Insta-Worthy Spots in Porto
Photography has always been a passion of mine, so whenever I travel, I love to find the best spots of the city I’m in and capture its beauty through photos! Porto was one of my favorite cities for photos, so I’m sharing with you some of the best insta-worthy spots around Porto.
The Famous Blue Azulejos
Perhaps, you’ve heard that Portugal is known for the beautiful, blue tiles known as azulejos. Most of the insta-worthy spots around Porto are also places where you can find beautiful, bright blue tiles! I had a list of places to tick off my list in just two days, and what I thought wasn’t going to be possible, was actually pretty doable in less than one day!
Capela das Almas — Rua de Santa Catarina, 428
This chapel is one of Porto’s most iconic landmarks, as it’s seen on many photos on IG. Located at the corner of the street, you can access it by taking the subway to the Bolhao station. As soon as you come up the steps exiting the station, the chapel is literally across the street. The façade is covered in blue and white tiles depicting scenes from the lives of various saints. When I was there, there weren’t many people getting photos, and the sidewalk across the street was pretty empty, however, you might still have to do some waiting, as the cars driving by can get in the way.
Casa da Musica — Avenida da Boavista, 604-610
Concert hall built in the late 1990’s as Porto became the European Capital of Culture. From its conception, this building was dedicated completely to music. You can find azulejos within the VIP Hall, a room designed by a Dutch architect in an attempt to merge both Dutch and Portuguese cultures. You can access Casa da Musica by subway — the building is about 5 minutes away. NOTE: I didn’t get to visit this spot, but it came up frequently when I research all the top spots to see azulejos in Porto!
Igreja de Santo Ildefonso — Rua de Santo Ildefonso, 11
After checking out Capela das Almas, take a walk down Rua de Santa Catarina. It’s a pedestrian street blocked off to vehicles, lined with tons of restaurants and shops. In less than ten minutes, you’ll reach this next church to the left. Igreja de Santo Ildefonso was completed in the 18th century, and features a façade of azulejos from 1932. Again, another site where you won’t find many people … perfect for your photos!
Igreja do Carmo — Rua do Carmo, 4050
Looking up this church, you’ll also come across Igreja das Carmelitas. Well, fun little fact: Igreja do Carmo and Igreja das Carmelitas are actually two separate churches that sit next to each other, divided by a very narrow house built so to prevent the nuns from one church from having any relations with the monks from the other church. The church that you will see all over Instagram though, is Igreja do Carmo — the side of the church has a beautiful exterior covered in azulejos dating back to 1912.
Sé do Porto (Porto Cathedral) — Terreiro da Sé 4050-573
One of the city’s oldest and most important monuments, the Porto Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church located in the historical city center.
While I wasn’t able to go in, though the gates, you could take a peak of the azulejos within the cloisters.
Right outside the cathedral, you get a beautiful panoramic view of Vila Nova da Gaia and the Douro River, and you’re going to want to keep wandering around the corner and down the steps — to find this cute little spot for a photo!
Sao Bento Station — Praça de Almeida Garrett, 4000-069
A 20th century railway station with a vestibule, beautifully decorated in blue azulejo tilework. Even if you don’t have a train to catch here, stop in to see the azulejos, you’ll forget you’re in a train station!
And after you’ve seen all the pretty azulejos, don’t forget to check out these spots too!
Livraria Lello — Rua das Carmelitas, 144
I love finding unique bookstores around the world, and if you’re like me, you’ll love Livraria Lello. It’s one of the oldest bookstores in Portugal and one of the top bookstores in the world! TIP: Make sure you get there for opening! Otherwise, you will have maybe a 1% of getting a photo without other tourists in it! NOT KIDDING! I waited for almost an hour by the popular staircases in the hopes I would catch at least a minute without anyone walking down the steps, and that never happened!
Ponte Dom Luis I
A double-deck bridge that connects Porto to Vila Nova da Gaia, a city just south of Porto, across the Douro River. You can cross the bridge from either the lower or upper levels, just keep in mind, whichever way you choose to start, you will have a climb uphill to get back to where you started! Crossing this bridge and spending some time in Vila Nova da Gaia was one of my favorite parts of this trip! You get an amazing view of Porto from the other side, and you can either sit by the river and relax or do some souvenir shopping at the stands along the river. Suggestion: Though I wasn’t there for this time, definitely come here for sunset. I’ve seen lots of photos from this location at sunset, and I could only imagine how much more beautiful it looks at that time!
