Porto

Here are a few listings

Maus Hábitos – in Passos Manuel, it is a bar, a restaurant, a terrace and art gallery, all this with an excellent view over the city – more info

Passos Manuel Bar –  located in the old movie theatre of Coliseu do Porto. A bit more alternative but still a great place for drinks and occasional live music.

Twins – Twin’s Foz, is a large club and disco in Foz – dance music and electronic, with a sociable lounge bar area.  This disco is a superb alternative to the crowed downtown nightlife.

Café Lusitano – a gay friendly and alternative café, turns into a bar/ disco after 11pm.  It is housed in a spacious former grain store and a graphic company, and located closed to Aliados and Galerias de Paris street – more info

Bar das Cardosas – in Praça da Liberdade is a popular drinking place

Fé Wine and Club – is another popular, yet more refined drinking place. Dance and electronic music. more info

Indústria –  open every Thu, Fri and Sat as well as bank holidays’ eve, it is located in FozLike other spots it opens at midnight but does not get going till 2-3 am, closing just in time for an early breakfast before bed, at 6 am.

Café au Lait – Here you start early to give a little dance. The musical selection usually pleases everyone who attends it. You can listen to hip-hop, techno, house, disco or more exploratory electronics. From veterans to emerging names, there are many Portuguese DJs and producers who come through here – more info

Plano B – He is one of the pioneers of movida Porto and it is still here quite famous. It has one of the most eclectic programs in town, with different types of music for different audiences – more info

Here is a small selection of its many attractions:

Church and Clérigos Tower (ex-libris) –  a must visit baroque monument, was at the time of its conclusion in 1763, the tallest building in Portugal and Europe-  you can visit the top and

Livraria Lello & Irmão – A beautifully preserved bookstore from yesteryear (established 1881), with more than 120,000 books. The small fee can be discounted in book purchases

Majestic Café – Located in Rua de Santa Catarina, it opened in 1921 and is a fine example of Portuguese Art Noveau architecture.  Still open for business.

Igreja do Carmo – Gorgeous building in Baroque/ rococo style located at the crossing of Carlos Alberto square and rua do Carmo. Dating form the late 1700’s it is an important monument .

Rivoli Theatre – it is one of the reference theaters in Porto and has a charming Deco style, was the responsibility of the Architect and Engineer Júlio Brito.

Casa da Música – conceived to celebrate 2001- when Porto was the European capital of culture it is the first theater dedicated Music performances.  With a  modernistic architecture, the building it self it is also a must see

Castelo Sāo Baptista da Foz – The fortress built at the end of the sixteenth century to protect the coast and the Douro entrance with subsequent additions. It now hosts the Delegação Regional do Porto do Instituto de Defesa Nacional (Regional Office of the National Defense Institute). It has been listed as a building of public interest since 6 June 1967.

Jardim Municipal Horto das Virtudes – located close to Clérigos Tower, this is a unique garden with the peculiarity of being vertical, stretching out on sleep slope terraces. Camellias are still the trademark of the Jardim.

Winery Tours/ Wine Tasting – Cross the pedestrian bridge across the Dour to Gaia and you will see the wineries – e.g. Fonseca, Taylors and more.  Most of them have Porto wine tasting, and teher are quite a few cafes in the river bank where you can re-energise.

Palácio da Bolsa – located beside St Francis Church, had its origins in the cloisters of the adjoining convent. Following a fire which destroyed the cloisters,  Queen Mary II donated the convent ruins to the merchants of the city, who decided to use the spot to build the seat of the Commercial Association.

Most of the existing palace was finished by 1850, but the decoration of the interior was only completed in 1910 and involved several different artists.

Day trips

Matosinhos – a seaside city long seen as a suburb of Porto, but it is actually larger than Porto. Known as a fishing village with fantastic fresh seafood, it also home to one of the busiest harbors in Portugal – Leixões.  The greatest festival in this town is Senhor de Matosinhos festivities (May/June), with people visiting from all over and many activities.  Make sure you visit the Statue of Senhor de Matosinhos – one of the world’s oldest body-sized statues of Christ on the Cross, Senhor do Padrão – a fisherman’s place of cult and the Anemona that was described as “one of the truly significant public artworks in recent years”.

