Porto at sunset, with the cathedral at left and the Dom Luís I bridge at right. Credit Daniel Rodrigues for The New York Times
Stunning 18th- and 19th-century buildings, new indie bars and restaurants and a laid-back vibe, facilitated by the excellent wine — it’s hard to find anything to dislike about Porto. Its walkable center is crammed with cobbled streets and balconies adorned with flowerpots, and the city’s love of food and design is apparent in concept stores and trendy restaurants offering innovative small plates. An ideal day in Porto combines both the grandeur of its history and its very up-to-the-minute cool.
36 Hours in Porto, Portugal
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Mercado 48
Half living room, half shop, Mercado 48 has the kind of souvenirs that you’ll be proud to show off at home, like the modern cork-and-ceramic teapots and mugs, glazed in a variety of colors, that give a nod to Portugal’s history of cork production.
It’s smoky and crowded inside Candelabro, but you won’t find relief on the sidewalk, where patrons congregate, bottles of Super Bock beer (1.60 euros) in hand.
Garrafeira AMS is a dimly lit wine shop with a few simple tables and a menu of carefully selected Portuguese wines sold by the glass (you can also pull a bottle from the shelves and drink it there).
Rua da Conceição 38
Centro Comercial Bombarda
The Centro Comercial Bombarda doesn’t open until noon, but this collection of small shops and restaurants on the gallery-thronged Rua da Bombarda is heaven for shoppers looking for boutiques crammed with goods from homegrown designers.
Book ahead for lunch at Brasão Cervejaria. The rustic tiled floors, wooden accents and stone walls make it look as if it’s been around forever, but it opened in 2014 and has had the locals lining up for its well-executed Portuguese cuisine ever since. Meals begin with bread and butter flavored with Iberian ham; follow this with the steak tartare and fresh potato chips, or stewed gizzards. Add the whole fried onion served with black garlic mayonnaise.
If dinner at the Michelin-starred Pedro Lemos restaurant will break the bank, it’s still possible to try the eponymous chef’s food. Along with his wife, Joana Espinheira, Mr. Lemos opened Stash, a sandwich shop, in 2014. Break here for a sandwich of black Iberian pork cooked for 12 hours and slicked with basil mayo, or a barbecued chicken sandwich with homemade pickles or French fries garnished with rosemary, and throw in a glass of wine for 2 euros. Lunch for two, around 18 euros.
Praça Guilherme Gomes Fernandes 60
Touriga Vinhos de Portugal
Touriga Vinhos de Portugal offers samples of three ports for five euros and a good selection of Portuguese wines.
The casual ambience and plentiful outdoor seating at Porta’O Lado are attractive, but dishes like the mini version of the francesinha, a local sandwich of sausage, steak, cheese, egg and tomato-beer sauce, are the real draw. Pair with wine from the Douro.
Campo Mártires da Pátria 51
A Vida Portuguesa
At A Vida Portuguesa you’ll find colorful, nostalgic Portuguese products, from notebooks to cans of sardines, all with retro-style packaging intact.
Trasca offers treats like tiny roasted green chiles with a glass of vinho verde.
Rua de Trás 16
Torre de Clérigos
Unbeatable panoramic views of Porto’s churches and rooftops, its historic port warehouses, the curve of the Douro River and the seagulls sweeping over the waterfront Ribeira neighborhood may be had from the belfry of the Torre de Clérigos (admission 3 euros), 225 steps up a narrow spiral staircase. The rooms off the stairs are home to an exhibit documenting the history of the 18th-century tower’s inhabitants and architects; the adjacent church (included in the admission fee) is also worth a look.
Check out the excellent local design at Feeting Room, a chic concept store selling clothes and accessories, including beautiful leather goods by the Porto brand Maria Maleta.
Most visitors arrive by train, and it’s worth taking the time to examine the São Bento station. Over a century old, the interior of the Beaux-Arts building is decorated with azulejos, the exquisite blue and white tiles for which Portugal is famous.
