From grand architecture, melodious symphonies to drool-worthy cuisine, this compact Portuguese city has it all
Streetwise: Taberno do Sao Pedro is just one of many establishments that serve meals with various varieties of wine and port, which has made the city famous all across the world. Picture: ALEXANDER MATTHEWS
I first visited the city in early spring. Rain and wind lashed the seafront district of Foz where I was staying. I surfed in the churning grey Atlantic, taking some solace in the fact that the water temperature, while icy, wasn’t as searingly cold as Cape Town’s. I found the illustrious Livraria Lello, the bookshop once frequented by Harry Potter author JK Rowling. With its ornate flourishes, it comes as no surprise that it supposedly inspired her vision of Hogwarts. The phone-camera-wielding hordes were annoying, but it features arguably the best selection of English-language books in town.
I returned to the Casa a few nights later to a smaller hall to listen to Andreia Alferes. Her singing is inspired by melancholicmusic, but instead of offering simple nostalgia, she gives the genre contemporary force and relevance with a soulful richness and power that belies her petite size. Scanning through the calendar afterwards I found myself rather envious that this pint-sized city has such an outpouring of different music styles throughout the year in this exquisite venue.
As one would expect from a city with a strong seafaring heritage, the Matosinhos area close to Porto’s harbour has plenty of good seafood restaurants. I went to the no-nonsense Tito 2 and had one of its signature dishes, theshellfish with rice, similar to a paella. It was creamy, crunchy and bountifully delicious.No Porto visit is complete without paying a pilgrimage to the port wine lodges, where the liquor is aged before being exported all over the world.
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