When comes to talking about Portugal, the first city will instantly hit one's mind is none other than Lisbon. But then, have you ever heard of Porto before? Neither do I. I never knew about Porto until Mytravelmatez shared with me about this coastal city and he said I should make a visit there. And so here I am in Porto for another new discovery and adventures together with my mom and cousin all the way from London after spending three days three nights there.
FLYING WITH RYANAIR TO PORTO FROM LONDON STANSTED
First time with RyanAir. I heard so much about RyanAir but never have I ever experienced it eventhough visited Europe couple of times, not until this trip. One way trip from London Stansted to Porto can be so cheap - it's like £17 (approx. to RM94) but after all those add-on such as baggage fee and seat selection, ended up in average we paid £46 per pax. Wondering why we rather pay for the seats instead of waiting for the time to check-in? Read below:
#1: Got to experience flying with another new airlines again - RyanAir
Under the strict new rules starting May 2018, any passenger who arrives at the airport without having checked in beforehand will subject to a fee of £55. And even if you have checked in but arrive at the airport without your boarding pass, again you will being charged a boarding card reissue fee of £20. Bear in mind, you can only do web check-in and print your boarding pass within 72 hours from your scheduled departure time. This mean that anyone on a holiday of longer than three days, you might need to access the internet and the more hassle is you need a printer to print the boarding pass, which may not be easy abroad. To avoid all these hassle, I rather reserve and pay the seats and print in Malaysia rather than wasting my time trying to look for a printer in London.
FROM PORTO AIRPORT TO CITY CENTRE
There is a metro line heading straight to the city centre from Porto Airport. The ticket can be purchased at the machine in the station. But because there was no one to guide us, I bought the wrong ticket. Luckily just one instead of three. The ticket is known as Andante and it's rechargeable ticket for the price of €0.60. As for the fare of the travel card, it depends on which zone you are travel to. Since the airport is consider in Zone 4, therefore a single trip cost €2.
WHERE TO STAY IN PORTO
If you are looking for an excellent and ideal location, probably you can take these two into considerations; somewhere close to Trindade or Bolhão stations. And I chosen the first one where I booked a short-rental apartment not far away from Trindade station.
#3: Our two nights crib in Porto
Speaking about the apartment I booked in Porto, we kinda enjoy it cause it has almost everything - there's a kitchen for us to cook, two comfy beds for us to have a good night sleep, a clean and chic bathroom with basic amenities, excellent and great location within short walking distance to majority of the attractions. However, there's one and only major issue why I didn't give full rating is because there's no elevator. Imagine that the property is located on 4th floor and with our two huge luggage bags - it was absolutely like steps to hell while carrying our bags up.
HM - Bonjardim Duplex Charming Apartment
Date Stayed: 9 October - 11 October 2018 (2 nights)
Room Rate: €80 per night and it's fit perfectly for three guests (approx. to RM132 per person per night). Booked from Booking.com
EXPLORING & DISCOVERING PORTO
Oh well! On the first day in Porto, we decided not to do any sightseeing but just walked over to nearby supermarkets to buy some groceries. The good part of travelling with mom is that she will prepare and cook a hearty meal for you so you won't feel homesick.
#4: A hearty dinner for three. Thanks mom!#3: Our two nights crib in Porto
Speaking about the apartment I booked in Porto, we kinda enjoy it cause it has almost everything - there's a kitchen for us to cook, two comfy beds for us to have a good night sleep, a clean and chic bathroom with basic amenities, excellent and great location within short walking distance to majority of the attractions. However, there's one and only major issue why I didn't give full rating is because there's no elevator. Imagine that the property is located on 4th floor and with our two huge luggage bags - it was absolutely like steps to hell while carrying our bags up.
HM - Bonjardim Duplex Charming Apartment
Date Stayed: 9 October - 11 October 2018 (2 nights)
Room Rate: €80 per night and it's fit perfectly for three guests (approx. to RM132 per person per night). Booked from Booking.com
EXPLORING & DISCOVERING PORTO
Oh well! On the first day in Porto, we decided not to do any sightseeing but just walked over to nearby supermarkets to buy some groceries. The good part of travelling with mom is that she will prepare and cook a hearty meal for you so you won't feel homesick.
Since we had adequate of rest the day before (more than enough), it's time for us to dress up, get out for another new adventures - exploring and discovering the second largest city of Portugal.
1) Mercado do Bolhão - Known as Bolhão Market, it's a traditional market where the local get their fresh vegetables, meat, fish and flowers from. The market is very close to where we stayed but unfortunately during our visit, the market was temporary closed for renovation. So close, yet so far. I guess my mom will be very excited if she get to experience the "angmo" market but what to do, luck wasn't on our side.