Praça Almeida Garrett
Caldeireiros
On Rua dos Caldeireiros, a handful of restaurants have recently appeared, of which Caldeireiros is the standout. Stop here for the alheira de caça, a sausage made with white meats like rabbit and chicken, and served with garlicky spinach. Or try the pork loin sandwich, topped with melted local cheese. Trasca offers treats like tiny roasted green chiles (3.50 euros) with a glass of vinho verde (3.50 euros).
Confeitaria Serrana, a family-run bakery for over 40 years, serves the city’s best bola de Berlim (1.10 euros, or $1.16 at $1.06 to the euro), a dose of custard sandwiched in a sugar-dusted roll.
Rua do Loureiro 52
Porto In a Bottle
Run by the knowledgeable and friendly Marco Ferreira and Célia Lino, Porto in a Bottle specializes in port from small producers.
The superb local gelato comes in boozy flavors, including port and gin and tonic. Combine the two to make the frozen version of the city’s signature drink, the porto tónico.
Housed in a former jail, the Centro Português de Fotografia (free) has an unusual setting as well as impressive temporary photography exhibitions. The building dates to the 18th century and held prisoners until the Carnation Revolution in 1974; grills still cover the windows. On the third floor is a hugely impressive collection of cameras from every decade, including some fabulous “espionage” cameras from the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s that are disguised as rolls of sweets, cans of Pepsi and packets of Marlboros.
As one of Portugal’s rock star chefs, José Avillez is a household name. His first Porto venture, Cantinho do Avillez, draws tourists and locals for its creative dishes that combine techniques drawn from molecular gastronomy with the ingredients that define Portuguese cuisine. The lascas de bacalhau is a deconstructed fish-and-chips, the cod flaked and mixed with eggs cooked at low temperature and “exploding” olives that melt in the mouth.
Rua de Mouzinho da Silveira 166
joseavillez.pt/en/cantinho-do-avillez-porto
Armazém
One of Porto’s newest multipurpose spaces, Armazém is a (barely) converted warehouse just off the river, west of Ribeira. Housing a cafe-bar, gallery and shops selling everything from vintage furniture to artwork to colorful clothes and handbags by the Portuguese design brand Mexxca, this space has something for everyone. After shopping, grab a drink and head to the deck chairs on the patio in the summer, or the picnic tables in front of the indoor fire in the winter.
A Porto landmark, the twin-towered cathedral, Sé do Porto (free admission), is a gorgeous amalgamation of architectural details from multiple centuries, beginning in the 12th. The result is a historic building that’s Instagram-worthy inside and out. Be sure to explore the hauntingly atmospheric 14th-century Gothic cloister (3 euros), with its exquisite stonework and decorative azulejos. The plaza on which the cathedral sits leads to a perfect view over the sea of picturesque red-roofed houses that slope down to the river.
Terreiro da Sé
Vinologia
For those who are more interested in sampling than shopping, Vinologia offers a choice of port flights (35 euros) that come with a short introduction to the many varieties.
The bilevel Ponte de Dom Luís I stretches from the Ribeira section of Porto over the River Douro to Vila Nova de Gaia. Stroll over the bridge, with its exquisite views downriver, to the port warehouses that dot the opposite side. Nearly all offer tours, but it’s the views of Porto and the bustling Ribeira waterfront that are the most spectacular feature. Wander along the riverbank, or go for the tour at Sandeman or Taylor’s, then hop on the teleférico (5 euros), which will carry you back to the bridge.
Most visitors arrive by train, and it’s worth taking the time to examine the São Bento station. Over a century old, the interior of the Beaux-Arts building is decorated with azulejos, the exquisite blue and white tiles for which Portugal is famous. A short walk from the station are two establishments patronized by Porto’s sweets-loving citizens. Confeitaria Serrana, a family-run bakery for over 40 years, serves the city’s best bola de Berlim (1.10 euros, or $1.16 at $1.06 to the euro), a dose of custard sandwiched in a sugar-dusted roll. At nearby Cremosi, the superb local gelato comes in boozy flavors, including port and gin and tonic. Combine the two to make the frozen version of the city’s signature drink, the porto tónico.
