yk + tween Porto/Guimarães/Aveiro; June 2025
Jun 23rd, 2025 | 07:18 PM
#1
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Joined: Jan 2004
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yk + tween Porto/Guimarães/Aveiro; June 2025
Hi all! My son and I just returned from a 6 day / 5 night stay in Porto, and we had an amazing time! We took 2 day trips, one to Guimarães, one to Aveiro.
Who?
Me and my son (age 12.5). My sis-in-law (husband's sister) also joined us for the first 4 days.
Why?
I took my son to Lisbon back in Feb 2019. On that trip we took some day trips but never went to Porto. In Dec 2024, TAP Portugal announced a new seasonal nonstop service between Boston and Porto. When I found out, I thought it would be fun to take my son there as soon as school lets out. I bought our plane tickets in mid-Dec. Husband didn't join because he has limited vacation time from work.
Pre-booking
6 months prior: AirBnB
2-weeks prior : Porto Walkers free walking tour
1 week prior: Clergies Tower, Livaria Lello, Casa da Musica guided tour, Pinhais sardine factory tour
Getting around
We were staying in an AirBnb in Ribeira, so I know we could walk to most destinations. The only transit we needed was to/from Airport, to Casa da musica, and to Matosinhos for the factory tour. After hours of researching the options (which is quite complicated, esp when it comes to the Andante Blue card), I decided on buying 1 andante blue card for my son and load 5 (Z4) trips on it (€11,85), while I use contactless (€2,25/trip). Contactless is currently in a pilot project and can only be used specific stations on the metro, and on Bus 500.
Day 0-1 (Mon-Tue)
Our flight doesn't depart until 11:15pm, so basically we have all day to get ready (my son had his last day of school that day), pack, have dinner, then DH drove us to Logan airport. Me being cheap, I bought the cheapest fare, which meant we could not pick seats ahead of time. When I checked in at 24-hr prior, I was relieved to see we were seated together. However, I could not change our seats for free, even within the 24-hr period. My sis-in-law was on the same flight but she sat separate from us.
Our plane touched down a little before 11am local time. Immigration line was pretty long and moved slowly; I think we were in line for about 40 minutes, which means it took about 1 hr from touchdown to retrieving our luggage and exiting the airport. The metro station is right at the terminal; there are multiple ticket machines and they were pretty easy to operate and we got the andante blue card for my son and my SIL. It took another hour before we arrived at Sao Bento metro station, and from there it was a short downhill walk to the AirBnb apartment. Even though check-in isn't until 4pm, the owner said we could leave our luggage there. As luck would have it, the cleaning staff had just finished so we could check in early. We were happy to be able to freshen up and change into cooler clothes - today was the hottest day of our trip with temps reaching 90F, and the airport metro train had NO A/C!
Feeling slightly refreshed, we headed towards the river in search of lunch. By now it was almost 2pm.
(A little about food - my son is not a fan of seafood so dining in Porto is a bit challenging because most places serve mostly seafood. So oftentimes we had to consult menus at many places before we find one that caters to him but also what we would like to eat.)
We eventually found a smaller establishment right on the waterfront called DeOuro (cash only). My son had an iberian ham / arugula toast, SIL had salmon /cheese toast, I had a mushroom salad bowl. €32 for our share
From there we crossed Dom Luis I Bridge (lower level) to Gaia, then walked to World of WOW. Considering how many tourists we saw along the riverfront and on the bridge, I was surprised by how empty WOW was. WOW is a newer complex with several museums (on different themes), shops, and restaurants. I was planning on visiting either the cork museum or chocolate experience (or both), but my son wanted to visit Porto Region Across the Ages so he could learn the history of the area. They have multiple ticket options depending on how many museums you want to visit. The most practical ticket for us was a €45 family ticket to a single museum.
I was a bit skeptical at first but was thoroughly impressed by the Porto history museum. It started in prehistoric era and goes through all the periods with lots of displays and explanations. While this might not be the best idea to visit while you are jet lagged, it was a good choice for a 90F day. We were there for 90 minutes but definitely could have spent longer.
By then it was 5:15pm and we walked back across the bridge for a 6 Bridges boat cruise. As others have mentioned, there are many companies that offer this cruise, Each has a different type of boat than others. We went back and forth between the various outfitters and eventually randomly picked one (Ribeira Douro) that has a smaller boat without big tour groups. Sadly I would not recommend this company. We were told we would leave in 5 minutes (at 6pm) but we didn't actually leave until 6:10pm. The pre-recorded commentary was very short and limited. And we were back at the dock at 6:50pm so instead of a 50-min cruise as they advertised, it was only 40 minutes given that we departed 10 minutes late.
For dinner, we picked Ribeira's, which is one of the restaurants along the narrow walkway above the waterfront esplanade area. Despite the narrow walkway, all the restaurants still put out outdoor tables. We grabbed one and had a fantastic view of the river, plus live music from a busker down below. SIL and I both ordered grilled squid with potatoes and some braised veggies. My son had kids menu which is a hamburger steak plus rice and french fries. Dinner was €45 total for 3 of us.
