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How To Plan A Family Trip to Porto Portugal
Porto in Portugal doesn’t usually come to mind as a very kid-friendly city, due to its unpredictable weather and its narrow, sloping medieval streets. Nevertheless, every year more and more families are spending their vacations in the city to take advantage of its proximity to the beach, its abundance of parks and its overall safety.
If you are planning your next family vacations in Porto Portugal, let me give you some advice so that you can make the most of your time in the Porto city!
Things to take into consideration when packing for Porto Portugal
- The weather: Like most Mediterranean cities, Porto Portugal enjoys mild temperatures both throughout Summer (18 – 35°C) and Winter (5 – 15°C). The weather is, however, very unpredictable: you can easily enjoy sunlight in the morning and face an uncomfortable rain in the afternoon. Or haze. You can never be sure, so my advice is to bring, whatever the season of the year, a good pair of shoes, a light raincoat and a scarf for both you and your kids.
- The streets: The streets in Downtown Porto Portugal are rather narrow and steep.
Unhelpfully, Portuguese drivers can get very creative when they are trying to park. This might turn any stroll in Downtown Porto into quite an adventure, let alone with a baby stroller. If your kids are still very small, consider using a baby carrier as it will be much more practical 🙂 - Portuguese people: We just love kids, we can’t really help it. 🙂 You should be prepared for people to start talking to your kids on the public transports, to get a dessert offered in a restaurant and kind gestures all the time. It is nothing to be scared of, just a cultural trait!
Unhelpfully, Portuguese drivers can get very creative when they are trying to park. This might turn any stroll in Downtown Porto into quite an adventure, let alone with a baby stroller. If your kids are still very small, consider using a Family activities in Porto Portugal
Porto has a vast range of places to see and things to do. There are plenty of activities in Porto for families with kids. A safe choice is to go to one of the best beaches and swimming pools in Porto, which are easily accessible by public transportation. As we are facing the Atlantic Ocean the water is cold (15-20°C) and thus not as appealing as in the Algarve region. Nevertheless, the beaches are clean, have lifeguards, nearby cafes and playgrounds for the kids.
Another option is to go to one of the parks in Porto, most of which are publicly accessible. My favorite ones are the Crystal Palace gardens, the city park (it has many lakes where the kids can feed the ducks!) and the gardens of Serralves’ contemporary museum.
If you would like your kids to learn something during your vacations in Porto then I suggest you visit the Biodiversity Gallery. It is a very dynamic museum with interesting hands-on experiences to teach the kids basic concepts such as shape and texture. It is an amazing place!
Another museum that is very suitable for both kids and adults is the puppets’ museum, located at the trendy Rua das Flores, a famous pedestrian street filled with cute concept stores, street artists and a Nutella café that the kids will surely love. 🙂
Family restaurants in Porto Portugal
Before I let you know about my recommendations for family restaurants in Porto, let me explain you a few things about Portuguese food in general.
- A common complaint that I hear from tourists in Porto is that there is little variety of vegetables in Portuguese cuisine. In fact, there is, it is just not where you would expect it to be – as a side dish –, but rather in our almighty vegetable soup! 🙂 We eat it all year around and it is the best way to start a meal.
- Traditional Portuguese food is very rich and complex both in ingredients and in flavors. A great advantage of being in Porto is that you can find both traditional heavy-on-meat dishes like roasted veal with potatoes as well as the freshest grilled fish, roasted octopus or cod cooked in any of a dozen ways.
- The two most famous dishes from Porto – Tripas à Moda do Porto (cow’s stomach and intestines cooked in a lovely stew of white beans and carrots) and Francesinha (a monumental sandwich with steak and three different types of sausages, covered with melted cheese and spicy sauce) are not the most kid-friendly dishes.
However, you might get surprised with how much some kids seem to love francesinha, so consider ordering one for them (half is more than enough, and most restaurants offer that choice these days!). - We love.. love sweets. Starting in the middle of the morning all the way to after dinner, we can have sweets not only as desserts but as afternoon snacks. Therefore, plan for a daily visit to one of the best pastry shops in Porto with your kids!
If you want a safer choice I recommend you to try one of the best pizzerias in Porto, like Casa d’Oro, which has a beautiful terrace facing the Douro river. Presto Pizza, in Cedofeita neighborhood, is also a safe choice as it has a lovely garden with a backyard.
If you feel that your kids would actually enjoy trying Portuguese flavors then give it a go at traditional restaurants such as Cozinha do Manel and Adega do Carregal.
If the weather is nice then simply skip the dessert and have an ice cream on the streets: as we have a strong sweet tooth there are a lot of artisanal ice creams shops in Porto!
Quite shamefully I have already tried them all, so I am fully qualified to recommend Santini and Gelataria Portuense to you, both close to Avenida dos Aliados, the main square in Porto.
Porto Tourism
How To Get To Porto, Portugal
Book cheap flights, hotels, and cars on rent here.
Where to stay in Porto, Portugal
If you are planning to visit Porto, Portugal, Europe, then you must be wondering about where to stay in Porto, Portugal or the best hotels in Porto, Portugal. For best accommodation in Porto, Portugal, we recommend HotelsCombined or Booking.com or Agoda to save huge and get best deals on booking your stay in Porto Portugal.
Tours/Activities available in Porto, Portugal
Porto points of interest are many and if you are wondering what to see in Porto, Portugal or what to do in Porto Portugal, then look no further. Porto attractions pass are available for the best Porto tours. You can now book tours and activities in and around Porto. Plan the best places to visit in Porto and experience Porto.
Driving around Porto, Portugal
If you have an international driving license and are looking at getting best deals on car rental in Porto, Portugal look no further. You can rent a car in Porto Portugal to explore and experience amazing Porto area and embark on a road trip of exploration and discovery of Porto area, Portugal.
Sometimes called Oporto, indeed Porto is a vibrant city with great beaches and restaurants. Have you been to Porto?
When she is not showing around Porto, Douro Valley, and Guimarães, you can find her playing with her crazy cat, learning more about wine or happily arguing about cinema, literature, and sociology.
You might be interested in reading our other posts related to Portugal.
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Wow Sandy and Vyjay; WAY cool how folks in that culture dig kids so much. Definitely down with bringing my little niece around for a few free desserts in Portugal LOL. I prefer unstable weather; sometimes, being in predictable climes drives me mad. Cool to experience a change up here and there. Thanks for sharing!
Ryan
I would love to visit Porto. I love Port, and all the other reasons you’ve included have just boosted this destination way up on my list.
This sounds like a really great trip – even for people like us that don’t have kids! I have a somewhat limited palate, so I like the food options you talked about as those would work well for me. 🙂
Wow looks like a great place to visit. We will have to add it to our list.
Great post on Porto! Great tips for my next trip there!!
I really love Porto, and have been 3 times already. I don’t have kids though, so my itinerary was a little different! You give some great tips on traveling there with a family, especially about the food. Portuguese food may not suit kids’ palates, but I love it!
Porto sounds like an interesting place to visit. There are so many kids-friendly things to do. I loved reading about their culture – their love for kids, their delicious cuisines and their sweet tooth. Francesinha as well as the pizza look tempting. I would love to try their ice cream as well when I’ll get a chance to visit Porto. Thanks for sharing the helpful travel tips.
Having spent a couple of years in Goa, I’m very intrigued by Portugese culture. Your post does offer a glimpse. I would love to visit Porto some day, and when I do, your post would be immensely useful.