Our friends from Brazil came to spend some time in Portugal and we took advantage of the Corpus Christi holiday week to meet them in the North, where they were staying. We took our children for a walk in Porto, Matosinhos and Chaves and it was a very interesting week.
I booked an apartment in advance in the city of Matosinhos, right next to the Harbor, and I waited for their family to decide what we would do during the week. In the end, they ended up booking a farm near the city of Chaves, in the Trás-os-Montes region, and invited us to go for 3 nights, and it was a very nice trip.
Let's get to the details!
Summary Itinerary
- Saturday – We left Cascais, had lunch along the way (Bairrada) and arrived in Matosinhos at the end of the day.
- Sunday – We stayed in Matosinhos enjoying the city’s festival, full of attractions for adults and children. We went to the Parque da Cidade do Porto and then had dinner at a delicious seafood restaurant, Dom Peixe.
- Monday – We walked along Matosinhos beach, then went to the Basílio Teles Children’s Park and Norte Shopping with our friends, where we had lunch and spent the rest of the afternoon.
- Tuesday – We traveled with friends to Redondelo, where they rented a very nice farm and we stayed there to catch up.
- Wednesday – We spent the day at the farm, having a barbecue and enjoying the pool.
- Thursday – We went to visit the city of Chaves and then we went to the town where my friend’s grandmother was born.
- Friday – We left Redondelo, stopped in Guimarães for lunch and to explore the Castle and then returned to Matosinhos.
- Saturday – We went for a walk around Porto and went to the Lello Bookstore, the Crystal Palace Gardens and then to the World of Discoveries with our friends. We then walked to Ribeira, where we had dinner and then returned to Matosinhos.
- Sunday – We checked out of the apartment in Matosinhos and drove to Bairrada, for another lunch at the restaurant that Celo likes. Then we went to Cascais and arrived home late in the afternoon.
Detailed Itinerary
I'm going to write two separate posts to tell the details so this one doesn't get too long:
Accommodation in Matosinhos and Chaves
We rented the apartment in Matosinhos and my friend's father rented the farm in Redondelo, near Chaves.
The apartment we got had 2 bedrooms and was in the Brito Capelo area, which I didn't particularly like. It's a place with a lot of shops on the street, but a lot of things are closed or abandoned. I don't know if it's like this because of the pandemic or if it was already in decline before because now people are preferring to go to the mall or buy online. The fact is that vibe The location of the place was strange, but at least it has the subway, a Pingo Doce, the Mercado do Peixe and seafood restaurants nearby, so it's not that bad. The apartment was very clean and practical, but unfortunately there was no parking space and we had to pay 15 euros per day for the Saba Seafood Restaurants, the closest parking lot there.
The link to our Airbnb is here: GuestReady – Matosinhos Beach Retreat
The link to the farm they rented in Redondelo is here: Nature & Pool – Countryside Villa
Restaurants in Matosinhos, Chaves, Porto and Guimarães
We visited some restaurants on this trip, namely:
- Pedro of the Piglets (Bairrada, Mealhada) – we stopped at this restaurant halfway between Cascais and Matosinhos on both the way there and back. Celo really liked the leitão à bairrada when we visited on our solo trip and asked us to come back. The food, atmosphere and service were all very good!
- Dom Fish Seafood Restaurant (Matosinhos) – We had dinner at this seafood restaurant on Sunday because we were looking for a restaurant with good reviews and a TV to watch an important football game. I thought the service was very good and our shrimp and sardine risotto was delicious.
- Lusitanian Tavern (Matosinhos) – This restaurant is located inside the Matosinhos Fish Market and lets you choose your fish at the market and they charge a fee of 7.50 euros to prepare and serve it. I saw that other places there do this too, but this one had the best reviews and had tables available when we went. We ate a wonderful sea bass (almost 30 euros), padrón peppers and garlic shrimp and we loved everything! The service was a bit complicated and I didn’t like having to pay in cash in the end.
- Bourguesia Food Experience (Chaves) – After a morning exploring the charming city of Chaves, we stopped for lunch at this cool place that overlooks the Tâmega River. It has a terrace, but since it was very hot and there were 13 of us, we could only get a table inside. The service was pretty bad at first, but it got better later. We ate burgers and ice cream and went out for a walk, happy even though the sun was shining.
- Florencio House (Guimarães) – This place was handpicked by my friend’s father after reading in the Boa Cama Boa Mesa guide that it was worth it. We got a table for 13 people and ordered dishes of octopus rice, goat, fish and meat and everyone really enjoyed it. The service was impeccable and the atmosphere was very pleasant too. When we left, we were surprised to find a Lamborghini parked in the restaurant’s parking lot and my son was delighted.
- Mrs. Porto (Porto) – this small and simple establishment is located in front of Jardim da Cordoaria and has tables on the terrace, which are perfect on days like the one we went. We were very well served by a friendly lady and ate very tasty cod and shrimp dishes.
- Saint Nicholas Winery (Porto) – This restaurant in a side street in Ribeira has views of the Douro River from its balconies and therefore the tables outside are quite popular. We were lucky to get there before the restaurant filled up for dinner and managed to sit at the best table outside and had a very pleasant meal with shrimp and stewed meat, despite sitting on uncomfortable benches.
Transport
We traveled from Cascais with our own car, so we didn't have to pay for the rental. We paid a lot for tolls, but I'm not sure how much, but I think it must have been around 100 euros for all the days.
The parking we paid for in Matosinhos cost 15 euros per day, because I went to the service desk and they told me that there was a daily option. If I were to pay by the hour using Via Verde, I think the hourly rate would be between 1 and 2 euros, so do the math…lol. I know that it was possible to book the parking days on the website to get a discount, but we tried to do so and were unable to do so, so we had to pay 15 euros anyway.
Tours we did
- Matosinhos Beach (Matosinhos)
- Children's Playground in the Basilio Teles Garden (Matosinhos)
- Porto City Park (Matosinhos)
- Chaves Castle (Chaves)
- Guimarães Castle (Guimarães)
- Crystal Palace Gardens (Porto)
- Lello Bookstore (Porto)
- World of Discoveries (Porto)
Our trip in photos
Some of our trips in the North
If you want to know where we have been in the North of Portugal, see the links below:
- 9 days through the Center and North of Portugal
- Our 1-day itinerary in Braga
- 1 day in Guimarães, the birthplace of Portugal
- Getting to know Ponte de Lima and Viana do Castelo in 1 day
- 4 days in Porto, Douro and Aveiro
