The Japan Rail Pass, one of the most efficient and cost-effective ways to travel around the country, is going up in price this fall.
18.08.2023 - 07:01 / lonelyplanet.com
No longer in the shadow of its bigger sibling to the south, Porto is a vibrant hub of arts and culture, with top-notch museums and galleries, Michelin-listed restaurants and a beautiful setting along the Douro.
Whether or not you plan to tack on a trip to Lisbon, leave yourself ample time to explore this fascinating riverside city.
Porto’s neighborhoods are as diverse as its attractions and encompass medieval cobblestone lanes, hillside bohemian districts, elegant avenues of the city center and even a beachfront locale.
The city’s wealth of accommodation options further complicates things when deciding where to base yourself. To help you with the decision-making, we’ve compiled an overview of the five best neighborhoods to stay in when you visit Porto.
Porto’s most famous neighborhood, Ribeira is packed with blockbuster sights. You can peer back in time on a visit to the looming medieval Sé (cathedral), learn about 14th-century royals at the Casa do Infante, or see Porto’s finest Neoclassical architecture at the Palácio da Bolsa.
Ribeira is also one of the city’s most atmospheric places for exploring. Narrow, cobblestone lanes wind past tall, slender townhouses painted in bright pastel hues or covered in azulejos (tiles). Suddenly you round a steep downhill bend onto an elegant cafe-fringed square with views of the dramatic Dom Luís I bridge arching over the river. Day or night, there’s much to do, from browsing indie boutiques and artisan shops to dining in some of the city’s best restaurants – or decamping to a wine bar when the weather turns sour.
Given its allure, Ribeira draws more tourists than other parts of Porto. Accommodation tends to book up fast, especially in the high season. Prices skew toward the high and low ends, with a mix of river-facing boutique hotels and designer hostels, along with some mid-range Airbnb rentals.
The heart of Porto is Baixa, a buzzing central district with some of the city’s most recognizable landmarks. Lined with grand beaux-art hotels and apartment buildings, the Avenida dos Aliados is an architectural masterpiece and a key gathering point for big events like the Festa de São João or New Year’s Eve.
Nearby, you can climb to the top of the 18th-century Torre dos Clérigos for one of the best perspectives over the city. If you’re heading out of town, or just want a peek inside one of Portugal’s most beautiful train stations, don’t miss a visit to São Bento.
The bar-lined streets west of Aliados (especially Rua Galeria de Paris) form the backdrop to Porto’s best nightlife. On weekend nights, the action spills out onto the streets and nearby plazas. You’ll also find laid-back cafes, bookshops and eclectic restaurants catering to a wide range of budgets. The lodging
The Japan Rail Pass, one of the most efficient and cost-effective ways to travel around the country, is going up in price this fall.
Disney Cruise Line has revealed its new cruise ship, Disney Treasure. As the sixth ship in the Disney Cruise Line fleet, it will set sail for the first time in December 2024. Designed to bring guests into an imaginative space where multiple generations can enjoy a vacation together, there is something on board for every kind of Disney fan. This ship will bring elements from Disney theme parks to sea in addition to incorporating whimsical story elements from films by Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar.
Flight cancellations and delays happen frequently and for lots of different reasons - strikes, technical failures, bad weather, crews out of place...it's a long list.
“Home sales to Americans in Europe keep growing”; “The number of Americans living in European countries is increasing”; “Americans relocating to Europe is a trend.”
Straddling the mouth of the Douro River with elegant bridges and painted houses tripping up gentle hillsides, Porto has soared in popularity with travellers in recent years. Many come to sip and slurp at the city’s historic port wine houses, climb the narrow streets lined with baroque churches and 19th-century merchants’ houses, and bounce between cafe terraces in the labyrinthine Ribeira district. But equally appealing is the call of the outdoors – Porto’s riverside views and coastal position encourage all manner of active pursuits, from paddleboarding and kayaking to bridge climbing and e-biking. Here’s the perfect itinerary for an active weekend break.
We’ve broken these concepts down into three simple retirement plans.
Google Flights has introduced a new feature to help travelers answer the perennial question: “Should I buy my flights now or wait and hope the price decreases?” The tech company has long offered users insight into whether the airfares they’re looking at are low, typical, or high compared with historical price averages for that particular route. Now, Google is offering users data on what time frames have traditionally been the cheapest for the route they’re searching so travelers can make more informed decisions about their booking.
Rail travel is all the rage this summer and Portugal is getting on board with a new offer.
South Africa is the ninth-biggest country in Africa and figuring out how to get around efficiently takes some serious thought and planning.
If you're thinking of taking a tour on your next vacation, you're in good company. A recent survey of tour operators by the United States Tour Operators Association expects bookings will rise between 7% and 10% this year.
“Scrappy” is how Ann Schlemmer, CEO of Percona, describes her company’s approach to booking team travel and retreats.
Representatives of private airlines in India — including IndiGo, Vistara, GoFirst, Air India, and SpiceJet — were summoned by the parliamentary standing committee for transport, tourism, and culture to depose on the subject of exorbitant airfares. “The secretariat has sent an invitation to several private airlines and the Association of Private Airport Operators (APAO) to discuss this issue of urgent public importance,” Indian news agency Asian News International reported, citing sources. Last month, a parliamentary panel had asked the Indian civil aviation ministry to cap the upper and lower levels of airfares and ensure that predatory pricing mechanism is not adopted by airlines in the guise of “free market economy.” The reports mentioned that a perfect balance must be maintained between the commercial interests and passengers’ interests. The committee also pointed out the inaccurate information provided by the private airlines on their websites regarding the number of seats left on the flight and the cost of the tickets. There has been a huge surge in air fliers domestically in India since November last year. As per Indian aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s domestic air traffic figures, over 12.5 million passengers were ferried in January and 12 million in February.