Although most people head to Portugal’s capital city, Lisbon, Porto is equally deserving of your time. It’s incredibly quaint and picturesque, it inspired Harry Potter, and it’s where Portugal’s delicious dessert wine, Port, is made. You might not be a fan of Port wine just yet, but don’t worry: you’ll get to try a lot of different types of Port here, in bars and on the various Port tours, and hopefully you’ll leave the city
Portugal’s second city, Porto, is quickly growing as popular as its first. More and more people are moving to Porto for work, university, as digital nomads, or to join Porto’s growing startup scene. Finding accommodation in any city can be challenging, and Porto is no different. It’s a little easier than Lisbon, which is facing a bit of a housing crisis at the moment, but it’s still challenging. As Porto grows in popularity as a
The late Anthony Bourdain returned to Porto as part of his “Parts Unknown” TV series, and I’ve been meaning to write about it for quite some time. Although this episode was released in 2017, it feels like much older episode than the 2012 “No Reservations” episode about Lisbon. The lighting, the camera work, and that pig slaughtering scene all make this episode feel like it was shot in another era. Yes, there is a grim
Vinho Verde (which is sometimes translated as “green wine”) is a crisp, aromatic, low alcohol, and often slightly spritzy wine from the North of Portugal. Despite the translation, Vinho Verde is never green: it’s usually a white wine, although it’s possible to get red Vinho Verde and rosé vinho verde as well. Green, as discussed below, means young rather than anything to do with its colour. In fact, the only thing that really makes a
Although Porto’s metro system connects with Porto City Centre, sometimes it’s just easier to book an airport hotel—especially if you’re departing early or arriving late. There are several hotels near Porto Airport and many of these are within walking distance of the terminal, so there’s no need for an airport shuttle or taxi (although you can easily get one if you need one). This article focuses on those that are closest to the airport as that’s
Porto Airport (full name: Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport) is a fairly small, international airport but nowhere near as busy as Lisbon Airport. There are usually a few empty seats in the departure lounge and, unlike other airports, it usually doesn’t feel too hectic. Still, even if the airport isn’t too busy, it’s still nice to get away from the main departure lounge sometimes. Porto Airport has one private lounge: the ANA lounge, which is situated upstairs in the
Address: Gallery Hostel, Rua de Miguel Bombarda 222, 4050-377 Porto, Portugal I’ve stayed in many hostels over the years, and these days I’m at the age where I tend to stay in hotels more. Porto’s Gallery hostel isn’t your typical hostel, though. It’s more of an affordable boutique hotel with hostel features like a shared kitchen. Considering Gallery Hostel has almost perfect reviews on Tripadvisor, and it’s around half the price of a normal boutique hotel, I couldn’t resist seeing if
I spent a lot of time in Edinburgh, a place that’s so closely linked with the creation of Harry Potter that it’s part of the fabric. Everyone in the city knows that a young single mum named Joanne Rowling used to spend her days writing in what is now the Elephant House café. Well, actually, some people disagree with that. Other rumours say she wrote Harry Potter at Nicolson’s Café on 6a Nicholson Street, which closed and
