The thing you will notice first when you land in Porto is the people. I don't know if it is just me who felt that, but it has one of the kindest, nicest and warmest people that I have met. We had such a great time in Porto and mainly it was because everywhere we people were so nice, be it at a restaurant, a souvenir shop, on street, or while we were shopping (even if we went were one of the last customers to leave). Here are some things that we did in Porto and that should not be missed out when you are in Porto. I have already done a 'Where to Eat in Porto' blog so I will not be covering food here, if you are interested in the food part of it you can click on the link and check out that blog.
The Wine Tasting Tour-Churchill
Price: 12Euros Per person
This tour is a must in Porto. I unabashedly agree that I love 'Port Wine', so this was on top our list in Porto and Churchill is one of the best wine cellars and comes on every other list of 'wine cellars that must not be missed in Porto'. The Wine Tasting tour began with a glass of wine- they start with the 'Duro-wine' and once we were comfortable they took us on a tour around the cellar. They explained how the wine was stored, the different kind of wines and how they were processed and various anecdotes, stories and rumors related to different types of wines. It was truly fascinating to know such intricate details about wine-making. Another thing that was extremely amazing to know was how hands-on Mr. Graham the owner of the wine cellar was with his wine, no wonder his wines have gotten the kind of reputation that they have. Kudos! To you Mr. Graham and more power to you. After the tour was done we came back and were given different types of wine for tasting, the White Aperitif Wine, the Ruby Dessert Wine, some more types of wine from the Duro region, and the famous Vintage Tawny. We spent a beautiful day at the wine-cellar, tasting different types of wine and it all came with a great view. At the end, you can buy the wines that you like to take back. We came out very full in our stomachs and head and very light in the pocket.
This tour is a must in Porto. I unabashedly agree that I love 'Port Wine', so this was on top our list in Porto and Churchill is one of the best wine cellars and comes on every other list of 'wine cellars that must not be missed in Porto'. The Wine Tasting tour began with a glass of wine- they start with the 'Duro-wine' and once we were comfortable they took us on a tour around the cellar. They explained how the wine was stored, the different kind of wines and how they were processed and various anecdotes, stories and rumors related to different types of wines. It was truly fascinating to know such intricate details about wine-making. Another thing that was extremely amazing to know was how hands-on Mr. Graham the owner of the wine cellar was with his wine, no wonder his wines have gotten the kind of reputation that they have. Kudos! To you Mr. Graham and more power to you. After the tour was done we came back and were given different types of wine for tasting, the White Aperitif Wine, the Ruby Dessert Wine, some more types of wine from the Duro region, and the famous Vintage Tawny. We spent a beautiful day at the wine-cellar, tasting different types of wine and it all came with a great view. At the end, you can buy the wines that you like to take back. We came out very full in our stomachs and head and very light in the pocket.
This tour is a must in Porto. I unabashedly agree that I love 'Port Wine', so this was on top our list in Porto and Churchill is one of the best wine cellars and comes on every other list of 'wine cellars that must not be missed in Porto'. The Wine Tasting tour began with a glass of wine- they start with the 'Duro-wine' and once we were comfortable they took us on a tour around the cellar. They explained how the wine was stored, the different kind of wines and how they were processed and various anecdotes, stories and rumors related to different types of wines. It was truly fascinating to know such intricate details about wine-making. Another thing that was extremely amazing to know was how hands-on Mr. Graham the owner of the wine cellar was with his wine, no wonder his wines have gotten the kind of reputation that they have. Kudos! To you Mr. Graham and more power to you. After the tour was done we came back and were given different types of wine for tasting, the White Aperitif Wine, the Ruby Dessert Wine, some more types of wine from the Duro region, and the famous Vintage Tawny. We spent a beautiful day at the wine-cellar, tasting different types of wine and it all came with a great view. At the end, you can buy the wines that you like to t back. We came out very full in our stomachs and head and very light in the pocket.
The Livaria Lello
Tickets: 5 Euros per person (redeemable when you buy a book)
Where: R. das Carmelitas 144, 4050-161 Porto, Portugal
Dumbeldore: After all this time?
Snapre: Always
-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallow
There is no other quote that can better define the love that I have for the Harry Potter series, it is what my childhood was made of. I have read these books, re-read them and re-read them again. I possibly know better about the Magical World then I know of the muggle world. Why am I saying all this here, is because if you did not know, The Livaria Lello is the place that inspired 'HOGWARTS', yes you heard me it inspired the very structure that holds together the story. Rowling Ma'am, I bow to you, you are beyond magical, and so is this place. When you enter, you are transported truly into a magical world, with stacks and stacks of books and the hanging stairs in between (remind you of something, no? the moving staircases the hung around in Hogwarts, Yup!). Also, the fact that I love books, this place was just everything for me. We spent quite an amount of time here, the only regret I had is that this place does not have enough books in English, but I still found things to buy and one of them was the screenplay in hard-bound of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them-Crimes of Grindelwald, I mean what better souvenir to take back from here. Huh?
