Last October I went on my first ever start-to-finish solo trip in Porto! It felt really freeing to be able to fill my time exactly how I chose, and I quickly settled into this new way of travelling. I really enjoyed visiting Lisbon back in January 2020 and it was a pleasure to return to another Portuguese city.

I flew from Bristol to Porto Airport (Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport) and then hopped on a metro, followed by a 15 minute walk to my guesthouse Pensão Favorita. This was a lovely place to stay, with a peaceful garden where I enjoyed al fresco breakfasts, and it was also walking distance into the city. I headed out for an initial explore, popping into some lovely shops along Rua de Miguel Bombarda, and admiring the beautifully tiled Igrega do Carmo. For dinner I visited a food market (Mercado Bom Sucesso) and had some tasty empanadas.

Pensão Favorita

Igrega do Carmo

The next morning I awoke to beautiful blue skies and started out by ticking off some key sights such as the Chapel of Souls and the Sao Bento train station, both of which exhibit beautiful tiling. My sister recommended Manteigaria where I picked up some delicious fresh pastéis de nata, they were excellent. Then onto the viewpoint Pillory of Porto, which gave me a better sense of the city and its hills, and I managed to get a decent photo taken of me by a stranger – definitely one of the challenges of solo travel! I headed towards the waterfront, getting my first glimpse of the famous Luís I Bridge, and enjoyed a delicious lunch of cod fritters and salad at Taberna Rio.

Pillory of Porto viewpoint

Luís I Bridge

In the afternoon I participated in a thoroughly enjoyable tile painting workshop at Domus Arte. It was so interesting learning some of the history of Porto from a local, and lovely to chat to other travellers too. The laquer we used for painting took a little getting used to but I was really happy with the final result. In the evening I walked across the Luís I bridge towards the Jardim do Morro, where lots of people had gathered to watch the sunset and soak up the beautiful views of the red-roofed city. For dinner I had a tasty prawn dish at the Time Out Market.

Tile painting at Domus Arte

View from Jardim do Morro

The next day I headed straight to an art gallery, the National Museum Soares dos Reis, which is a lovely manageable size. There were lots of older pieces including some by Silva Porto, plus modern pieces showcasing Portuguese artists along with beautifully designed objects such as instruments and jewellery. I particularly liked seeing Pousão’s travel sketches as they reminded me of my own travel sketchbook. I had a tasty brunch at Hakko then wandered to the Palácio da Bolsa, where I booked a tour for a bit later on (a slightly unusual setup). I passed the time reading my book in the sun by the river which was pure bliss. The palace is full of beautiful interiors including an ornate granite hallway that took 40 years to complete, and the dazzling gold room completes the tour.

Palácio da Bolsa

After re-energising with some more pastéis de nata, I wandered around the Jardins do Palacio de Cristal which has all sorts of pretty garden sections within it and lovely views of the river. I finally found a quiet spot to sketch which was a pleasant way to spend the rest of my afternoon, and a sweet Portuguese family stopped to take a closer look at my work. In the evening I ate some delicious pasta at the Mercado de Bolhão, which was definitely the most atmospheric of the different food markets I tried, though it had fewer dinner options (a great range of stalls though). I enjoyed listening to the market’s piano, it was one of those ones that’s free for anyone to sit down and play, such a lovely concept.

Sketching the Jardins do Palacio de Cristal

On my final morning I enjoyed my last al fresco breakfast in the guesthouse garden then sat and read in the Jardim das Oliveiras, soaking up the last few rays of sun before returning to the airport. I’d definitely recommend Porto for some autumn warmth and sunshine, plus Portugal is in the same time zone as the UK which is always a win. As I was visiting in low season there was quite a bit of construction work happening around the city, but I’ll happily accept this if it means fewer crowds!

Pensão Favorita

Some of the shops I enjoyed browsing included Coração Alecrim, Ó! Galeria, PATCH Lifestyle Concept Store and Sol Artesanto. The famous bookstore Livaria Lello had huge queues so I gave it a miss.

I’d love to return to Porto as there’s plenty more for me to explore such as Parque de Serralves, climbing the Torre dos Clérigos, and the cable car. I’d also like to do a river boat tour, visit a port house (as a non-drinker this wasn’t high on my list!) and perhaps find a pastel de nata workshop. Some other food spots I’d like to try are Zenith, Traveller Café, Época and Out to Lunch kitchen.

I had a wonderful time exploring Porto and I was so glad that my first start-to-finish solo adventure was a success. Going on this trip gave me the final push to book 3 months off work to go travel, which I did from February to April this year (watch this space for future blog posts!). If you’re interested in solo travel yourself, I’ve collated some useful advice in my post Tips for Solo Travel, and there’s some handy planning guidance in City Break Tips.

Where else in Portugal should I explore?

Alexa