Porto on a Sunday

[syesmar]

Hi,

 

I'll be visiting Porto/Oporto from Leixoes on a Sunday in December. We are planning to stay in Porto for the day. For those who are familiar with Porto, I'm curious what the atmosphere is like on a Sunday. I'm guessing some things will be closed? Anything I should know in advance?

 

Thanks so much!

[hkto]

Very quiet with all stores and most restaurants closed. Churches are open of course. In season big port houses in Vila Nova de Gaia (on the other side of Douro river, across Ponte Luis bridge) are open but not sure about December. Public transit runs so its possible to get to centre from port. Not sure about HO-HO buses in December.

[Hlitner]

Not sure why anyone would want to be in Porto in December (unless it is your home town) but different strokes for different folks :). Keep in mind that December weather is not often very good with more then half the days having rain. As to Sunday's, the best way to describe the atmosphere is "Quiet." If you are planning to visit any facilities (such as some of the Port wine houses) you should check directly with them to see if they are even open on Sunday or that time of the year.

 

Hank

[syesmar]

Hi,

 

We just returned this past Sunday from our cruise---which was wonderful---and I wanted to report back on how things went in Porto.

 

The weather was great! It was a lovely day. The city was actually quite busy on the Sunday we were there. There were a lot of things open and too much for us to do in a day . . . we ran out of time and would love to go back.

 

The HoHo Buses did operate. While we opted for a public transport day pass, I can see how the Hop On, Hop Offs would be a good idea in Porto. They had a good price, too, and went by all of the major sites, including Foz. (A note about the transport tickets. Because it was a Sunday, the office was closed. We did not end up at a station from the port where I thought we would be, but rather at the Brito Capelo stop. We had to purchase our passes from the Ticket Machine. They did not take US cards, nor did the machines in Lisbon, by the way, so we used Euros. I’m not sure exactly what happened but there was an issue with my transport card. I paid for 2 and my receipt showed 2, but only one card was given. The lady who was cleaning in the station thought I would have a problem, but I didn’t. However, I would recommend buying tickets one at a time, just to be safe!)

 

We took the "metro" into town and strolled around a bit before visiting the Sao Francisco Church. We spent some time in Ribeira and then Vila Nova de Gaia. It was our first port of the cruise and we had a perfect day. I did not want to leave. There was some very heavy traffic and we opted to take a taxi back from Ribeira instead of the “metro” (it cost about 12 Euros . . . I also think a taxi is a good transport option here in Porto). It was a lovely drive back to the port along the waterfront. We drove through Foz and I would like to go back there.

 

We had a really lovely day. Would gladly go back . . . even on a Sunday in December! :)

 

Happy Travels!

[Hlitner]

Really glad to hear you had good weather and enjoyed the trip. As you discovered, most US issued credit cards (even the newer ones with a chip) will not work in various European vending machines. One solution is to get an EMV compatible Chip/PIN card from one of the few US institutions that issue them (i.e. Andrews FCU).

 

DWs favorite day in Porto includes visiting multiple Port Houses (and sampling) :).

 

Hank