rubbish with rude staff and a 3 hour delay. But we got there in the end... and it was a pretty awesome trip considering it didn't even require time off work!