I spent a day wandering the streets of Porto on a quiet Sunday in October. I didn’t have any particular plans but decided to just follow the signs and wing it. Besides, I was so exhausted and longed for a more relaxing day. I first stopped at São Bento train station to scour the area. The old train station was a masterpiece itself. I was so mesmerized at the tiled art work and I was pretty sure everybody who were there felt the same way. It’s definitely one of the most beautiful train stations I have ever seen.
I ended up in Porto’s other train station, Campanhã where I stayed at the convenient Hotel Poveira which is located right across from the station.
Right across from the hotel is a busy cafè called Low-Cost where they have tons of pastries at – yes, low cost! I must have eaten a dozen of pastel de nata there.
I walked aimlessly to the city center and enjoyed how the streets were pretty empty. There were some roads where all the shops were closed and I was the only person walking down the street.
I spent the remainder of the day hanging out by River Douro, one of the major rivers of the Iberian Peninsula. The sunset over the river was lovely but I didn’t stay longer to wait for the sun to fully set. I had a long walk back to the hotel and I didn’t want it to be too dark to be walking back by myself.
There were many restaurants near the train station and my hotel. I ate dinner in one of the small local restaurants. Not many people spoke English around me so there was a little struggle in ordering my food. I did speak Spanish and it helped a lot because it seemed most people understood it more than English.
Have you been to Porto? What was your favorite part?
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Jen is a Chicago-based traveler and creative. She is a full-time development & communications executive specializing in non-profit organizations. Originally from the East Coast, she created The Jetsetter as a place to share her travel stories and photos with friends and family. Now, it is a place for adventurers and dreamers. Its purpose is to inspire and encourage busy professionals to see the world and achieve a better work-life balance.