Portugal Travel Guide: Porto Edition

From the azulejos and cobblestone streets to the brightly colored doors and Manueline style architecture, Portugal has our hearts. We left with full bellies and camera rolls, and a whole lot of inspiration! Keep reading to see where we stayed and ate, what we did and wore, sneak peeks of FW24, and a special note about our manufacturing.

Recommended length of stay for a trip to Porto and Lisbon:

• 3-4 days in Lisbon (2 full days in Lisbon, 1 day trip to Sintra & Cascais)
• 2-3 days in Porto (1-2 full days in Porto, 1 day trip to Douro Valley or Aveiro & Costa Nova)

Where we stayed:

• Torel Palace Porto for two nights - Beautiful hotel in a slightly quieter area but still close to everything.
• Vintage Pestana Hotel for two nights - It sits at the bottom of a hill on the river where you will find many restaurants, crowds of people, and live music. A very lively and energetic spot.
• Other hotel recs that we saw/heard about: The Yeatman Hotel (on the other side of the river) and Torel Avantgarde (both 5 star hotels)

(Far Left & Middle: Torel Palace | Far Right: Across the street from Pestana Vintage)

What we did:

• Gazete Tile Workshop - Gazete Tile is working to preserve the art of azulejos. In the class, you will learn about the history of the tiles and pick 2 to paint from dozens of templates. They have to fire them and then you pick them up the next day. 
• Tuk Tuk Tour - There are lots of hills and stairs, so we recommend a tuk tuk over a walking tour.
• Private boat cruise along Ribeira do Porto and 6 Bridges - Fun activity pre-dinner. It was a slow cruise down the river. They served champagne and played music and ended with a view of the sunset.
• Stopped in the Porto São Bento Train Station for a quick photo 
• Day trip to Douro Valley for a wine tasting - There are lots of vineyards to visit in Douro Valley. We visited Quinta de Pacheca and had our hotel set us up with a driver. 
• Day trip to Aveiro & Costa Nova - Both are cute towns but there isn't a ton to do. Aveiro is known as the "Venice of Portugal." We did a one hour boat ride in a traditional moliceiro boat in Aveiro, walked around, and then drove to Costa Nova to see the iconic striped houses.

(Far Left: Douro Valley | Middle: Private Boat Cruise Along Douro River | Far Left: Costa Nova)

Fave shops in Porto:

• Panamar - Fun concept store with local Portuguese designers
• Mercado do Bolhão - Food tastings
• Aramarte - Local tile shop. The woman that runs the shop is a designer and her husband sculpts all of the tiles you see and works with the architects in town to preserve and replace missing or broken azulejos. 
• There are tons of touristy shops selling tiles and ceramics. We recommend skipping those and finding the local spots. 

(Far Left: Aramarte | Middle: Panamar | Far Left: Ceramics shop in Aveiro)

Where we ate:

Kindly note, we primarily ate at steakhouses due to Lawson's unfortunate and severe food allergies. We recommend doing some of your own research in this department 😉 

• Chez Lapin - A cute local spot by the river
• Nicolau - A healthy lunch spot 
• Flow Restaurant & Bar
• RIB Beef & Wine by the river in Pestana Vintage Hotel
• Portuguese foods to try: Francesinha, Pasteis de Nata, Port Wine, & Ginjinha 

(Far Left: Unknown | Middle: Chez Lapin | Far Left: Flow Restaurant)

 Best spots for photos:

• Getting lost in the tiny streets by the river
• Igreja do Carmo - A very popular spot for photos
• Capela das Almas
• Torre dos Clérigos - A tower with a great views
• Tiled walls - You will find these everywhere!

(Far Left: Igreja de Carmo | Middle: Random Street | Far Left: Random Alleyway)

Tips for Porto:

• We recommend 1-2 full days in Porto with one day for a trip to a nearby town. Porto is very walkable so you can see a lot in a short time. 
• From what we saw, Porto has limited shopping. There is one street with lots of stores, but they were mostly mainstream retailers, and we were on a mission to find local boutiques with smaller designers.
• Porto is much smaller than Lisbon and more traditional. It's not as modern and metropolitan, but it still the second largest city in Portugal.
• Prepare yourself for lots of hills and stairs.
• The Libraria Lello Bookstore you might see online apparently has nothing to do with Harry Potter like people say, but is a really pretty bookstore. If you do go, buy a ticket online beforehand because there is a long line.
• Visit the Parque Infantil Cordoaria - Our tour guide said these were the trees that inspired the dark forest in Harry Potter.
• It was very safe! I stayed for a day and a half by myself before my Mom and sister joined me and felt very comfortable. 

What we wore:

xoxo,

Lawson

P.S. Comment below with any questions and we'll get back to you!