2. Port Shopping, 4:30 p.m.
Major port producers have their warehouses in Vila Nova de Gaia, on the south side of the River Douro, but you’ll get a more thorough grounding in the local tipple by delving into the wine shops on the Porto side. Run by the knowledgeable and friendly Marco Ferreira and Célia Lino, Porto in a Bottle specializes in port from small producers. Touriga Vinhos de Portugal is another worthwhile stop, offering samples of three ports for five euros and a good selection of Portuguese wines. For those who are more interested in sampling than shopping, Vinologia offers a choice of port flights (35 euros) that come with a short introduction to the many varieties.
3. Modern Portuguese, 8:30 p.m.
As one of Portugal’s rock star chefs, José Avillez is a household name. His first Porto venture, Cantinho do Avillez, draws tourists and locals for its creative dishes that combine techniques drawn from molecular gastronomy with the ingredients that define Portuguese cuisine. The lascas de bacalhau is a deconstructed fish-and-chips, the cod flaked and mixed with eggs cooked at low temperature and “exploding” olives that melt in the mouth. Dinner for two, 75 euros.
Photo
Colorful Portuguese wares line the shelves at A Vida Portuguesa. Credit Daniel Rodrigues for The New York Times
Saturday
4. Shop Local, 11 a.m.
Grab a coffee and pastry at one of the city’s myriad confeitarias and save room for an early lunch. Check out the excellent local design at Feeting Room, a chic concept store selling clothes and accessories, including beautiful leather goods by the Porto brand Maria Maleta. Up the stairs at A Vida Portuguesa you’ll find colorful, nostalgic Portuguese products, from notebooks to cans of sardines, all with retro-style packaging intact. Half living room, half shop, Mercado 48 has the kind of souvenirs that you’ll be proud to show off at home, like the modern cork-and-ceramic teapots and mugs, glazed in a variety of colors, that give a nod to Portugal’s history of cork production. The Centro Comercial Bombarda doesn’t open until noon, but this collection of small shops and restaurants on the gallery-thronged Rua da Bombarda is heaven for shoppers looking for boutiques crammed with goods from homegrown designers.
5. Champagne Tastes, 1:30 p.m.
If dinner at the Michelin-starred Pedro Lemos restaurant will break the bank, it’s still possible to try the eponymous chef’s food. Along with his wife, Joana Espinheira, Mr. Lemos opened Stash, a sandwich shop, in 2014. Break here for a sandwich of black Iberian pork cooked for 12 hours and slicked with basil mayo, or a barbecued chicken sandwich with homemade pickles or French fries garnished with rosemary, and throw in a glass of wine for 2 euros. Lunch for two, around 18 euros.
6. Cathedrals and Cloisters, 3 p.m.
A Porto landmark, the twin-towered cathedral, Sé do Porto (free admission), is a gorgeous amalgamation of architectural details from multiple centuries, beginning in the 12th. The result is a historic building that’s Instagram-worthy inside and out. Be sure to explore the hauntingly atmospheric 14th-century Gothic cloister (3 euros), with its exquisite stonework and decorative azulejos. The plaza on which the cathedral sits leads to a perfect view over the sea of picturesque red-roofed houses that slope down to the river.
7. Photo Break, 4 p.m.
Housed in a former jail, the Centro Português de Fotografia (free) has an unusual setting as well as impressive temporary photography exhibitions. The building dates to the 18th century and held prisoners until the Carnation Revolution in 1974; grills still cover the windows. On the third floor is a hugely impressive collection of cameras from every decade, including some fabulous “espionage” cameras from the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s that are disguised as rolls of sweets, cans of Pepsi and packets of Marlboros.
8. Clerics’ Tower, 5:30 p.m.
Unbeatable panoramic views of Porto’s churches and rooftops, its historic port warehouses, the curve of the Douro River and the seagulls sweeping over the waterfront Ribeira neighborhood may be had from the belfry of the Torre de Clérigos (admission 3 euros), 225 steps up a narrow spiral staircase. The rooms off the stairs are home to an exhibit documenting the history of the 18th-century tower’s inhabitants and architects; the adjacent church (included in the admission fee) is also worth a look.
