Libby’s Lisbon & Porto Adventure

I flew out from Leeds Bradford on Thursday 5th October to Porto and stayed at the HF Tuela Porto, which was near the pick up points for the conference. The hotel was only 15 minutes walk away from the outskirts of the bustling centre, the sun was shining so I set off to explore for a few hours. After I’d spent some time wandering around and enjoying a chilled glass of Vinho Verde, the local wine, I sat by the river side and had a bite to eat. Watching the trams pass me by with the sun setting over the Douro river, I reminded myself of how lucky I am to be able to experience beautiful places.

Porto has 2 sides to it which is split by the river Douro and Vila Nova De Gaia is located on the Southern side. Affectionately known as Gaia, it has an abundance of little bars and restaurants all along the river front which on an evening is lit up with twinkling lights, making it the perfect setting for a drink or a bite to eat. Gaia also has The World Of Wine Museum- think rooftop bars and live dj’s. This museum showcases every part of the wine journey with tastings available too which makes a great place to go on an afternoon or early evening if you want to do something different and learn along the way.

The centre of Porto is very historical, with lots to learn. The cathedral is really impressive so it is definitely worth a look around plus it was a welcome break from the heat!

Walking tours are a popular way of sight seeing here in Porto so you’ll be sure to see groups of people following a guide around the city. Before I went, I had an idea in my head of what it would be like but it surpassed my expectations, I knew that it was going to ooze charm and tradition but I never thought that it would be a place for all ages to enjoy.

As I was there for the CLIA conference, I only had a short amount of time to fit everything in, I would love to go back to keep exploring and seeing what else Porto has to offer but even in the short amount of time that I had there it made a lasting impression on me. There is something for everyone there, whether it be a stop over on a river cruise down the Douro river or a short city break, you won’t be disappointed in choosing Porto for your next trip.

Lisbon was a city that I had always seen and heard about but never had the chance to explore myself. So as I’d been in Porto on a conference,I thought to myself, why not go to Lisbon and do it as a twin centre?

The train from Campanha station in Porto was really easy to get to in an Uber and once I was there I boarded the train to Lisbon Oriente, this took around 2 hours 45 minutes but was a very scenic journey which passed through some beautiful country sides and villages.

A friend of mine met me off the train in Lisbon where we jumped on the Metro to our guesthouse accommodation across the city. I never realised how big Lisbon actually was until I was there and how much you could do and see. After a lovely dinner on the first night we got a good nights rest and was up and out early the next morning.

Our first day started with a walk through the bustling Praca do Comercio to the waterfront and walk along the waters edge towards the famous 25 De Abril Bridge which is famous due to it looking very similar to San Francisco’s Golden Gate bridge, the bridge connects Lisbon to Almada where the Christ the King monument is, which is a smaller version of the Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil.

At this point we were going to turn around and head back as it was very hot and we didn’t think there would be much to see if we carried on… we were glad that we changed our minds. I always find walking around a new place to be the best way to see a lot of the area and to find some hidden treasures that you wouldn’t have usually come across if you had taken the bus.

This is exactly what happened to us and as we were walking around I spotted a queue of people coming from a bakery, I knew exactly what I had found. Pastel de Belem was right in front of us, this bakery is where the pastel de nata was born and these just so happen to be my favourite pastry. After eating more than one of these delicious pastries we carried on walking, dusting cinnamon sugar off our hands as we did. Along our journey we passed the impressive cathedral and the Padrao Dos Descobrimentos which are both must sees if you’re in Lisbon. We jumped on some E-bikes and made our way back to the metro station in order to get back to the centre, E-bikes and scooters are such a popular way of getting around with cycle lanes being on nearly every path and road. The metro stopped in the shopping district of the city, the streets lined with designer shops and boutiques and nestled between these was the where we had stopped for a drink. By the time we got ready for our evening the sun was coming down so we quickly headed up towards Senhora Do Monte, a busy viewpoint with bars and music, to watch the sunset and enjoy a drink and some delicious food.

Our second day here was all about sightseeing and we really packed it in. First stop was the Castelo de S. Jorge, the castle at the top of the hill which boasts some of the best views of the city, everything seems to be at the top of a hill in Lisbon so be prepared to get those steps in! Meandering around the cobbled streets we found some lovely bars and cafes, stopping for a drink and a snack in between the sights was a great way to enjoy as much of what Lisbon has to offer as we could. The Elevador De Santa Justa was next on the list, we decided to queue up and take the lift up to the viewing platform so we could tick this off our lists. It is an industrial age lift which is beautifully designed in a gothic style and has been used for years to transport visitors up one of the steepest hills in the city. The views from here stretch for miles and really are beautiful. If you don’t want to wait in the queues there are some stairs which you can take up to the viewing platform, if you really want to test your legs! We followed our map down to Pink Street, wandered underneath the colourful umbrella’s and soaked up the sun a little more. My friend had read about a little Dutch restaurant tucked on Green Street and as she is very familiar with this cuisine we had to go see if it was up to scratch but not before we indulged ourselves in the smells and sights of the Time Out market. If you have never been to a Time Out market before they are great! An array of different market stalls serving up lots of different street foods as well as bars and desserts too, it can be a really good way of tasting new dishes. We eventually found the Dutch place and it didn’t let us down, we enjoyed bitterballen, frikandellen and Krokets and a cold drink to refresh us before we set off on our journey back to the centre. We wanted our last evening meal to be a good one and remembered that on our walk to Belem on the first day we passed a lovely cluster of restaurants in the harbour near the bridge. A steak restaurant took our fancy so we sat at a table over the water reflecting on our day and ate the best truffle mash potato and steak that we’d ever had and the night ended with relaxed drinks in a rooftop bar.

Why does your last day of a trip comes around so quickly?

Even though our time in Lisbon was coming to an end we still had time to cram in a few more things. A few more Pastel De Nata were eaten (shockingly some even made it home), a few more drinks were had and a few more sights were seen including a ride on the famous yellow tram which goes up one of the steepest streets in Lisbon.

Safe to say we saw as much of Lisbon as we could’ve seen but there is still so much that we left unexplored but until next time…

Love,

Libby x