Porto, Portugal’s northern city, is like the cooler older sister of its capital, Lisbon. A country’s second city is always cool, right? Manchester, anyone? I’d been to Porto once before, but this was my first time back in 10 years, and on this visit a decade later, we really leaned into all of Porto’s fun offerings. A 10-course lunch in Porto’s trendy Bonfim neighbourhood, exploring Serralves sculpture gardens, late-night drinks at hidden rooftop bars above carparks, and crossing the Dom Luis bridge to watch buskers play with the Douro river backdrop.
Basically, Porto is a good time, and I came back convinced that it’s the perfect city break spot for those seeking an unpretentious, vibe-y atmosphere, with a gastronomic scene that rivals any major capital city.
Where we stayed
Rua des Flores is one of Porto’s main central streets, a short walk from Porto’s Cathedral. It’s a stylish and buzzy, fully pedestrianised street filled with restaurants, ice cream parlours, souvenir shops that sit on the right side of tacky, and cute bars. Our hotel, Casa da Companhia, Vignette Collection - part of IHG Hotels & Resorts - is firmly planted in the thick of it. You'll spot their distinct façade, lined with large window doors that open wide, allowing the in-house restaurant to spill out onto the street. The buffet breakfast here is a delight, but make sure to book in dinner, too, and order the Porto Tonico. It's white Port mixed with tonic water and is like Portugal's answer to Aperol Spritz.
As we enter the central courtyard, greeted by a friendly doorman, it's a stunning hotel that offers an immediate tranquil space from the city hubbub. The courtyard and ground-floor bar, where they host Port tastings with homemade chocolate truffles, are areas where the boutique hotel has retained its 18th-century history, featuring stone alcoves and original balconies. The 40 guest rooms are more contemporary. The staff at check-in are amazing, offering up plenty of local recommendations and a glass of extra dry white Port (delicious), but it's when we're led up to the rooms, high above the street, that they reveal their final hand. The view from our room is spectacular. Out on the terrace, it’s a sea of sunset-coloured tiled roofs cascading up to the Cathedral. Inside, it's airy and bright. Everything is modern, supersized and has luxe comfort in mind. A giant king bed, a deep, freestanding bathtub, a large, slick HDTV flat screen.
Casa da Companhia, Vignette Collection is prepared to welcome you all year round. They have two pools. Our visit was suited to the indoor pool, which is conveniently located next to their in-house spa. The pool features large stone steps into the water, and it feels as if you've been transported to a Scandi ski cabin with the ceiling, walls, and floors all lined with wooden slats.
The Spa next door has recently had a makeover, partnering with L’Occitane to offer bespoke treatments. For my 60-minute face and body treatment, our attentive massage therapist, Juliana, asks how I want my skin to feel and the products I use at home so she can tailor the experience to my needs. I opted for the sweet almond massage oil, containing notes of lavender, bergamot, mandarin and sweet orange. Explaining how it calms the mind and promotes sleep, Juliana sprays the Cocon de Sérénité pillow mist onto the massage table as I bury my head into it, and I switch off for the entire hour. After decompressing with a cup of camomile tea and lemon, I left the spa with my toiletry bag a little heavier with L'Occitane goods. Dreamy.
Where to eat and drink
For fine dining at its best, visit Euskalduna Studio. It's an intimate, dimly lit restaurant in the style of Japanese izakayas. I’ve since learnt that it’s hard to pin down a table, but luckily - maybe because our visit was out of season - our hotel was able to secure a last-minute booking for lunch. Another reason to love Casa da Companhia. We sat at the counter (always fun), positioned opposite the kitchen. There are no waiters, so the chefs serve you the 10-course tasting menu, explaining each dish as we go, in an easy-going, unpretentious way. They want it to feel like you’ve come over to someone’s home for dinner, and as such, all the choices have been made for you. Some standout dishes included the prawn and caviar taster, squid and nage, which you eat like spaghetti pasta, Takoyaki squid balls that pop in your mouth, a surprise dish of amberjack fish (yes, so actually more than ten) and the red snapper and elderberry. You can add a mix of local wines and port pairings, poured by Manuel, the sommelier.
Gruta is another dinner hot spot. A more affordable option - especially if you don’t want to commit to 10 courses – but equally trendy and laidback. Gruta serves modern Portuguese cuisine in the shape of delicious seafood. We dined on carabinero rice, cured wild croaker, langoustine bisque and moqueca, but only after diving into a tray of oysters with samphire to start. It’s a concise, well-executed menu, which only means good things, plus, they boast a really great wine list.
You won’t regret stopping in at locals’ fave Casa Guedes Tradicional. This is top-notch cheap eats, with an extensive and laminated menu of no thrills, authentic Portuguese sandwiches. They specialise in the Sande de Pernil (pork sandwich) with the bread lightly dipped in the juices. Taking a seat in their street-side outdoor patio, I went for a staple of roasted pork and soft sheep’s cheese with a side order of chips. It’s a lunchtime must.
For a drink, there are many bars to spend your night crawling. Craft beer fans should head to Musa das Virtudes. We ventured up some narrow streets with an incline, but the beautiful view overlooking the river is worth it, and so was the ginger sour beer on tap. Capela Incomum is a romantic wine bar, tucked away on a sleepy side street, set inside a 19th-century chapel covered in fairy lights. The outdoor seating next to a giant tree is pretty atmospheric. For a buzzy late-night joint, Maus Habitos is a bar, restaurant, and club situated above a carpark that wouldn’t look out of place in Peckham, serving beers and cocktails and is open until 6am on weekends.
What to do
A can’t miss, IMO, is Fundacao de Serralves. It's a 20-minute drive outside of Porto city and you arrive at a lush grounds housing a large sculpture park, a peach-coloured art deco villa - with a particularly manicured garden - and an angular white walled modern art museum. There’s even a cinema on site. It's certainly a highlight where you could spend all day roaming the many attractions, exhibitions and beauty on display.
From Porto city, you can also walk across the upper level of the Dom Luís bridge to Vila Nova de Gaia. We gathered with locals eating takeaway pizza on the green to watch buskers sing covers of Red Hot Chilli Peppers songs and drink pints of Super Bock from Esplanada do Teleférico. To enjoy the region's signature drink, head down below to the south banks of the Douro River, where you’ll find the many port houses.
Stay at Casa da Companhia, Vignette Collection from £162 p/night at Casadacompanhia.com, or book in at their sister hotel, InterContinental Porto Palacio Das Cardosas by IHG.
Sophie Leen is the Bookings Editor for Cosmopolitan UK and Women's Health UK. She specialises in creating fashion and shopping content across both digital and print platforms, as well as producing all of our fashion editorial photoshoots, which have included our digital cover with Olly Alexander and our curve influencer’s letter to the high street story. Sophie also looks after our Try Before You Train franchise where our team have tested and reviewed over 100 gymwear items.