Before heading back to the apartment, we stopped at Castro , a bakery specializes in just pastel de nata (€1,40 each). You can watch the staff make the pastries. It's a bit dangerous as Castro is just across the street from our apartment! Then we stopped at the mini grocery store on our street to pick up breakfast items.
~ End of Day 1 ~
Who?
Me and my son (age 12.5). My sis-in-law (husband's sister) also joined us for the first 4 days.
Why?
I took my son to Lisbon back in Feb 2019. On that trip we took some day trips but never went to Porto. In Dec 2024, TAP Portugal announced a new seasonal nonstop service between Boston and Porto. When I found out, I thought it would be fun to take my son there as soon as school lets out. I bought our plane tickets in mid-Dec. Husband didn't join because he has limited vacation time from work.
Pre-booking
6 months prior: AirBnB
2-weeks prior : Porto Walkers free walking tour
1 week prior: Clergies Tower, Livaria Lello, Casa da Musica guided tour, Pinhais sardine factory tour
Getting around
We were staying in an AirBnb in Ribeira, so I know we could walk to most destinations. The only transit we needed was to/from Airport, to Casa da musica, and to Matosinhos for the factory tour. After hours of researching the options (which is quite complicated, esp when it comes to the Andante Blue card), I decided on buying 1 andante blue card for my son and load 5 (Z4) trips on it (€11,85), while I use contactless (€2,25/trip). Contactless is currently in a pilot project and can only be used specific stations on the metro, and on Bus 500.
Day 0-1 (Mon-Tue)
Our flight doesn't depart until 11:15pm, so basically we have all day to get ready (my son had his last day of school that day), pack, have dinner, then DH drove us to Logan airport. Me being cheap, I bought the cheapest fare, which meant we could not pick seats ahead of time. When I checked in at 24-hr prior, I was relieved to see we were seated together. However, I could not change our seats for free, even within the 24-hr period. My sis-in-law was on the same flight but she sat separate from us.
Our plane touched down a little before 11am local time. Immigration line was pretty long and moved slowly; I think we were in line for about 40 minutes, which means it took about 1 hr from touchdown to retrieving our luggage and exiting the airport. The metro station is right at the terminal; there are multiple ticket machines and they were pretty easy to operate and we got the andante blue card for my son and my SIL. It took another hour before we arrived at Sao Bento metro station, and from there it was a short downhill walk to the AirBnb apartment. Even though check-in isn't until 4pm, the owner said we could leave our luggage there. As luck would have it, the cleaning staff had just finished so we could check in early. We were happy to be able to freshen up and change into cooler clothes - today was the hottest day of our trip with temps reaching 90F, and the airport metro train had NO A/C!
Feeling slightly refreshed, we headed towards the river in search of lunch. By now it was almost 2pm.
(A little about food - my son is not a fan of seafood so dining in Porto is a bit challenging because most places serve mostly seafood. So oftentimes we had to consult menus at many places before we find one that caters to him but also what we would like to eat.)
We eventually found a smaller establishment right on the waterfront called DeOuro (cash only). My son had an iberian ham / arugula toast, SIL had salmon /cheese toast, I had a mushroom salad bowl. €32 for our share
From there we crossed Dom Luis I Bridge (lower level) to Gaia, then walked to World of WOW. Considering how many tourists we saw along the riverfront and on the bridge, I was surprised by how empty WOW was. WOW is a newer complex with several museums (on different themes), shops, and restaurants. I was planning on visiting either the cork museum or chocolate experience (or both), but my son wanted to visit Porto Region Across the Ages so he could learn the history of the area. They have multiple ticket options depending on how many museums you want to visit. The most practical ticket for us was a €45 family ticket to a single museum.
I was a bit skeptical at first but was thoroughly impressed by the Porto history museum. It started in prehistoric era and goes through all the periods with lots of displays and explanations. While this might not be the best idea to visit while you are jet lagged, it was a good choice for a 90F day. We were there for 90 minutes but definitely could have spent longer.
By then it was 5:15pm and we walked back across the bridge for a 6 Bridges boat cruise. As others have mentioned, there are many companies that offer this cruise, Each has a different type of boat than others. We went back and forth between the various outfitters and eventually randomly picked one (Ribeira Douro) that has a smaller boat without big tour groups. Sadly I would not recommend this company. We were told we would leave in 5 minutes (at 6pm) but we didn't actually leave until 6:10pm. The pre-recorded commentary was very short and limited. And we were back at the dock at 6:50pm so instead of a 50-min cruise as they advertised, it was only 40 minutes given that we departed 10 minutes late.