2) Livraria Lello - One of the oldest bookstore in the world, Livraria Lello is often described by visitors to be the most beautiful bookshop in the world with its stunning neo-Gothic architecture. It's rumoured that this bookstore was a direct inspiration for the world-famous author, J.K. Rowling and her Harry Potter book series. I thought it's free to enter into this bookstore but I was wrong - one have to purchase ticket before entering and it costs €5. You can purchase the ticket online here.
3) Igreja do Carmo - Not far away from Livraria Lello is The Church of Our Lady of Carmo. Obviously I was attracted by its remarkable large blue and white mural ceramic-tiled wall.
4) Ribeira - Tucked on the riverbank of Douro, it's one of the oldest neighbourhood and the most important historic centre of Porto. Here, you get to see a row of colourful and vibrant townhouses which making this place another Insta-worthy spot. Ribeira is lined up with plenty of traditional restaurants where you can savour some of Portugal's typical dishes which I will share more later.
5) Gaia - Just across Dom Luís I Bridge on foot whether in the bottom or the upper platforms to reach the other side in case you want to witness the picturesque neighbourhood of Ribeira, like what we did. But we walked through the bottom platforms cause the upper one not for the weakheart. And if you are looking for wineries and vineyards, Gaia is famous for it.
6) Via Catarina Shopping - Before leaving Porto permanently, a trip without shopping is incomplete, especially for my mom. And so I found a shopping street located not far away from where we stayed - less than 10 minutes walk. We spotted a shopping mall with a pink facade attached in front of the building. The mall might be small but at least my mom managed to leave with something that catch her heart. She's happy, I also happy lor...
1) Pastel de Nata - This traditional Portuguese egg custard tart is obviously the most iconic pastry in Portugal and certainly there's no reason you could miss out cause it's everywhere across the city. We got ours from Manteigaria Bakery - the shop is nearby the Bolhão Market because some locals said this is as good as the famous one in Lisbon. One creamy custard tart costs €1.
2) Francesinha - One of Porto's most iconic dishes which you shouldn't miss. Francesinha is a Portuguese sandwich with steak, ham, fresh sausage, spiced smoke sausage and cheese in the middle covered with melted cheese and hot thick tomato and beer sauce. This mouthwatering sandwich will make you crave for more and no wonder it's being listed to be one of the 10 best sandwiches in the world.
3) Bacalhau - It's a Portuguese word for salted cod fish. Since it's very popular in Portugal, hence we gave a try for it but frankly speaking, I don't really into it. I tend to eat the potatoes more than the main meal itself.
LEAVING PORTO TO LISBON
Guess my friend was right. Porto is indeed one charming and fascinating city that anyone shouldn't miss when comes to visit Portugal. Even my mom and cousin love this vibrant city too. Two nights might seem short but it's time to move to another city - Lisbon. To get to Lisbon, I decided to take the train simply because I love train ride more than bus. In Porto, the city is served by two major train stations; São Bento and Campanha station. Both stations will lead you to Lisbon but then if you are taking train from São Bento, you need to alight at Campanha station and change to another platform. Well, at least we didn't make the wrong choice for departing from São Bento station cause the station itself is such a beautiful sight to behold. As for my train ticket, I bought it online here and you may check the timetable and fare too.
Note: Exchange rate  €1 = RM4.86 as at October 2018
TOTAL SPENDING IN PORTO
PARTICULARS | AMOUNT | |
£/€ | RM | |
Airfare RyanAir London Stansted to Porto Accommodation HM - Bonjardim Duplex Charming Apartment (2 nights) Add: City Tax Transportation Andante Single Trip Andante 24 hours Train Porto to Lisbon Admission Fee Livraria Lello Food and drinks (In Average After Divide 3) Lunch – 1st day Groceries and fruits for dinner Manteigaria Pastel de Nata Lunch – 2nd day Others Postcards and stamp Magnet Shopping – Ipanema Sandal | £46 - €4.00 €2.60 €4.75 €18.50 €5.00 €12.63 €8.36 €1.00 €11.00 €6.00 €1.50 €19.90 | 249 264 19 13 23 90 24 61 40 5 53 29 7 97 |
TOTAL | 974 | |
The official currency in Portugal is the Euro (€).
Before I end my post, do you know that Porto has the world's most beautiful McDonald's? Seriously no one told me about this until I accidentally bumped into the signboard reflected about this. Just by looking at the entrance of this McDonald's Imperial, there's a giant bronze eagle instead of the typical huge yellow "M" word. And when I stepped into the restaurant, I was amazed with the colourful stained glass window behind the counter. It's really impressive and mind-blowing - not like the McDonald's I used to know.
With this, now you don't have any excuse for not to include Porto into your Portugal's list cause trust me, there are more things to do and see waiting for you to discover in Porto.