There is no other quote that can better define the love that I have for the Harry Potter series, it is what my childhood was made of. I have read these books, re-read them and re-read them again. I possibly know better about the Magical World then I know of the muggle world. Why am I saying all this here, is because if you did not know, The Livaria Lello is the place that inspired 'HOGWARTS', yes you heard me it inspired the very structure that holds together the story. Rowling Ma'am, I bow to you, you are beyond magical, and so is this place. When you enter, you are transported truly into a magical world, with stacks and stacks of books and the hanging stairs in between (remind you of something, no? the moving staircases the hung around in Hogwarts, Yup!). Also, the fact that I love books, this place was just everything for me. We spent quite an amount of time here, the only regret I had is that this place does not have enough books in English, but I still found things to buy and one of them was the screenplay in hard-bound of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them-Crimes of Grindelwald, I mean what better souvenir to take back from here. Huh?
Take a walk around Porto
Where: Everywhere especially around the famous Dom Luis Bridge and both sides of the River Durro
When you walk on either side of the river you will notice that there are many small little curious to buy. I really recommend this man who is selling bags made out of crochet, he makes them himself and they are very unique. He also has a facebook page, you can follow him there. I bought a bag from here, I just could not stop myself. Another thing we did is take a Vintage Photograph (yes I forced Mr. H to take it with me) you can find this man I am sure at all times with his vintage camera and capturing a beautiful photo of you as if from the past.
Shopping
There are so many knick-knacks that you can pick up in Porto and if you are anything like Mr. H and I, you will go in with 15 Kilos of luggage together and come back with 20 Kilos each. We picked up little things, just walking around in Porto and here are some of our favorites.
P.S. You will notice that even though Livaria Lello is a store I did not include it in the shopping part because it is truly an experience in itself.
The Feeting Room
This place was recommended every time that googled about the best places to shop in Porto. So we decided to pay a visit to this highly recommended place and we were not disappointed, the collection of shoes is really amazing, and their clothes have a remarkable uniqueness to them. The best part of our timing was that the shop was on sale (for women only, unfortunately for Mr. H he had to pay the full price for his purchase) and we were able to get an amazing deal on a pair of shoes that I bought and they have now become my most favorite pair of shoes. The store is a hot-tub of items from various brands, new-designers and plastic artists anyone who has unique (as described by the store website) and it truly is, everything about the store screams unique.
Burel Factory
Mr. H was more keen on going here than I was. He had not even told me that we were looking for this store. The store currently has construction going on in front of it, which is why it is a bit hidden, which is why Mr. H could not see it properly (and which is why we do not have a picture of the entry to it). However, I found myself walking into the stores, the aesthetics helped, and Mr. H went 'Oh! this is what we were looking for!'. The place is so aesthetically pleasing, what is it, its a store for home decoration and clothing items made out of 100% woven wool. We were so mesmerized by the designs of the items at the place. We ended up buying a blanket from here, and it is the warmest thing in the world. It looks so beautiful and once you are inside it, you do not want to know the world outside. This item pretty much took most of our luggage space, but are we complaining of course NOT!
Mr. H and I are big believers of buying souvenirs, we literally have filled our house with things from wherever we have been, it is like a gentle reminder to us about each of our adventures. Porto was no different, we look for unique pieces, and prefer to spend a little extra just to get something that will last us a lifetime. We found this souvenir store by chance and later found out it is actually one of the most recommended ones. Our main attraction towards this store was that we wanted to buy the famous Porto tiles but in a frame and this place did just that, it framed it for you. We bought our tiles and I also realized that they do these gorgeous earring inspired by these so I bought a pair of them as well.
Another very interesting part of the shopping was the boy in charge of the store. He was extremely friendly and told us he was collecting and asked if we had a coin from our country, we handed one to him. He was so genuinely delighted and it pleased us to no level to be able to talk to someone and explain them the coin, making us realize how small the world is truly becoming. It was such a pleasant experience buying from here and he also gave us a tote bag (I LOVE TOTE BAGS) to carry our purchases.
Patch by Porto
This is a vintage store in Porto with a charm of its own. It is like a completely different world once you enter it. I was absolutely in love with the stunning decor inside. Other than vintage items you also find ceramic ware here, which is again very famous in Porto, some of them are vintage and some of them are not. These are made by various artists and hand-made in Porto. We bought a small vase from here, but we loved the hand-made ceramic so much, if only we were not dying under the weight of our shopping already, we would have bought something bigger. But I really urge you to visit this place, you will surely find something very unique. It is a truly delightful little place.
Here is to more adventures and sharing them here, to people who may or may not be reading!
Bisous!