Happy 2024!!! I decided I’d use this space to hold some of the bits of info I come across before/during/after our New Year’s trip to Portugal, as well as an overall cataloging of what we did.

Useful links regarding the train/metro system:

We flew from LAX to JFK and then took a redeye to Lisbon. We landed fairly early in the morning, and after clearing customs, our prearranged driver met us at the airport exit and drove us to our hotel. We stayed about a block from Praça do Comércio at the Pestana CR7 hotel, which turned out to be a really convenient location. We had a few hours before checking in, and we were only in Lisbon for the day (most of our stay was in Porto), so we strolled around seeing the sights and eating local favorites (pork sandwiches, a regrettable codfish & cheese fritter, Pastéis de nata, etc). Most people spoke enough English so that there wasn’t much difficulty. A few places we wanted to try were closed given the proximity to the holidays, but it was a fun way to explore. We walked up some steep hills and checked out a winter market with some cool views and rough and tumble neighborhood cat gang 🐱.

The next day we took the Alfa Pendular train to Porto. This was pretty easy since we had purchased our tickets ahead of time, so we just walked to the Santa Apolónia train station. The trip to Porto was about 3 hours, and the train ride was actually quite nice. This train stops at the Porto - Campanhã station; from there we took the metro one stop to São Bento and walked to our hotel on Rua das Flores. We stayed at the Vignette Collection - Casa da Companhia, which has both really nice amenities and beautiful views of the city.

This turned out to be an amazing location for a home base. Everything was super walkable. However, there are some decently steep areas, so if you haven’t been getting your steps in, you could get a bit winded. There’s a few different metro stations well within walking distance if/when you want to venture further out into the surrounding areas. We spent a couple days milling about doing touristy things. We ate at this super quaint restaurant in the Ribeira called “A Grade”, tried some a few different natas (including some we made in a cooking class), sampled some fresh local food at Mercado do Bolhão, had a close encounter with some peacocks at Crystal Palace Gardens, visited some local historical landmarks (including Livraria Lello and Sé do Porto), made our own ceramic tiles, and a bunch of other fun activities!

We also took a trip out to the Douro Valley to check out the wineries where they make Porto wine (the local/authentic version of the more general Port wine). This was a really cool experience. The valley is about a 90 minute drive from Porto. It’s almost entirely highway driving until you get to Peso da Régua, and then the road winds its way along the Douro River and up in the these narrow hillside switchbacks. All the different wineries have their names on the hills, kind of like mini Hollywood signs, but it’s all quite quaint and pretty. We toured the Sandeman winery, got lunch in this little mountain village, took a boat cruise along the river, and finally got a tour/tasting experience from a small local olive oil & wine producer. Coming back to Porto, we hit a massive traffic jam as soon as we got to the city. It turns out most of the roads were shut down for some sort of big running event…so we had to hoof it through the chaos for the last few km, but it was a fun end to the day after a lot of driving around.

Another huge highlight of our trip was a New Year’s Eve dinner at the Michelin-star-winning Vila Foz Restaurante. This was an amazing experience that culminated with champagne, fireworks, and 12 good luck raisins (a Portuguese tradition). If you can swing this, it’s an absolute must. The food is amazing and they make you feel really special.

After our stay in Porto, we took the train back to Lisbon and stayed for a night at the Torel Palace in Lisbon. After a winding drive through the hilly labyrinth that is the streets of Lisbon, you arrive at an old estate tucked behind a city garden that has been converted to a beautiful hotel. This is a really luxurious place to stay, but there’s still lots of character and charm. It was a bit like traveling back in time and bringing modern luxuries with you. The next morning we enjoyed an awesome breakfast and grabbed a car to the airport and started our full day of travel back to California. This was such a nice end to our trip and really took the edge off the fact it was time to return to real life.