Matosinhos has around 600 restaurants in total, ranging from traditional charcoal grilled sardines to refined international cuisine, and also including shellfish dishes. If you are interested in the fishermen’s culture you should also go to Matosinhos Market.

Finally, we suggest that you take a walk in Matosinhos seafront designed by world famous portuguese architect Souto Moura, the best place to appreciate the landscape and have a comfortable lunch.

Braga –  one of the most beautiful cities in Portugal, with a number of impressive Baroque monuments, including one of the country’s best-known sights.

The broad main square, Praça da República, with fountains and arcaded buildings, connects the old and the new city. Most of the sights are within walking distance, including the city’s fine old churches (there are about three dozens of them) and the splendid cathedral (the  oldest in the country). Built in 1070, it has an extraordinary diversity of styles, including Romanesque, Gothic, Manueline, and Baroque, all somehow coming together harmoniously. In the richly decorated interior you will find a baroque double organ — a masterpiece dripping with gold and adorned with cherubs and sea creatures. Sameiro Sanctuary visitors can take an old-fashioned funicular to the top, but it’s best to climb the monumental stairway to appreciate the symbolism and the architecture.

It makes a good base to explore the province of Minho (especially if you are relying on public transportation), Braga can be visited on a daytrip from Porto. With only one day to see the city, the two sights must-see spots are the Bom Jesus Sanctuary and the Cathedral.

Coimbra –  is one of Portugal’s oldest cities (it was an important municipality in Roman times) and is home to one of the world’s first universities – the second in Europe after Bologna and along with its library is still one of the world’s most illustrious and the city’s biggest attraction.

The downtown part of the city is the commercial heart of the city where you’ll find lively cafes, pastry shops, restaurants, boutiques, and other shops leading to Comercio Square. In a corner of this square is the Church of São Tiago, with a plain 12th-century façade, but in its interior is an exuberant Rococo alterpiece in gilded wood. Also in this part of town you’ll find the historic Santa Cruz Monastery founded in 1131, the Manga Gardens, which have a bizarre domed and buttressed fountain symbolizing the fountain of life, the “Jardim da Sereia,” also known as Santa Cruz Park.

Don’t forget to take walk trough the ancient, upper town (once a Jewish and Moorish quarter) where you can see the Arco de Almedina,  Coimbra’s Old Cathedral, one of the city’s main shopping streets-  Rua Ferreira Borges and the Torre de Anto, a 16th century tower that now houses an arts and crafts gallery. Down the steps from Dom Dinis Square by the entrance to the university, and under a 16th century aqueduct, you will find the entrance to the Botanical Gardens, Portugal’s largest, created in 1772. Nearby is the Portugal dos Pequeninos Theme Park, a miniature village established in 1940, with reproductions of the country’s most important buildings and of typical houses and buildings from the former colonies. A short distance beyond is a little park, the Quinta das Lagrimas, the setting of one of the world’s most celebrated and tragic love stories.

Being almost halfway between Porto and Lisboa, Coimbra is the best option for you to take a break during your journey and meet the third most important city of Portugal.

Régua –  Peso da Régua commonly known as Régua, is a municipality in northern Portugal, in the district of Vila Real.  It is the center of the Douro Wine Region and the central part of the Douro Line, between Porto and Pocinho.  Régua has a special appeal for wine enthusiast and visitors. First, you have the Douro Museum and also the Solar do Vinho do Porto, where you can find all the economic, environmental, social, cultural details about the importance that the wine has for the region and for Portugal.

Apart from this, you’ll be fascinated for the old train station and old noble houses in the region also known as ‘solares’ – the most famous one is the Solar Família Vaz Osório.

If looking for a city escape to a peaceful place of great gastronomic and cultural interest, Régua is the best option for you.