3 things you wish you knew before visiting Porto
As Lonely Planet says, Porto is ‘like a pop-up book from the banks of the Rio Douro, edgy-yet-opulent Porto entices with its historic center, sumptuous food and wine, and charismatic locals’.
This is completely true, and, besides that, there are 3 things that strike first-time visitors as special, peculiar and memorable in Porto that I will share with you today.
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| Trindade Church |
The identity
Porto receives millions of visitors per year and it is still pretty much a typical Portuguese city, with a lot of beauty and uniqueness.One of its most interesting characteristics is the mix between old and modern. The city is centuries old, actually, and it’s still possible to walk through the original streets of the original city. Through these streets, you can find cathedrals, historic buildings from different periods and several restaurants where you can appreciate the great gastronomy of the north.
Besides that, you cannot forget the Port wine, produced exclusively from grapes from the Douro Region, in northern Portugal, about 100 km east of Porto. Nowadays, you can still observe the peculiar boats that once brought the wine, stored in the immense cellars of Vila Nova de Gaia, and exported worldwide since the 17th century.
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| Old town streets |
The hospitality
In general, Portuguese people are educated and know how to receive tourists well, but Invicta is another level of hospitality. In the north, people are really warm, accessible and will do anything for you to feel welcome.Almost everyone speaks English and even the old people, that do not, will do anything to help you if they realize that you need them. They just want you to go home and say that Portugal is really amazing!
Besides that ‘obrigado/obrigada’ (the Portuguese word for ‘thank you’) are constant during our conversations, and, if you are a woman don't get surprised if you are called ‘princesa’ (princess in Portuguese).
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| Old electric car |
The Harry Potter influence
For Harry Potter fans, the city is loaded with amazing surprises. J. K. Rowling lived in the city for a while and was inspired by the city, the ambiance and the culture:- Hogwarts costumes are really similar to the academic costumes that students at the University of Porto (and all students in Portugal) wear, with their long black capes.
- The author was a frequent visitor of the Lello bookstore and everyone knows that the sculptural stairs of the bookstore inspired the stairs of Hogwarts.
- Legend says that the first book was finished on Majestic's marble tables. In any case, what is known is that J. K. Rowling used to spend some of her time in this cafe that is one of the most stunning places in the city.
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| Lello bookstore |
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