For dinner, we picked Ribeira's, which is one of the restaurants along the narrow walkway above the waterfront esplanade area. Despite the narrow walkway, all the restaurants still put out outdoor tables. We grabbed one and had a fantastic view of the river, plus live music from a busker down below. SIL and I both ordered grilled squid with potatoes and some braised veggies. My son had kids menu which is a hamburger steak plus rice and french fries. Dinner was €45 total for 3 of us.
Before heading back to the apartment, we stopped at Castro , a bakery specializes in just pastel de nata (€1,40 each). You can watch the staff make the pastries. It's a bit dangerous as Castro is just across the street from our apartment! Then we stopped at the mini grocery store on our street to pick up breakfast items.
~ End of Day 1 ~
Jun 24th, 2025 | 02:48 AM
#2
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Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 26,987
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Day 1 photos
Looking at Luís I bridge and Gaia. The big orange banner on the L is the cruise company we picked (but the boat we went on isn't in this photo)
Looking back at Porto from Gaia
Dinner of grilled squid with potatoes and greens
Pastéis de nata at Castro
Jun 24th, 2025 | 10:30 AM
#7
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Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 26,987
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Day 2
Day 2 (Wednesday)- intro to Porto
We were relieved that the heat wave had passed and temperatures are at more comfortable range in the upper 70s/lower 80s. We slept in until 8am and had breakfast in the apartment. We had pre-booked the 10:45am Porto Walkers Classical Free Walking Tour for this morning, which I thought would be a good intro to the city. Since we have some extra time beforehand, we made our way to Mercado do Bolhão. The market has been recently renovated and looks almost too clean and neat. Towards the front of the market are stalls for fresh fruits and fresh produce. in the middle are cheeses, deli meats, olives, olive oils, spices, flowers, sweets, bakeries. In the very back are several fresh seafood stalls. It is certainly tempting for us to get food for the apartment, however, we didn't because we had a whole day of sightseeing scheduled and we didn't want to lug the food in 80F temps all day.
After half an hour there, we made our way to Aliados for the tour. We had no trouble finding the tour as they have bright red umbrellas. It turns out there were 50 ppl signed up for the tour so they had 3 guides and split us up into smaller groups. Our guide was Pedro and he is super knowledgable, friendly, welcoming, and quipped with lots of puns. He seems a bit surprised to have a 12-year-old on the tour but my son really enjoys history. The walking tour covered about 2.5 miles (mostly flat or downhill) and we learned a lot about the history of Porto. Our tour ended up lasting close to 3.5 hrs, with only a 10-min coffee break at a cafe. The tour ends at the Ribeira waterfront. Although the tour is "free," it is understood as a pay-as-you-wish. I opted to give €20pp and I think the others paid about the same amount.
Our next scheduled event is the 4:30pm english guided tour at Casa da Musica, so we have about 2 hours free in between. We decided we will get a quick lunch and visit the Porto cathedral. We weren't terrible hungry because on the walking tour, we got pastries at the coffee break, and then towards the end of the tour, Pedro took us into a private residence where the matriarch makes chocolate cakes for restaurants but she makes an exception for the walking tour group so son and i shared a slice of (very rich) chocolate cake (€3,50). We found a cafe directly across from the Cathedral - Cathedrali Coffee Shop - which fits the bill. Both SIL and I got their quiche, my son had a ham sandwich. Lunch was €20 for all 3 of us.
Our next stop is the Porto Cathedral, which I sadly short-changed it as we were running out of time. Entrance fee was €3 and we spent most of our time admiring the blue tiles in the cloisters. Soon it was time to head to Sao Bento to catch the metro to Casa da Musica.
Casa da Musica is a newer addition to Porto, designed by the Dutch firm led by Rem Koolhaas and opened in 2005. I was disappointed that there isn't any classical music performances scheduled during our trip, so the next best thing is a guided tour (€12 adult; free for my son). It turns out majority of the time, the guided tour cannot enter the concert hall because of rehearsals, but we are still able to view it from various spots inside the building. The building is really fascinating - drastically different from any conventional music venue.
After the tour, we made our way over to Jardins do Palácio de Cristal. It is best known for its resident peacocks and for its view. There are at least a dozen peacocks we saw roaming in the grounds, several of them fanning their tails. There are also a gamut of freely-roaming chickens and ducks.
After admiring the view from the garden, we started heading back to the apartment. Along the way we paused at restaurants to check their menu, and decided on Taberna Santo António, just around the corner from Parque das Virtudes. We managed to grab the last outdoor table, and totally unbeknownst to us, this restaurant is highly rated and very popular. My son got pork loin with mashed potatoes (the pork is super tender). My SIL and I shared several Bolinho de bacalhau (salted cod croquettes), and a dish of fried hake. She also got a bowl of caldo verde soup. (total bill €37) We continued on walking home and of course had to pass by Castro, where we once again stopped for pasteis da nata.
