"The 'Real' Portugal" a Porto Travel Page by AnnS

For some reason, Porto is rarely mentioned in promotions for city break destinations from the UK. You hear plenty about the Algarve and Lisbon and that's probably because the weather tends to be more reliable further south. Also, there are comparatively few flights between London and Porto... but which came first? Do few people visit due to lack of flights or do the airlines not run a busier route because not many people want to go?

Whatever the case, I think this is one of the reasons I chose it. From research I'd done on the Internet, the region looked rather more interesting than some of its better known neighbours. It also looked a lot more beautiful, obviously because it rains more in the north, so I decided to risk the possiblity of bad weather and go for it.

I usually steer clear of packaged trips, mainly because they penalise single travellers with ridiculous supplements and I can almost always arrange things cheaper myself. But the trip to Porto was an exception. Wherever I'm going, I do usually check with Expedia because they are one of the few companies that treat single people fairly, and on this occasion, they had a deal to Porto that was too good to miss - scheduled flights and 3 nights in a 5* hotel for £200.56!

The flights were one of those strange affairs... purchased from Spanish airline Iberia and operated by GB Airways for British Airways. So, to all intents and purposes, it was a British Airways flight. (Sadly, this route now seems to have been discontinued, meaning that travellers from London Gatwick can no longer reach Porto direct.)

The hotel was The Meridien Oporto and looked fab! I was a bit concerned that it was slightly out of the city centre but I needn't have worried. There's only one decent hotel right in the centre and that's very expensive. All the others are spread around slightly outside but the bus network is excellent and it wasn't a problem.

It was one of the best short breaks I've ever taken. I LOVED Porto!

I am a keen photographer and the place has so many opportunities for great shots. Despite it being October, I also had wonderfully warm and sunny weather.

I would say that you do have to work a little harder in Porto than in some other European cities because I didn't find very many people who spoke English and menus etc. are all in Portuguese. However, if you're prepared to make the effort, that doesn't have to be a problem. The people are very courteous and friendly and on occasions where I did need help, they were most forthcoming with pointing, patting and smiles, even though we didn't have one common word between us.

Perhaps Porto doesn't have the renowned monuments of some cities, and apart from the Port Wine Tours (which I steered clear of), there were no obvious organised tourist activities in October, but if you do your research, you'll find that it is a truly fascinating city which is packed full of interesting things and has more than enough to occupy an inquisitive traveller for a few days. Although it's a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it's still one of Europe's relatively hidden gems.