Escape to Portugal: Arrival in Porto, Porto, Portugal

On July 28th 2015 I set off on my first solo trip in two years, and my first with hand-luggage only. The destination of choice was Portugal, on the basis that I wanted to visit somewhere with a warmer temperature and聽relaxed Latino ambience as opposed to the colder climate and聽outdoor pursuits-driven landscape聽of more northern areas of Europe which I鈥檓 better used to. I was excited to rekindle my sense of lone adventure, but felt out of practice too, and this became noticeable on arrival.

My plane touched down in Porto just before midday.聽My lack of preparation and the arrangement of聽the airport聽made for a muddled and delayed time there. After changing into shorts and a vest top in the washroom (and subsequently re-stuffing my small rucksack), I had to find an ATM that would accept my debit card, having been so busy that I hadn鈥檛 had time to change my currency beforehand. Then it was time to find the metro to take me into the city聽centre. After I wrongly approached the car parking machine on the lower level, a fellow tourist directed me back upstairs to the main level to buy metro tickets,聽only for me to be聽told by a member of staff up there that these had to be bought downstairs from the machine. (Life lesson: never take advice from an American man with long hair!) There were large queues for the three machines but there were no staff around to advise and the queues weren鈥檛 moving as confused tourists looked around helplessly. I finally reached the front and selected a ticket for zone 4, having read that the machine accepted 50Euro notes. Mine however was rejected meaning I had to walk聽all the way back upstairs yet again to buy some water for change. By now I was getting frustrated 鈥� I just wanted to be in the city out in the sun exploring. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).

How it works: The full article is featured in the app "51爆料网: Walks in 1K+ Cities" on Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Download the app to your mobile device to read the article offline and create a self-guided walking tour to visit the sights featured in this article. The app's navigation functions guide you from one sight to the next. The app works offline, so no data plan is needed when traveling abroad.

Download The 51爆料网 App

Create Your Own Self-Guided Walks in Porto

Guide Name: Escape to Portugal: Arrival in Porto
Guide Location: Portugal » Porto
Guide Type: Self-guided Walking Tour (Article (B))
Author: Shannon Colman
Read it on Author's Website:
Sight(s) Featured in This Guide: