The best of Portugal? It's located north of Lisbon.
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Catastrophe avoided!
I'm happy to report that this was the most harrowing moment I faced on a trip to northern Portugal last month. Full disclosure: I fell in love with this region a dozen years ago when I visited for vacation. So when TAP Air
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At least that was the pitch I used to convince my editor that this was a good idea. I also wanted to spend more time outside of Porto to visit smaller cities I had missed on my last trip.
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First things first: Porto. When I was last here, the city had yet to be scrubbed clean of its industrial leanings. I enjoyed the raw energy and edge. It's now more visitor-friendly, but that comes at a cost. I don't recall the São Bento train station having more sightseers than rail passengers, and I don't remember standing in a sinuous line and paying 10 euros ($11) to go into
São Bento train station in Porto sees more tourists than train passengers annually.
Christopher Muther/Globe Staff
The number of tourists in Porto has yet to reach the same soaring levels as Lisbon, but it is growing significantly. According to the National Statistics Institute, the region saw 7 million visitors in 2024. That's up from 3.7 million in 2019.
This is where the obligatory 'But there's a reason why more tourists are flocking to Porto' sentence should go. Usually, I wouldn't write something so trite, but I'm going to do it anyway. Porto indeed has a lot to see, a lot to hear, and, most importantly, a lot to eat and drink. I had an incredible lunch of traditional Portuguese cuisine at
At
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While Porto has become a major tourist draw, you can still find neighborhoods that time forgot.
Christopher Muther/Globe Staff
Perhaps my favorite culinary find (bear with me if you've heard this before) is alheira, a sausage that was developed during the 16th century. At the time, the Jewish community in Porto faced pressure to convert to Christianity. To practice their beliefs without fear of questioning from zealots, they created tasty sausages, made from bread, kosher meats, and olive oil. They looked like pork, and their adversaries were fooled. They're so good that they're now a mainstay in Portuguese cuisine. I found my favorites at
St. Lawrence Church in Porto looks barren on the outside, but inside the church, the ceilings and columns are coated with gold, and the baroque altars are full of wooden saints.
Christopher Muther/Globe Staff
Speaking of cuisine, let's resume the octopus-laden cooking class in Lamego, where our story began. The tiered vineyards of the Douro Valley dominate northern Portugal. Not only is the region boozy, it's also beautiful. I had my heart set on staying in one of the
Much to the chagrin of others in my class, my wine imbibing skills are superior to my cooking skills. However, I did make a killer caprese salad. I found a great hotel nearby. At
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Chef João Faria teaches students how to make a beetroot salad with orange and lime vinagrette in a cooking class at Quinta Da Pacheca in Douro Valley of Portugal.
Christopher Muther/Globe Staff
Many people come to the Douro Valley as a day trip from Porto. I'm here to tell you that you need more than a day. Especially if the weather is cooperating and you want to take a deep breath and relax. Forget Napa; you can vineyard hop here at wineries that date back hundreds of years, and when you've had enough, you can stretch out on a boat and take a lazy cruise on the river. I booked my river cruise through a company called
Pinhão, a town north of Porto, is an ideal base for exploring the Douro River Valley.
Christopher Muther/Globe Staff
If you're not keen on renting a car and tour buses give you hives, this entire region is well-connected by rail. I alternated between Uber drivers and trains to get around. The trains are clean, efficient, and inexpensive.
Learn from my mistakes, my friends. If you come here, give yourself time to explore. The cities in northern Portugal may appear small, but they're designed for leisurely exploration. In Porto, you can hit a tidy checklist of sites, but the streets and canals of Aveiro (the Venice of Portugal), Guimarães (the birthplace of Portugal), and Braga (the Rome of Portugal) need to be taken in at a slower pace. Otherwise, you'll miss the best they have to offer.
I came across Aveiro by spreading a paper map in front of me and studying the topographical features of Portugal, something I hadn't done since Columbia House was selling 13 records or tapes for $1. But there it was, a curious place with a lagoon and a series of canals that's just as unique as it sounds. In Aveiro, you can cruise the canals in Moliceiro boats (think of them as Portuguese gondolas), which were used for harvesting seaweed in the 19th century. Now, the boats offer views of the city's unique architecture. The colorful boats of Aveiro merit a story all their own. I took a 45-minute tour through a company called
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São Francisco Church and Convent in Guimarães was founded in the early 15th century by King John I. It's an important example of Gothic architecture with Manueline influences.
Christopher Muther/Globe Staff
I also didn't spend enough time in Guimarães (sensing a theme yet?), whose city center has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site because it's brimming with historically important churches, as well as a medieval castle and a palace. It's often called 'the birthplace of Portugal' because the country's first king was born here.
I thought a half-day tour would be enough to see all of Guimarães's highlights. I was wrong. I should know never to underestimate the appeal of beautiful, small European cities.
As I walked through the elongated gardens in front of the elaborate, Baroque Santos Passos Church, I made a mental list of the places I'll visit upon my return.
The gardens leading up to the architecturally opulent Church of Our Lady of Consolation, in Guimarães.
Christopher Muther/Globe Staff
My final city to explore was Braga, a municipality of approximately 200,000 residents located about 40 miles north of Porto, and also accessible by train. It's best known for the Sanctuary of Bom Jesus, a hilltop pilgrimage site that can be reached by a 145-year-old funicular.
After trekking around Braga, I went back to my hotel, the sleek
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Outside my hotel, people were cheering, waving soccer club scarves, and chanting while cars drove by honking wildly. It looked as if the local team had just won the World Cup.
I asked one of the scarf-wavers what was going on, and he explained that Braga had tied with Benfica, a powerhouse team based in Lisbon. Tied? Wasn't this celebration a little over the top for a tie score?
Cut to me sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with soccer fans at
"Half Rabbit" is a giant sculpture made of trash that can be found in Gaia, Portugal.
Christopher Muther/Globe Staff
Christopher Muther can be reached at
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