20,000 steps / 8 miles
~ End of Day 2 ~
We were relieved that the heat wave had passed and temperatures are at more comfortable range in the upper 70s/lower 80s. We slept in until 8am and had breakfast in the apartment. We had pre-booked the 10:45am Porto Walkers Classical Free Walking Tour for this morning, which I thought would be a good intro to the city. Since we have some extra time beforehand, we made our way to Mercado do Bolhão. The market has been recently renovated and looks almost too clean and neat. Towards the front of the market are stalls for fresh fruits and fresh produce. in the middle are cheeses, deli meats, olives, olive oils, spices, flowers, sweets, bakeries. In the very back are several fresh seafood stalls. It is certainly tempting for us to get food for the apartment, however, we didn't because we had a whole day of sightseeing scheduled and we didn't want to lug the food in 80F temps all day.
After half an hour there, we made our way to Aliados for the tour. We had no trouble finding the tour as they have bright red umbrellas. It turns out there were 50 ppl signed up for the tour so they had 3 guides and split us up into smaller groups. Our guide was Pedro and he is super knowledgable, friendly, welcoming, and quipped with lots of puns. He seems a bit surprised to have a 12-year-old on the tour but my son really enjoys history. The walking tour covered about 2.5 miles (mostly flat or downhill) and we learned a lot about the history of Porto. Our tour ended up lasting close to 3.5 hrs, with only a 10-min coffee break at a cafe. The tour ends at the Ribeira waterfront. Although the tour is "free," it is understood as a pay-as-you-wish. I opted to give €20pp and I think the others paid about the same amount.
Our next scheduled event is the 4:30pm english guided tour at Casa da Musica, so we have about 2 hours free in between. We decided we will get a quick lunch and visit the Porto cathedral. We weren't terrible hungry because on the walking tour, we got pastries at the coffee break, and then towards the end of the tour, Pedro took us into a private residence where the matriarch makes chocolate cakes for restaurants but she makes an exception for the walking tour group so son and i shared a slice of (very rich) chocolate cake (€3,50). We found a cafe directly across from the Cathedral - Cathedrali Coffee Shop - which fits the bill. Both SIL and I got their quiche, my son had a ham sandwich. Lunch was €20 for all 3 of us.
Our next stop is the Porto Cathedral, which I sadly short-changed it as we were running out of time. Entrance fee was €3 and we spent most of our time admiring the blue tiles in the cloisters. Soon it was time to head to Sao Bento to catch the metro to Casa da Musica.
Casa da Musica is a newer addition to Porto, designed by the Dutch firm led by Rem Koolhaas and opened in 2005. I was disappointed that there isn't any classical music performances scheduled during our trip, so the next best thing is a guided tour (€12 adult; free for my son). It turns out majority of the time, the guided tour cannot enter the concert hall because of rehearsals, but we are still able to view it from various spots inside the building. The building is really fascinating - drastically different from any conventional music venue.
After the tour, we made our way over to Jardins do Palácio de Cristal. It is best known for its resident peacocks and for its view. There are at least a dozen peacocks we saw roaming in the grounds, several of them fanning their tails. There are also a gamut of freely-roaming chickens and ducks.
After admiring the view from the garden, we started heading back to the apartment. Along the way we paused at restaurants to check their menu, and decided on Taberna Santo António, just around the corner from Parque das Virtudes. We managed to grab the last outdoor table, and totally unbeknownst to us, this restaurant is highly rated and very popular. My son got pork loin with mashed potatoes (the pork is super tender). My SIL and I shared several Bolinho de bacalhau (salted cod croquettes), and a dish of fried hake. She also got a bowl of caldo verde soup. (total bill €37) We continued on walking home and of course had to pass by Castro, where we once again stopped for pasteis da nata.
20,000 steps / 8 miles
~ End of Day 2 ~
Last edited by yk; Jun 24th, 2025 at 10:38 AM.
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Jun 24th, 2025 | 10:44 AM
#8
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Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 26,987
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Day 2 photos
A super clean and quiet Mercado do Bolhão at 10am on a Wednesday
A sardine can sculpture inside the Mercado
One of the many huge panels of blue tiles at the cathedral cloisters
Looking inside the main concert hall at Casa da Musica (this afternoon was being used for orchestral auditions)
One of the many peacocks inside Jardins do Palacio de Cristal
View from the crystal palace garden
Fresh out of the oven and still puffed up and steaming
Our street for the apartment at 9pm, looking straight down to the river. The decorations (I believe) is for the festival of Sao Joao, which was to take place the day after we leave (June 23)
Sunset view from our apartment window
Jun 24th, 2025 | 01:40 PM
#9
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Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 26,987
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Thanks for all your comments so far!
Maribel I keep hearing that it rains a lot in Porto during the winter months - has this been the case for you? November would be nice to avoid the crowds of tourists, but OTOH there is something magical about eating al fresco for every single meal and enjoy the warm weather. BTW, I'm following the thread by danon about southern Spain! You posted a lot of info on Jerez and Cadiz in your replies. I'm considering a trip to Southern Spain with my son for next Feb during his school vacation week. I'll have to read up more on these places.