Cozy Trasca offers petiscos (the Portuguese version of tapas).Credit Daniel Rodrigues for The New York Times
9. Tapas, Portuguese Style, 7:30 p.m.
A delightful trend that’s ramped up in Porto is petiscos, the Portuguese version of tapas. Instead of a sit-down dinner, try out a few of the newest places. On Rua dos Caldeireiros, a handful of restaurants have recently appeared, of which Caldeireiros is the standout. Stop here for the alheira de caça, a sausage made with white meats like rabbit and chicken, and served with garlicky spinach. Or try the pork loin sandwich, topped with melted local cheese (wine and small plates for two, around 25 euros). One street over, Trasca offers treats like tiny roasted green chiles (3.50 euros) with a glass of vinho verde (3.50 euros). The casual ambience and plentiful outdoor seating at Porta’O Lado are attractive, but dishes like the mini version of the francesinha, a local sandwich of sausage, steak, cheese, egg and tomato-beer sauce, are the real draw. Pair with wine from the Douro Valley (wine and small plates for two, around 20 euros).
10. Late Night Tipple, 11 p.m.
Porto’s best bars are also its most relaxed. Garrafeira AMS is a dimly lit wine shop with a few simple tables and a menu of carefully selected Portuguese wines sold by the glass (you can also pull a bottle from the shelves and drink it there). Walk down the block to the most effortlessly cool bar in town. It’s smoky and crowded inside Candelabro, but you won’t find relief on the sidewalk, where patrons congregate, bottles of Super Bock beer (1.60 euros) in hand.
The Ponte de Dom Luís I stretches from the Ribeira section of Porto over the River Douro to Vila Nova de Gaia. Credit Daniel Rodrigues for The New York Times
Sunday
11. Lunch, Local and Rustic, Noon
Book ahead for lunch at Brasão Cervejaria. The rustic tiled floors, wooden accents and stone walls make it look as if it’s been around forever, but it opened in 2014 and has had the locals lining up for its well-executed Portuguese cuisine ever since. Meals begin with bread and butter flavored with Iberian ham; follow this with the steak tartare and fresh potato chips, or stewed gizzards. Add the whole fried onion served with black garlic mayonnaise. Lunch for two, around 30 euros.
12. Over the Water, 1:30 p.m.
The bilevel Ponte de Dom Luís I stretches from the Ribeira section of Porto over the River Douro to Vila Nova de Gaia. Stroll over the bridge, with its exquisite views downriver, to the port warehouses that dot the opposite side. Nearly all offer tours, but it’s the views of Porto and the bustling Ribeira waterfront that are the most spectacular feature. Wander along the riverbank, or go for the tour at Sandeman or Taylor’s, then hop on the teleférico (5 euros), which will carry you back to the bridge.
13. Arts and Crafts, 3:30 p.m.
One of Porto’s newest multipurpose spaces, Armazém is a (barely) converted warehouse just off the river, west of Ribeira. Housing a cafe-bar, gallery and shops selling everything from vintage furniture to artwork to colorful clothes and handbags by the Portuguese design brand Mexxca, this space has something for everyone. After shopping, grab a drink and head to the deck chairs on the patio in the summer, or the picnic tables in front of the indoor fire in the winter.
Lodging
Less than two years old, the Mercador Guesthouse (Rua Miguel Bombarda 382; mercadorguesthouse-hotel.guestcentric.net; doubles from 78 euros, including breakfast) is on the artsy Rua Bombarda and offers seven comfortable and pleasing rooms (ask for a superior with a balcony). The White Box House (Rua de Santa Catarina 575; the-white-box.pt; doubles from 50 euros, including breakfast) is within walking distance of the city center. Each of its five rooms is different, but all feature wooden floors and a modern aesthetic.
From left, Chandler Burr, Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Gregory Brainin smelled over 26 composite scents for inspiration — then planned a five-course menu to recreate each of the odors.Credit Amy Lombard
Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten put another perfume blotter to his discerning nostrils — the eighth of 26 he would sniff on a recent afternoon. His eyes rolled up in concentration, looking beyond the dining room ceiling of his flagship restaurant. What was his encyclopedic mind of flavors seeing? “Berries,” he guessed tentatively.
As sommeliers will say of tasting wines, scent experts advise that there is no right or wrong answer to what one smells in a perfume. Each nose will pick up on something meaningful from the constellation of molecules that make up a fragrance. So Chandler Burr, the former New York Times scent critic and author of two books on the topic, mostly refrained from correcting the great chef on the rare occasions when his guesses did not line up with what was on the bottles’ labels.
