PUTUJUĆI blog

Here it is, the second part of my story about our trip to Portugal. As I already wrote, and you can read it here, I went there with two of my friends, we spent two weeks traveling from south to the north of the country. After Lisbon, Peniche, Nazare and Coimbra we continued to Aveiro, Porto, Braga and Barcelos. Portugal is the country where awesome people live, climate is perfect and the food is even better so if you ever get the chance to go there don’t miss it.

Aveiro

Aveiro is a very nice small town in the Centro region of Portugal and will offer those ready for a lazy vacation beautiful historical sights and long sandy beaches. This is also one of the towns with beautiful canals passing through so take a ride with a gondola and discover Aveiro from the a different perspective. After that and a nice walk through the narrow streets find a place on the terrace in one of the restaurants near the water, try some Portuguese food and experience everything Aveiro has to offer. One more tip, if you want to see a great view over the ocean go to Costa Nova do Prado (you can get most easily by short bus ride).

Porto

Porto is the second largest city in Portugal. It is situated in the Norte region on the river Douro. We were very excited before getting to Porto because it was one of the cities we always wanted to visit. We were staying in a hostel a bit further away from the center but it was very easy to get to there. There is a metro line but we walked almost all the time regardless all the steep streets. As you already know this town is famous for its wine and when you get there you must visit wine cellars to see how they produce Porto. It is very interesting and you will also have the chance to taste it. If you like sweet wines you will love it for sure.

We really love to eat a lot while we are on the road and among lots of great Portuguese dishes we also tried their famous franceschina. It doesn’t look very nice but if you are very hungry this is the best choice for you. It is made of bread, ham, sausages, steak or roast meat and it is covered with melted cheese and the topping is made of beer. It is served with french fries. What do you think? If it doesn’t sound good for you they also eat lots of fish so in one of the restaurants near the river you can taste some of those specialties as well. In Porto you will find all you need as a traveler: beautiful sights, tasteful food and very friendly people, just relax and enjoy.

Braga and Barcelos

Braga is on the north of the country and it was the last stop of our adventure in Portugal. Football lovers will probably associate this city with S.C. Braga, the most famous sport club in town. It is a very nice town and it is a good choice for a half day trip. Just a bit outside of Braga is a sight that you can’t miss, Portuguese sanctuary Bom Jesus do Monte. To get to the basilica you can take a ride with the old funicular built in 1882, oldest in the Iberian Peninsula. Interesting thing about it is that it is moving by water counterbalancing. The church is surrounded with a beautiful garden and the view of Braga from the top is awesome. To get down take the stairs, around 600 stairs. On your way down you will pass by many fountains but five are special and each is dedicated to one of the five senses. All together looks very nice and it is definitely worth of visit.

From Braga we went on a day trip to Barcelos to see all the handmade roosters they have on the streets. According to the legend cockerel saved a life of a pilgrim who was sentenced for a crime made in Barcelos. The pilgrim said that if he is innocent cockerel will crow three times, and he did it. After that cockerel became a symbol of good luck and it is also an unofficial national icon.

Of course, we got one as a souvenir 🙂

Your story: What is your impression of Portugal? If you still haven’t been there is it on your travel list, which cities would you like to visit?