Maribel I keep hearing that it rains a lot in Porto during the winter months - has this been the case for you? November would be nice to avoid the crowds of tourists, but OTOH there is something magical about eating al fresco for every single meal and enjoy the warm weather. BTW, I'm following the thread by danon about southern Spain! You posted a lot of info on Jerez and Cadiz in your replies. I'm considering a trip to Southern Spain with my son for next Feb during his school vacation week. I'll have to read up more on these places.
Jun 24th, 2025 | 02:35 PM
#10
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Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 26,987
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Day 3 - Guimarães
Day 3 (Thursday) - struck out in Guimarães
Today is the Feast of Corpus Christi, which is a public holiday in Portugal. I found out about this a few weeks prior when I was checking train schedules to Guimarães. We debated whether to switch the day trip to another day, but we decided to keep it. With the holiday, trains run only 1x every 2 hours, instead of 1/hr.
We got up early so we could catch the 8:25am local train (€11,70 total r/t; my son gets half-price), arriving just after 9:30am. It is a good 15-20 min walk from the train station into the historic core. When we entered the historic part of the city, it was very quiet. We wound our way through the old town squares and the medieval street Rua de Santa Maria, wondering where the tourists are. Meanwhile, there were lots of locals setting up stalls and tents along the way. My SIL asked them what this was about, and it turns out they were getting ready for their annual medieval Alfonsina fair for the weekend, which begins the next day on Friday
ugh, it would have been really fun to see it
We made our way to the Ducal Palace - that's when we started seeing MANY tour groups - only to find a piece of paper posted outside the main entrance: "CLOSED DUE TO STRIKE." The same piece of paper was also posted outside the Castle. To say we were disappointed was an understatement. After walking the outer perimeter of the Castle and the Ducal Palace, we went to the tourist info center on Rua de Santa Maria to inquire about getting up to Penha. Despite seeing lots of tourists by that time, we were the only ones who visited the TI. Pretty much everyone else in town was part of a tour group. The TI staff was very friendly and gave us maps and info on Penha.
We decided to stop at Las Muns inLargo da Oliveira for a quick snack first - my son loves empanadas. Then we walked to the Teleférico (cable car) station for r/t tickets (€10pp). The cabins are VERY HOT and stuffy inside! Although it was a nice 70sF day in Porto, Guimarães, being inland, is 10F warmer. We were pretty much drenched in sweat at the end of the 10-min ride.
Armed with the Penha map provided by the TI, we set off to visit the Sanctuary, and saw those famous huge boulders everywhere on the mountain top. We followed the map and visited a few other religious spots including the statue of Pope Pius IX where there is a nice view. It was a bit hazy today so we couldn't see very far. We also visited one of the grottoes where there was a shrine for St Elias, patron saint for sleep 😴
There are campgrounds and picnic tables up on Penha, and with today being a holiday, we saw many families enjoying picnics there, with many of them multi-generational. We stayed up on Penha for about 1 hour before taking the cable car down and walked straight to the station, in order to catch the 1:53pm train back to Porto. If we missed it, it would be another 2 hours before the next train.
Back in Sao Bento station, we took our time looking at the tiles. Although we visited this on the walking tour the day before, the pace of the tour didn't really allow us to look too closely (besides, we were paying attention to what our guide Pedro was saying). Then we headed back to Mercado do Bolhao, hoping to get some dinner provisions. Unfortunately, the market is closed on Thursdays. instead, we went to another outpost of Las Muns (directly opposite the Mercado) so my son could eat more empanadas (price range between €2,90-€4 each, depending on filling)
By then we were really hot and tired, so we retreated back to our apartment to rest up for about an hour. Around 6pm we set back out again — I wanted to check out bike rental shops for the next day, and located one directly across from Jardim do Infante Dom Henrique. Then we walked along the waterfront to check out menus from various restaurants. I had my heart set on trying the Porto specialty dish of tripe, and eventually found one right back on our street (Rua d Sao Joao), more or less across from our apartment building called Essêcia Lusa. I was super happy with my tripe stew. My son once again got some pork tenderloin with "punched" potatoes. I also tried a sweet white port wine which was really good. I didn't pay attention to how much our bill was because my SIL treated us as a thank you for me planning most of the itinerary.
After dinner, instead of returning to Castro for more nata, we opted for ice cream tonight, 2 streets over at Boutique do gelado. Each single scoop was €3,20.
Today is the Feast of Corpus Christi, which is a public holiday in Portugal. I found out about this a few weeks prior when I was checking train schedules to Guimarães. We debated whether to switch the day trip to another day, but we decided to keep it. With the holiday, trains run only 1x every 2 hours, instead of 1/hr.