Samples of scent industry materials and perfumes peppered the table. Coffee beans and grinds cleansed the palates, though a traditional method — putting the nose to wool or one’s own skin — was more effective.Credit Amy Lombard
“No,” Burr said apologetically, having been moved in this instance to state his opinion. “It’s a synthetic called ambrettolide. It’s supposed to smell like warm sun on clean skin.”
The reason for the marathon sniffing session is a five-course dinner Vongerichten and his director of creative development, Gregory Brainin, were asked to create. Each dish would be inspired by some of the hundreds of composite raw materials that make up Thierry Mugler’s Alien line of perfumes. Usually experienced as a whole, in a puff from an atomizer, the idea of this dinner was to examine the individual odors used to create the final product.
As the two chefs smelled the 26 fragrance-industry flavors — some, distilled essences of things like cardamom and mandarin, others, lab-made scents — they called out guesses of wet wood, scorched citrus and pink peppercorn. After the session, they retreated to the kitchen with their notes to draw up their recipes.
Brainin smells a seared scallop, which sits in a broth he made by reducing pink Bubble Tape gum to match a synthetic scent called coumarin.Credit Amy Lombard
Burr, Vongerichten and Brainin regrouped the following week to preview the dishes. For a synthetic scent called coumarin used in Alien Eau de Parfum, the chefs reduced a roll of pink Bubble Tape gum into a delicate broth to serve with a seared scallop. Salmon, they encrusted with hot buttered popcorn and served with a jasmine-tea reduction as a representation of another synthetic called mandarin aldehyde and the essence of Moroccan jasmine in Alien Eau de Toilette. And though Alien Oud Majestueux contains substances with names like ethyl caproate and benzaldehyde you’d never guess, because Vongerichten’s dessert was a subtly sweet combination of mango compote and almond pudding.
Burr had some suggestions for the chef: Ditch the lavender on the salmon and amp up the butterscotch they had glazed onto a daikon radish. But mostly he was stunned. “He’s inventive,” he said. “He’s technically spectacular. He’s someone who is paying attention to every single detail.” That’s why he called upon Vongerichten, he said — someone who could distinguish the scent of Buddha’s hand from bergamot, discern a dark rum from light and identify the odor of saffron blind.
Clockwise from top left: lobster with a daikon radish imbued with the butterscotch flavors of dark, aged rum; veal with bergamot in three forms; dessert; though mandarin aldehyde sounds like it would smell singularly of citrus, Vongerichten and Brainin picked up toasty notes of buttered popcorn, which they used to crust wild salmon.Credit Amy Lombard
At the official dinner, held last Thursday, at Perry Street, whispers filled the room each time Burr passed out blotters dipped in a new scent. Diners smelled vitamins, chest hair and doughnut peaches in the various odors, then enjoyed Vongerichten’s corresponding courses.
When a man-made potion called Damascenone went around, and one guest called out, “Green apple!” Burr dropped his neutral stance: “Are you insane?” he exclaimed. “This is absolutely red apple.” Perhaps scent is not so subjective after all.
A MINOR media kerfuffle followed the recent passing of the Eagles guitarist, songwriter and co-founder Glenn Frey.
Amid the admiring assessments and farewells, Gersh Kuntzman declared in a column in The Daily News, “No disrespect to Glenn Frey — whose death this week is a cause for genuine mourning — but the Eagles were, quite simply, the worst rock and roll band.” Mr. Kuntzman proceeded to score Mr. Frey and company as too mainstream, too soft, too generic.
The backlash was immediate. A day later, Mr. Kuntzman reported receiving an “avalanche of hate mail” and even calls for his own death.
This took place atop the dissing of another acclaimed and departed musician. Even as David Bowie’s life and work were being celebrated, a friend of mine noted online that some Facebook acquaintances felt obliged to say in effect, “I never cared/listened/understood the attraction.”
Is it O.K. to publicly dump on the newly deceased — or for that matter, to offer them not-quite-heartfelt praise? It’s a tough call. No one likes a hypocrite. Just the same, there is surely a time and a place for everything.
