Porto for a week?

[Tim Good]

We intend to spend a week or so in Porto, Portugal. Where might one recommend to stay in terms of a balance between cost and experience. Don't mind being in a lively old town and want to avoid soulless marinas if possible?

Thoughts?

 

[GHA]

Think a lot of people moor in pavoa de varzim and get the tram.

 

[Graham376]

Two options for marinas, Leixoes is in a scruffy corner of the commercial dock but very cheap and lots of bars & restaurants with a few minutes walk. Bus into Porto stops at the gate. Douro marina is considerably dearer, more exposed to weather and a bus ride from Vila Nova de Gaia, where the port caves are. Very friendly and helpful staff.

 

[kalanka]

When I was there three years ago Douro marina was extremely smelly, presumably from raw sewage in the river......

 

[Yngmar]

Two options for marinas, Leixoes is in a scruffy corner of the commercial dock but very cheap and lots of bars & restaurants with a few minutes walk. Bus into Porto stops at the gate. Douro marina is considerably dearer, more exposed to weather and a bus ride from Vila Nova de Gaia, where the port caves are. Very friendly and helpful staff.

Also suggest Leixoes. If you don't mind a bit of a walk across the big drawbridge into Matosinhos, the tram from there gets you into town a lot faster and more comfortable than the bus, which takes twice as long as it goes via a outlying shopping center first and was massively delayed on the way back. Best of all, you'll pass the mercado municipal, which you should not ignore.

Leixoes has an anchorage just outside the marina (still in the harobur), but it's not nice at all, there is a lot of cargo shipping and most only anchored there while waiting for a berth in the marina (which was often full). Marina is safe and affordable, and the local chandlery was doing a promotion where they dropped a plastic bag of fresh bread on the boat every morning. Lots of grilled fish restaurants if you head into the small hill town straight out of the marina - follow the smells.

Porto is a fantastic town to explore, we really enjoyed it! Do order a Francesinha in a small local cafe (go into side streets and look for locals sitting around drinking beer). Skip Livraria Lello, that place and everything around it was a horrible tourist trap. Do get lost in some valley on the way to the Douro and just explore, there's loads of stuff to see everywhere.

 

[Barnacle Bill]

Can you still go alongside Cais de Estiva, on the north side of the river, just below the low bridge? Or am I hopelessly out-of-date?

 

[dgadee]

Accidentally deleted! Pavoa de Varzim is not expensive. Metro is 50 mins (also express metros). I found Porto interesting but one day enough. Mate went back herself and thought shops were not great. Packed with tourists at weekend.

 

[Graham376]

Porto is a fantastic town to explore,

Agreed. Include the Port Institute, Port caves and sampling and, worth seeing the bookshop used in Harry Potter films. https://www.europeanbestdestinations.com/travel-guide/porto/livraria-lello-bookshop-porto/

 

[jordanbasset]

Think a lot of people moor in pavoa de varzim and get the tram.

That's what we did, very easy and if I remember correctly the metro was very reasonable in price and ran regularly

 

[SV Kittiwake]

Porto is great, one of the higlights of our trip down to the Med. Aveiro is also worth seeing, and easily do-abole on the train, or anchor in Sao Jacinto and go in by ferry / bus combo (easy and cheap).

 

[LadyInBed]

Think a lot of people moor in pavoa de varzim and get the tram.

I did that as well.
I had a lovely meander down through the old town to the river, then wondered how I would make it back up the hill. Luckily, wandering alongside the river I found the funicular railway close to the base of the bridge.