We got up early so we could catch the 8:25am local train (€11,70 total r/t; my son gets half-price), arriving just after 9:30am. It is a good 15-20 min walk from the train station into the historic core. When we entered the historic part of the city, it was very quiet. We wound our way through the old town squares and the medieval street Rua de Santa Maria, wondering where the tourists are. Meanwhile, there were lots of locals setting up stalls and tents along the way. My SIL asked them what this was about, and it turns out they were getting ready for their annual medieval Alfonsina fair for the weekend, which begins the next day on Friday
ugh, it would have been really fun to see itWe made our way to the Ducal Palace - that's when we started seeing MANY tour groups - only to find a piece of paper posted outside the main entrance: "CLOSED DUE TO STRIKE." The same piece of paper was also posted outside the Castle. To say we were disappointed was an understatement. After walking the outer perimeter of the Castle and the Ducal Palace, we went to the tourist info center on Rua de Santa Maria to inquire about getting up to Penha. Despite seeing lots of tourists by that time, we were the only ones who visited the TI. Pretty much everyone else in town was part of a tour group. The TI staff was very friendly and gave us maps and info on Penha.
We decided to stop at Las Muns inLargo da Oliveira for a quick snack first - my son loves empanadas. Then we walked to the Teleférico (cable car) station for r/t tickets (€10pp). The cabins are VERY HOT and stuffy inside! Although it was a nice 70sF day in Porto, Guimarães, being inland, is 10F warmer. We were pretty much drenched in sweat at the end of the 10-min ride.
Armed with the Penha map provided by the TI, we set off to visit the Sanctuary, and saw those famous huge boulders everywhere on the mountain top. We followed the map and visited a few other religious spots including the statue of Pope Pius IX where there is a nice view. It was a bit hazy today so we couldn't see very far. We also visited one of the grottoes where there was a shrine for St Elias, patron saint for sleep 😴
There are campgrounds and picnic tables up on Penha, and with today being a holiday, we saw many families enjoying picnics there, with many of them multi-generational. We stayed up on Penha for about 1 hour before taking the cable car down and walked straight to the station, in order to catch the 1:53pm train back to Porto. If we missed it, it would be another 2 hours before the next train.
Back in Sao Bento station, we took our time looking at the tiles. Although we visited this on the walking tour the day before, the pace of the tour didn't really allow us to look too closely (besides, we were paying attention to what our guide Pedro was saying). Then we headed back to Mercado do Bolhao, hoping to get some dinner provisions. Unfortunately, the market is closed on Thursdays. instead, we went to another outpost of Las Muns (directly opposite the Mercado) so my son could eat more empanadas (price range between €2,90-€4 each, depending on filling)
By then we were really hot and tired, so we retreated back to our apartment to rest up for about an hour. Around 6pm we set back out again — I wanted to check out bike rental shops for the next day, and located one directly across from Jardim do Infante Dom Henrique. Then we walked along the waterfront to check out menus from various restaurants. I had my heart set on trying the Porto specialty dish of tripe, and eventually found one right back on our street (Rua d Sao Joao), more or less across from our apartment building called Essêcia Lusa. I was super happy with my tripe stew. My son once again got some pork tenderloin with "punched" potatoes. I also tried a sweet white port wine which was really good. I didn't pay attention to how much our bill was because my SIL treated us as a thank you for me planning most of the itinerary.
After dinner, instead of returning to Castro for more nata, we opted for ice cream tonight, 2 streets over at Boutique do gelado. Each single scoop was €3,20.
Last edited by yk; Jun 24th, 2025 at 02:47 PM.
Jun 24th, 2025 | 02:45 PM
#11
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Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 26,987
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Day 3 photos (Guimarães)
Hazy day in Guimaraes
Largo da Oliveira
Rua de Santa Maria, the oldest street in Guimaraes
My son among the huge boulders up on Penha
View from Pope Pius IX statue
Sanctuary
Heading back down in the cable car
My son's favorite Las Muns empanadas
Tripe dish
Jun 24th, 2025 | 03:06 PM
#12
Joined: Mar 2003
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Yk, I am enjoying your report and photos. We have been to Lisbon and Sintra but not to Porto. We fly out of Boston, too, so that’s nice to know about the TAP non-stop flights to Porto. How much did the tickets cost? We have flown TAP several times, and we have been happy with them.
Jun 24th, 2025 | 05:25 PM
#13
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Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 26,987
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Yk, I am enjoying your report and photos. We have been to Lisbon and Sintra but not to Porto. We fly out of Boston, too, so that’s nice to know about the TAP non-stop flights to Porto. How much did the tickets cost? We have flown TAP several times, and we have been happy with them.
Jun 25th, 2025 | 01:12 AM
#14
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 8,661
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Hi yk,
Still enjoying very much your TR! The new Mercado de Bolhão looks so very antiseptic compared to the old one! Now my pastéis de nata addiction is complicated by the new Castro shop as well as Manteigaria
. Glad you were able to hit it up many times. It's too bad there wasn't a concert at Casa da Música during your stay but at least you were able to tour. The acoustics are terrific and with no bad seats, as your photo attests!
