48h in Porto - What we did, saw and ate!

I have wanted to visit Portugal for a long time and not just because I wanted to scratch it off my scratch map! I have heard so many wonderful things about the country - I just knew I had to explore it! 

When the chance came that I and two of my favorite people in the world got to visit the lovely city of Porto, I couldn't have been more excited. 

With only a few days to explore, we hit some sights, drank some port, and ate some lovely food! If you are going to Porto, make sure you have a read to find out where we went and what we saw!

We stayed in a lovely Air BnB which you can see here it sleeps four with one bedroom and a sofa bed which is all open plan. It had two little balconies with space to sunbathe or enjoy a morning coffee....or even a romantic bottle of port!

The apartment is near the center of the city and a short walk from the big bridge which is the main sight to see in Porto. I would say it is perfect for a romantic holiday as it has a big open plan shower and rooftop views. 

The first must see in Porto is the bridge which connects the city across the river. Visit at sunset or sunrise for stunning views that are truly iconic!

There are a number of lovely places to eat and drink dotted along the river, including a rooftop bar on top of the Porto Cruz building. This also hosts a port tasting that we enjoyed and a restaurant that we didn’t (although it looked very nice) 

Another brilliant thing about Porto is lovely food. I had never been to Portugal before but I had high hopes for the food! Being gluten and dairy-free is extremely difficult in Europe for breakfast and lunch, but I can usually find something good for dinner. We stopped at riberira-rio duro for some sangria and stake which was lovely and I would highly recommend! 

We also went to Amorino for some lovely ice cream ( lots of dairy-free sorbets were available!) and to sit outside in the sun. 

The perfect treat on a hot day!

Another must-see is the Capela das almas which is a beautiful blue church not far from the ice cream shop. The church is covered with iconic blue tiles but it is just as beautiful inside as well. Also, it is free so perfect for those on a budget.

Livraria lello is said to be one of the most beautiful library’s in the world, so don’t miss this if you visit Porto. The line when we when was soooo long so make sure to go early to avoid the ques. You Have to pay to get in but the ticket is also a token that you can use to get money off the books. They have many different books in different languages and lots of voices of Harry Potter ( as part of HP was inspired by the library I think)

I would go back to Porto again in a heartbeat as I don’t feel like we had enough time here. I would love to go back and hopefully, one day will for more sun, port and sightseeing!

I hope this post has been useful if you are planning a trip here; everything is very up in the air at the moment but hopefully, it will be back to normal soon. We visited in October and the weather was lovely, so hopefully, if things have improved by the end of the year we can all enjoy a little winter sun!