Porto is a cheap and popular tourist destination in northern Portugal. How ever tourism is followed by gentrification and commodification. Making it harder for the locals to live there and more expensive for us as visitors. But it’s still a nice city to visit and I will give you 3 do and don’t.
To do in Porto
Im a big fan of cheap things to do when I travel. If it’s to expensive or to long queue my interest is gone. So let’s see if we can find good and three free things to do in Porto.
The alternative to 360 Porto
For some years ago, a visit to the 360 Porto terrace at Super Bock arena was free and you didn’t need a guide. Today a guided to is necessary to the cost of 12,5 euro/person. But if we are honest, what we mostly want to see is the Dom Luis Bridge and the river. So walk thru Gardens of Palácio de Cristal and find one of its many terraces and you will get some good views over Porto for free. As a bonus you will see some amazing peacocks at the same time.
Farolim de Felgueiras and linha 1
Farolim de Felgueiras is a lighthouse in Foz do Douro. It’s located just where the Douro river meets the Atlantic. After you took some selfies with the amazing waves in the background you can walk among the river back to Dom Luise Bridge. On the way you will see how the old and new Porto is merged together to a vibrant city. If you prefer you can take on of the old trams at linha 1 in to the city.
Capela do Senhor da Pedra
This chapel is about 20 minutes train ride outside of Porto. But it’s so well worth it. Not only is it an attraction mostly visited by locals, it also give you the opportunity to enjoy the Portuguese beach life. The chapel is built on an old pagan offer place as a method to christianize Portugal during the 17 century. Today it’s pagan history is mostly noted on Trinity Sunday when an annual three-day festival commemorating the site’s Pagan past. The rest of the year, its just a lovely small chapel at the beach. It’s so adorable.
Please not that during high water there is no land connection to the chapel. So before you go there, make sure with your hotel that its walk able al the way to the chapel.
To get there, take the south going train from Porto/Vila Nova da Gaia and exit at the Miramar station and walk towards the sea, where it will be easily visible.
Don’t do in Porto
As I mentioned Porto have become very touristic over the last decade. That also makes a lot of things more expensive. And things that was free before now charge you for a visit. One of the things is 360 Porto that I mentioned before. Here is three other things you can avoid to not follow in to a tourist trap.
Livraria Lello bookstore
This bookstore is amazing and if you are a fan of Harry Potter so yes buy the ticket. Otherwise I think its sick to make you pay to visit a shop. During my first trips to Porto for 15 years ago the entrance was free of charge. But this year it was crazy with long queues outside with people who paid 8 Euro to see it.
If you wan’t to see another amazing old Porto shop visit the A Vida Portuguesa some doors away for free. Yes it don’t have the connection to Harry Potter but is as great as Livraria Lello and best of all, no queues no entrance fee.
Casa de Musica
Casa de Musica is the concert hall of Porto. Previous years I have always loved to come here and explore the architecture. It was nice to see the white building shining like a pearl surrounded by old buildings. But something have happened. This year the building was clearly in need of a deep cleaning to get back to it’s old glory. On top of that, this is also one of the attractions that was free to visit but now demand you to make a guided tour. This commodification of the public spaces disturbs me. Culture and great architecture should be visible for al, not only middle class and above.
But if you are a big fan of architecture you will find the 12 Euro well invested. I don’t have a free option to this, so I recommend you to look on it from the outside and maybe take a coffee here just as I did.
The amazing city of Porto
I love Porto and the Portuguese way of living. Its chilled with a pinch of latin temperament. However as a frequent traveler who visited Porto many times I can’t say that the tourism is al good. There is so many cheap hostels and B&B today that the locals get’s problem to live in their own city. I can also see how things that was free before now charged people for the same experience. For you or me as a tourist is maybe not a big deal. But for a low paid local it can be. So I ask you, when you visit Porto and you should. Use as many free activities as possible and save the money to tip the cleaner, servant or taxi driver. Portuguese salary’s aint high you know.
How to get to Porto
You can always drive or take the train in to Porto. Bus as a Scandinavian I have always been flying to Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport. From here you can easy take the tram in to the city center and your hotel. When I visited the city over new year I tried Brussel Airlines on my way down and Austrian Airlines on my way home.