Yes, on our November trips to Porto we've always encountered rain, but not so much that we didn't enjoy our visit by seeking out indoor activities (some that you did as well!). We've even been able to eat outside on occasion but not every day.
Nov/Dec/Jan seem to be the rainiest months, but on our Nov. trips we've avoided the worst of the cruise ship crowds, thank goodness, and our lodging costs have gone down considerably.
There have been sunny days when we've taken a long seaside walk past the Cheese Castle or further on to Matosinhos for a meal across from the fish market (Rua Heróis de França). Maybe you did this after your Conservas Pinhais tour? We're headed back to Porto this Nov. but the disadvantage is our always missing those summer festivals!
"What to do in Porto on a rainy day" article here.
Still enjoying very much your TR! The new Mercado de Bolhão looks so very antiseptic compared to the old one! Now my pastéis de nata addiction is complicated by the new Castro shop as well as Manteigaria
. Glad you were able to hit it up many times. It's too bad there wasn't a concert at Casa da Música during your stay but at least you were able to tour. The acoustics are terrific and with no bad seats, as your photo attests!Yes, on our November trips to Porto we've always encountered rain, but not so much that we didn't enjoy our visit by seeking out indoor activities (some that you did as well!). We've even been able to eat outside on occasion but not every day.
Nov/Dec/Jan seem to be the rainiest months, but on our Nov. trips we've avoided the worst of the cruise ship crowds, thank goodness, and our lodging costs have gone down considerably.
There have been sunny days when we've taken a long seaside walk past the Cheese Castle or further on to Matosinhos for a meal across from the fish market (Rua Heróis de França). Maybe you did this after your Conservas Pinhais tour? We're headed back to Porto this Nov. but the disadvantage is our always missing those summer festivals!
"What to do in Porto on a rainy day" article here.
Jun 25th, 2025 | 01:25 PM
#15
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 490
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Yk~ enjoying your report very much! We spent a week in Porto several years ago & loved it. Your photos are terrific, reminders of our happy visit…except we didn’t have a cute young traveler with us. Continued “happy trails” to your family.
Jun 27th, 2025 | 07:03 AM
#19
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Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 26,987
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Melnq8 ha ha, your trips are always so well-planned!
Maribel alas, on every single trip I always end up with too many activities planned yet with too little time! there's never enough time to see everything, so I do try to plan carefully to fit in as much as possible. On the downside, our trips are always super busy with almost no down time, and often I feel like I need a vacation after getting back home from a vacation.
Jun 27th, 2025 | 12:35 PM
#20
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Joined: Jan 2004
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Day 5 - Porto
Day 5 (Friday, summer solstice) - a palace, a tower, and a fishy afternoon
Today my SIL went on her own to visit Coimbra, while my son and I stayed in Porto. In the morning I was rushing him to get ready so we can be at Palacio do Bolsa by 9am (opening time) for the first available English tour. It can only be visited by guided tours, and they are first-come-first-serve in different languages. They do not have a set schedule, which makes planning difficult! Even though I could buy tickets online in advance, it doesn't specify a language nor guarantee you a spot, so there's really no point in buying tickets in advance.
We arrived 5 minutes past 9 and I was wondering where everybody was... I had half expected a line of tourists. When we got there and I even wondered if I had mixed up the opening time as it was empty. I guess I hadn't needed to rush my son. I got our tickets (€14 for me; free for my son) for the next English tour starting at 9:30am. Given we still have 25 minutes to kill, we went back outside to the garden (Jardim do Infante Dom Henrique) to check out the large statue of Henry the Navigator, with his R arm raised and pointing out to the sea where the eventual sea voyages were headed. at 9:30am our tour started - there were no more than a dozen ppl on our group so no concerns of tickets selling out. The guided tour is only 30 minutes but our guide was great and very animated. The Arabian room is truly breathtaking.
Our next stop is Torre dos Clerigoes, but our ticket entry isn't until 11:30am and it was only 10am, so we have a lot of time to kill. We *could have* visited Church of St Francis, known for its ornate baroque interior, which is right nextdoor to Palacio do Bolsa. But we already are planning to visit Santa Clara church later, and our tour guide Pedro from Porto Walkers told us the 2 churches are quite similar, and Santa Clara is much cheaper (€4 vs €11) so we passed on St Francis. (It costs €11 because it is a complex of 3 buildings and the admission fee is for all 3)
With the extra time, we took the scenic route via Rua das Flores and then R dos Caldeireiros where we saw a shop that sells products made from cork. My son bought himself a cork wallet (€30), and I found a xmas ornament (€2).
[side note, there are 100s if not 1000s of souvenir shops in Porto; at least half a dozen every block, and they all sell the same mass produced items, most of which aren't made in Portugal. We don't buy much souvenirs except for xmas ornaments and when we do, we try to buy something made locally, so this fits the bill.]
