Anyone been to Porto?

Yes, it’s a terrific city, went in May this year. Book to go to Graham’s lodge, top quality, tour, drink and the best restaurant I’ve eaten in called Vinum

 

Yes, absolutely incredible city. Only spent a couple of days there last autumn but found some really nice places. Will post some links a bit later.

 

Nice to hear these comments so far. My partner fancies Porto as our next move having had a lot of conversations about it with an ex-colleague who comes from there.

We tried Spain for a couple of years but bailed out of that when it just got too difficult living there post-BREXIT. All indications so far are that the Portuguese are much more amenable towards British ex-pats and gaining residency status may not be as difficult.

Another plus for me would be the fact that it is northern Portugal so cooler and greener than the dry and dusty Torrevieja where we had a house before. This could well be our final move when the job she currently is in comes to an end. I would of course be a permanent overseas iFollow supporter from then on but that’s ok by me.

 

It's a beautiful city I'm sure you'll love it, very picturesque around the old bridge with some lovely places to eat and drink, slightly cheaper on the Vila Nova de Gaia side of the river where the port houses are. Lovely beaches where you can hire bikes and cycle for miles on flat paths. We went to a football match which was a great experience.

 

Our daughter and her boyfriend went last year, splitting time between Porto and Lisbon. They loved both cities. Looked well worth a visit judging by the photos.

 

Went to watch Man United lose four nil in 1977 if that helps

 

People will try to sell you "drugs". All the time. Wherever you go. It's not the proper stuff but I can't imagine that will concern you as you won't be buying them.

After two days and quite a few beers I'd had enough of it and got hold of one of the little scrotes and that wasn't the wisest move I've ever made. There were suddenly a lot of people directing a lot of anger and pointing a lot of weapons in my direction. I was up for having all 50 of 'em but my friends managed to usher me away.

Other than that it's lovely.

 

It's a lovely city just for walking around and enjoying the atmosphere.

The cable car from the top of the bridge is a nice experience, and drops you off outside the Mercado Beira-Rio, a large indoor market where you can try an excellent range of local foods, either to eat there and then, or to take away for later. The beer there is limited to Super Bock, but it's still a great place.

The Mercado Bom Sucesso is in the Boavista area, and looks similar but with an even better range of food and drink.

TerraPlana Café has a nice range of designer pizzas and local craft beers for a very reasonable price.
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We stayed quite close to the university, which was a really nice area. Run down chic, with lots of street food joints, bars and second hand shops.

In any case it's not a huge city, so you should be able to get around it on foot for the most part.

 

Beautiful city close to the coast and the Douro valley but can be very wet in winter and we are due a weather change this coming weekend. You can hop on the metro from the airport and be in the city centre in 30 mins, we are about 35 mins from Coimbra, another city well worth a visit

 

Lovely place. Everything walkable and make sure you do a bunch of port tastings.

 

I take it you’re a full time resident? Are there typical ex-pat areas like you get on the Spanish costas or is it pretty much a mixture everywhere?

 

We've been here 8 years now and live in Central Portugal, you'll find a mixture of English, German, Dutch and other nationalities no matter which area you decide on, but the Algarve is where most seem to prefer. I will say the Portuguese are very welcoming and we have some great neighbours. I would suggest renting in different areas before buying as the climate is so so different north to south, this is what we did. Good luck with your move, we don't regret it.We have permanent residency here pre Brexit but it's not insurmountable now

 

It won’t be the Algarve if/when we move. We’ve had three visits to that region and it’s lovely, especially Lagos, but I think we’d opt for the greener scenery up north. I had months of 35C and more around the Costa Blanca and that’s not for me. Renting would definitely be the option this time then see how we feel. We had a trip to Lisbon a few years ago but I’d rather go north of there and Porto might be the first choice

 

There now - and it’s bloody hot! Arrived lunchtime today and it was packed too. Don’t know if this is down to the unseasonably warm weather but taking some time to adjust!

Lovely city but be prepared for hills!

 

Like Barnsley then!

 

Involves lots of walking up and down the gradient to the river on both sides. Visit the sardine emporium on the south side of the river (Nova de Gaia), it's bonkers. Would take a trip to Paiva walkways if I went again. As someone mentioned, shabby chic is a good description. Check if Porto or Boavista are at home, it's cheaper than a ticket at Oakwell and the metro to FC Porto (and airport) is great. Catch an old tram out to the coast. Loads of central airbnb accommodation. escooters are everywhere.

 

Flew there in November 2019 to visit a mate who lived in Viana do Castelo (north of Porto, worth a visit). We took the train north from there to the Spanish border at Valenca which was really nice and walked over the bridge into Spain (Tui) quite interesting seeing all the disused border facilities - if only.... The train was very cheap and it was a good day out.

 

Had overnight stop there on bike on way down to Portameo for moto gp good selection of bars but as said before very hilly