DECEMBER 2021
Visiting Porto was my travel highlight of the year! Walking the colorful streets of Porto was a true pinch me moment. 2021 was the year I finally got to visit the blue tiled miracle that is Porto. Porto is such a beautiful city, you will find great spots everywhere you look. Yet, it isn’t too perfect and it is still a little rough around the edges. We visited in August 2021 and I was happily surprised that it was very easy to take pictures everywhere (except for one place…), as Porto wasn’t too crowded. In this blogpost I accumulated the best Instagram spots in Porto, but to be honest, Porto is one big Instagram hotspot. Just note that Porto is situated on a hill and visiting all these sights requires taking a lot of stairs. Porto probably was the most stroller-unfriendly location I have ever visited, so you might want to take a baby carrier if you are visiting with a kid.
Chapel of Souls
I will start this list with the Chapel of Souls, which I personally found the most beautiful blue white tiled church in Porto. The Portuguese tiles (azulejos) of this church were so incredible vibrant, that this became my favorite church in Porto!
Ingreja do Carmo
This church is the one that inspired me to visit Porto! Ever since I had seen pictures of this church, I just knew I had to visit Porto. This church is very Insta famous, so I expected lots of photo shoots taking place. We visited this church around 10AM and there was only one other photo shoot going on. Because it is located at a busy intersection you do need a little bit of patience. As you can see on my pics below, we did struggle with the right alignment a bit.
Livraria Lello
Livraria Lello is one of the most beautiful bookstores in the world, apparently it has inspired the Harry Potter book series. You can find it just around the corner of Ingreja do Carmo. I also included it on my must visit list, but when we arrived in the morning the queue was already several blocks long. I personally think that even when you visit an Instagram hotspot, it should still be enjoyable. That didn’t seem to be the case at Livraria Lello, so we skipped visiting.
Mural at Steak n Shake
This is a tiled mural of the Steak n Shake restaurant. I found it super vibrant and a very fun sight!
Largo da Pena Ventosa
This one is very difficult to find without google maps, so maybe that is why we had it all to ourselves. This little plaza is best visited in the morning, because that saves you an audience of a full terrace. Just around the corner you will also find great miradores, to have the perfect lookout over the city!
Porto Cathedral
Definitely don’t skip the Porto Cathedral, you need to pay an entry price of € 3 and that is well worth it. The inside of the convent is fully covered in blue tiles, a spectacular sight. From the terrace you will also have a lovely view over Porto.
Ribeira
Ribeira is one of the most beautiful boroughs of Porto. It is situated on a hill, giving you all sorts of great “look throughs” with the Luis I bridge in the background. The photos below are taking at Escada dos Guindais, which is a little more rough around the edges than the rest of Porto’s city center.
Bridge Ponte Luis I
The bridge Ponte Luis I connects the two sides of Porto. You can cross the Douro river on the top part and the part just above the river. My favorite spot to photograph the bridge was Cais da Ribeira, the cozy riverfront of Porto. The light during the day was truly breathtaking from this area! Most days you will find boys raising money to jump off this bridge, please do not join as this is a scam!
Passeio das Fontainhas
This is an original viewpoint that shows the other side of the Ponte Luis I bridge, so you have truly seen it from all angles.
Sao Bento train station
I have doubted whether or not to include this one on the list. The Porto train station is so busy during the day, that it is impossible to take a good Instagram picture. It is still really worth it to make a quick visit, just don’t expect to have it all to yourself!
Church Santo Ildefonso
This is one of the less famous churches of Porto and we accidentally bumped into it, it is located perfectly on a little hill and features the quintessential Portuguese tiles.
Gaia
Gaia is where you will find all the Port houses. You just need to cross the Ponte Luis I bridge to get to the other side of the Douro. Many of the Port houses have lovely terraces overlooking the city center, where you can have a delicious lunch. The prices are competitive because all the Port houses want you to visit them, so you can have a premium lunch for a non-premium price. We had lunch at Calem and had the most delicious fresh sashimi. After the lunch we did the Port tour at Sandeman and fell in love with Port! We did the classic visit which included two glasses of Port and even Hugo was very interested in the cellars, the process and the tasting. Because the cellars are located on the same floor it was more stroller friendly than I expected. Our visit to Sandeman inspired us to visit the Douro valley and the Sandeman vineyards, read all about it in this blogpost.
WOW Porto
WOW (World of Wine) is a new cultural site in the Gaia part of Porto that features many restaurants and museums. It opened in 2021 and apparently is quite a spectacle. As we came to Porto to enjoy its historic center we did not end up visiting… but it seems to be a good Instagram spot too, so I decided to include it in the list anyway.
Camping in Porto
Porto is not really known as a camping destination, but we discovered that it is a good possibility. We stayed at Istas Garden for three nights and had the most amazing stay. Istas Garden is a very small family run campsite with lovely owners who are happy to explain you everything about Porto. Istas Garden is located in Gaia and only a short Uber ride away from the city center. It even had a small swimming pool with salt water and a baby changing room. The owners regularly organize Port tasting nights and other activities, creating a very relaxed vibe at the campsite. We paid € 50 per night, which is expensive, but it was our favorite campsite of 2021.