The journalist and cultural critic H. L. Mencken had no doubts. When William Jennings Bryan died in 1925, he denounced the muddle-headed three-time presidential candidate and notorious opponent of evolution as “a charlatan, a mountebank, a zany without sense or dignity.” He added: “He was a peasant come home to the barnyard. Imagine a gentleman, and you have imagined everything that he was not.”
Today, plenty of naysayers are aping Mencken.
In an elephantine piece for Salon in 2011 on the “protocol for public figure deaths,” the journalist Glenn Greenwald scoffed at the effusive coverage years before of Tim Russert, the moderator of “Meet the Press,” and of Ronald Reagan. Dismissing the former as “awful” and “power-worshipping,” Mr. Greenwald complained, “We were all supposed to pretend we had lost some Great Journalist.” The latter’s post-mortem “canonization,” he charged, virtually ignored the Iran-contra scandal, exorbitant military spending, indifference to AIDS, vast income disparities, implicit racism and the Supreme Court nomination of Robert Bork — all in a sentence of about 160 words.
The proximate peg for this invective, incidentally, was the expiration of Christopher Hitchens. Rejecting the “remarkably undiluted, intense praise lavished on him by media discussions,” Mr. Greenwald exhaustively savaged Mr. Hitchens for his “repellent” advocacy of the war on terror.
Mr. Hitchens most likely would have loved it. In 1997, baffled by the worldwide grief over Princess Diana’s fatal car accident, he ripped into her as “a spoiled child bride, a sulky wife, a narcissist, a borderline airhead with zero interest in books, history or tradition.” After the Rev. Jerry Falwell departed, he said, “I think it a pity there isn’t a hell for him to go to.”
The Internet age and postmodern decorum being what they are, kicking at folks when they’re permanently down will surely continue. Myself, having written hundreds of obituaries in my career, I tend to tilt toward balance and qualification — as called for, that is.
Of course, much depends on the personality. “When it comes to private individuals,” Mr. Greenwald suggested in Salon, “it’s entirely appropriate to emphasize the positives of someone’s life and avoid criticisms.” By contrast, he felt this tone “completely inapplicable to the death of a public person.”
But who’s to say where private ends and public begins? And how much posthumous opprobrium should be shoveled without tossing a posy or two, if only for decency’s sake? Even the crusty Mr. Hitchens allowed that Princess Diana opposed anti-personnel land mines, enjoyed children, was kind to an AIDS-stricken friend of his, disdained excessive ceremony and “was quite nice-looking.”
Perhaps the best tactic in these cases is to keep mum. Silence, after all, can speak volumes. When Senator Joseph R. McCarthy died in 1957, this newspaper’s publisher, Arthur Hays Sulzberger, told his editorial page editor, Charles Merz, “I don’t think we need an editorial on this.”
Mr. Merz agreed. “Why dignify the bastard,” he said, “let him pass from the scene without more attention.”
Or, if you feel the need to speak out about a contentious individual, consider this advice from Dean Acheson, the secretary of state in the Truman administration. Asked to comment about McCarthy, he replied, “Of the dead, nothing unless good.” (Although he said it in Latin: “De mortuis nil nisi bonum.”)
Assuming that truth will ultimately prevail, it probably can’t hurt to pause before speaking too ill or too well of certain dead, lest we embarrass ourselves. As my friend put it, “Hey, it’s O.K. to not like the Eagles. It’s also O.K. to shut up about it for a few days when one of them dies.”
I went to an all-girls Catholic high school. Sadly, not once did I ever catch one of the nuns who taught at my school behaving “badly” or “out of character” for someone married to Christ, but boy do I wish I would have. These nuns gave detention left and right for the dumbest, most innocuous shit ever (like my socks being the wrong shade of blue or my skirt being 1/4 of an inch too short). The nuns had it out for my ass. I was convinced they were evil robots not nice ladies doing the Lord’s bidding.
Nuns still make me nervous to this very day…
So to my surprise, I found these vintage photos of nuns “letting their habits down” and even a few of them being slightly naughty a turning point in my appreciation for nuns: Apparently they’re not ruler-slapping robots after all. I could hang with some of these nuns!
