National Geographic recommends active ways to discover Porto

There is no excuse to set physical activity aside while visiting Porto, be it leisurely or on a work trip. On the contrary. In an article published in its latest edition, National Geographic’s travel magazine states that the city “has an environment that demands active appreciation” and recommends multiple more adventurous ways of discovering it. That being said, in 48 hours, there will also be time to appreciate the cuisine and housing.

It all starts at 7 am: “Rise at the same time as the sun for a six miles’ run” (approximately ten kilometres), the magazine writes, highlighting how “at dawn, you will see the alleys and viewpoints of the historic centre in its stillness”. To gain strength and witness “a real vision of Porto”, breakfast should include a pastel de nata.

After the run and lunch next to São Bento Station, at A Sandeira do Porto, National Geographic Traveller urges the traveller to go by foot through Miragaia, to Jardins do Palácio do Cristal, where they will appreciate the “gardens filled with camellias, the wooded and terraced forests, as well as the lawns dotted with fountains that flow down to the great blue arm that is the River Douro."

In the afternoon, the adventure continues with the proposal to climb Ponte da Arrábida “for emotional and sensational views of the old Porto from one side and of the resounding Atlantic from the other.”

The next day, not without the obligatory visit to Caves de Vinho do Porto, in Vila Nova de Gaia, the magazine encourages catching the tram to Foz do Douro, “where Porto embraces the Atlantic”. And “if it’s sunny, take a dive or drink a Porto tónico in the Praia da Luz terrace,” National Geographic.

When it comes to eating, the magazine suggests Portuguese traditional cuisine, such as bolinhos de bacalhau or arroz de feijão at Tentações no Prato, a seductively old school tavern with no frills”. Before departing, the proposal to rest from so many activities is to sleep in the M.Ou.Co Hotel, a “spacious space in the creative district of Bonfim”.