When we got to Clerigoes dos Torre, we were still early, so we visited Manteigaria located just half a block away. We are no strangers to Manteigaria from our pervious visits in Lisbon. While eating our natas, we watched them make the dough, and I literally had a heart attack after seeing how much butter they put in it. (almost equal size dough, equal size butter!!!)
Back at the Tower we waited for our 11:30am entry (€17). It's one of the few places that were actually crowded, hence the timed entry tickets. The view from the top is nice but the area is so small (the perimeter space is only wide enough for 1 person) that you can't really stay that long, because others are waiting. The reason I chose 11:30am is because I wanted to time our visit with the 12 noon daily organ concert inside the church. We didn't actually get back down to the church until 12:10pm due to the lines in the tower, but at least we could enjoy part of the concert. Concert ended around 12:35pm.
Next is lunch, and we were just around the corner from a place, Taberna d'Avo, that I read about in the Boston Globe. The Globe's travel writer had just published a piece on Norther Portugal/ Porto, thanks to the new nonstop. In the article he mentioned having Alheira, a Portuguese sausage, at this restaurant. My son ordered it and it certainly wasn't what we expected, as the texture is v different from what we consider as "sausage." I had a Caldo Verde soup and octopus with green sauce. Lunch €23 (of note, this is the only dining establishment on our entire trip that gave me an option to add a tip to the bill.)
to be continued...
Today my SIL went on her own to visit Coimbra, while my son and I stayed in Porto. In the morning I was rushing him to get ready so we can be at Palacio do Bolsa by 9am (opening time) for the first available English tour. It can only be visited by guided tours, and they are first-come-first-serve in different languages. They do not have a set schedule, which makes planning difficult! Even though I could buy tickets online in advance, it doesn't specify a language nor guarantee you a spot, so there's really no point in buying tickets in advance.
We arrived 5 minutes past 9 and I was wondering where everybody was... I had half expected a line of tourists. When we got there and I even wondered if I had mixed up the opening time as it was empty. I guess I hadn't needed to rush my son. I got our tickets (€14 for me; free for my son) for the next English tour starting at 9:30am. Given we still have 25 minutes to kill, we went back outside to the garden (Jardim do Infante Dom Henrique) to check out the large statue of Henry the Navigator, with his R arm raised and pointing out to the sea where the eventual sea voyages were headed. at 9:30am our tour started - there were no more than a dozen ppl on our group so no concerns of tickets selling out. The guided tour is only 30 minutes but our guide was great and very animated. The Arabian room is truly breathtaking.
Our next stop is Torre dos Clerigoes, but our ticket entry isn't until 11:30am and it was only 10am, so we have a lot of time to kill. We *could have* visited Church of St Francis, known for its ornate baroque interior, which is right nextdoor to Palacio do Bolsa. But we already are planning to visit Santa Clara church later, and our tour guide Pedro from Porto Walkers told us the 2 churches are quite similar, and Santa Clara is much cheaper (€4 vs €11) so we passed on St Francis. (It costs €11 because it is a complex of 3 buildings and the admission fee is for all 3)
With the extra time, we took the scenic route via Rua das Flores and then R dos Caldeireiros where we saw a shop that sells products made from cork. My son bought himself a cork wallet (€30), and I found a xmas ornament (€2).
[side note, there are 100s if not 1000s of souvenir shops in Porto; at least half a dozen every block, and they all sell the same mass produced items, most of which aren't made in Portugal. We don't buy much souvenirs except for xmas ornaments and when we do, we try to buy something made locally, so this fits the bill.]
When we got to Clerigoes dos Torre, we were still early, so we visited Manteigaria located just half a block away. We are no strangers to Manteigaria from our pervious visits in Lisbon. While eating our natas, we watched them make the dough, and I literally had a heart attack after seeing how much butter they put in it. (almost equal size dough, equal size butter!!!)
Back at the Tower we waited for our 11:30am entry (€17). It's one of the few places that were actually crowded, hence the timed entry tickets. The view from the top is nice but the area is so small (the perimeter space is only wide enough for 1 person) that you can't really stay that long, because others are waiting. The reason I chose 11:30am is because I wanted to time our visit with the 12 noon daily organ concert inside the church. We didn't actually get back down to the church until 12:10pm due to the lines in the tower, but at least we could enjoy part of the concert. Concert ended around 12:35pm.
Next is lunch, and we were just around the corner from a place, Taberna d'Avo, that I read about in the Boston Globe. The Globe's travel writer had just published a piece on Norther Portugal/ Porto, thanks to the new nonstop. In the article he mentioned having Alheira, a Portuguese sausage, at this restaurant. My son ordered it and it certainly wasn't what we expected, as the texture is v different from what we consider as "sausage." I had a Caldo Verde soup and octopus with green sauce. Lunch €23 (of note, this is the only dining establishment on our entire trip that gave me an option to add a tip to the bill.)
to be continued...
