These are our last hours here in Porto, and we have lived it, loved it, sometimes hated it.
Our flight was already booked for today BUT, due to a massive strike in France we had to change our plans and plane (and our hotel/train/whatever too).
So finger crossed for our departure tomorrow morning!
Btw…
We won’t bore you with a scientific report of what we have done because lots of people have visited Porto, so we’d like to share with you something we loved and something we hated about the city during our stay here.
5 things we loved
1. Atmosphere
Since we started visiting Portugal, we breathed a relaxed atmosphere. Here in Porto is not an exception, even though there’s a huge amount of tourists, we feel like we’re home.
2. Youth
Maybe because of the Primavera Sound, or maybe because there are a lot of universities, Porto is home for a great number of young people that brings the city life-we love it!
3. Relatively Cheap
Maybe it depends on your needs, but compared to other European cities, Porto is truly cheap. If you’re patient enough (and your tastes are not too much sophisticated) you can find some spot where locals can enjoy a dinner for two for 9€ (drinks included). It’s true.
4. Safety
This is one of those cities where we feel safe even while walking in the middle of the night, in a dark and tiny street. We never had any problem. Probably it’s because of the large number of young people, but we never felt like we were in danger.
5. Architecture and Green
Yes… It’s the most predictable thing you can hear from an architect. One of the most interesting aspects of the city is the architecture: here you can find historic buildings and contemporary architecture all together, coexisting and giving strength to each other-because of their diversity. (Beauty is in the difference!) All of these ancient houses have a really beautiful garden. Our guest showed us his family’s garden where they grow vegetables, also have the chicken’s box and different trees. Needless to say we fell in love with that little urban garden!
And now..
5 things we hated
1. Public transport
I want to think we were just in a bad luck this week. But everyday we needed to take the bus we waited it for at least one hour (it happened several times). During the Primavera Sound the buses were just a few and the results were just awful overcrowded transports. Then, we discovered that the cabs were cheaper than the bus-but it was too late.
Moreover, the ticket machine always rejected cards for payments and we had to take with us the exact amount of money if you want to buy more than one ticket.
2. Very dirty beaches
We went to Praia de Matosinhos and we found a lot of garbage on the beach. The thing that shocked us is that the people leave its rubbish on the beach like they don’t care about it. Probably there’s some beach-cleaning-service but seeing all this people leaving all that shit on the beach..makes me feel bad for it.
3. Crazy people driving
Said by an Italian.. Yes. If you’re a pedestrian you must pay a WHOLE amount of concentration whilst you’re walking on the street.
4. Drug Offers
We received a lot of drug offers especially at the train station. Well, we ignore them but sometimes they’re truly annoying.
5. Abandoned areas
In Porto you can see the coexistence of really reach houses and old, abandoned houses in the same street. If you go outside of the tourist area you can see this in a stronger way. This is one of the greatest contradictions of this city and every place has its limits but this makes us a little bit sad.
Well these are our love/hate points we thought about Porto! But we have to say that we adore this city and we’re so glad for visiting it once again! Here’s a short video of our week in Portugal.
If you’d love to share your love/hate studs with Porto just leave a comment!
ONLY THE ESSENTIAL 
Un pensiero su “Days 5, 6 and 7: Still in Porto. 5 Things we Loved and Hated about the city.”