Best places for design lovers in Porto

Porto is a fashionable and trendy place to be right now and that is because Portugal and this city are sunny, with amazing landscapes, great food, historic places to visit and design spots that you cannot miss! Get to know the best places for design lovers in Porto!

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São Bento station

“The most notable aspect of São Bento Station is the large, magnificent tile panels in the vestibule. The tiles numbers are 20 thousand, date from 1905–1916 and are the work of Jorge Colaço, the most important azulejo painter of the time. The first tiles were put up on 13 August 1905.” wikipedia

Tourists are amazed by the beauty of this places, see for yourself:

A Vida Portuguesa store

“A Vida Portuguesa, in the central Clérigos neighbourhood, has revived handmade Portuguese products including soaps and sardines in striking retro packaging; there are black ceramic swallows and woollen blankets, all displayed on oak shelves in an airy space up a grand staircase.” cntraveller.com

Lobo Taste

A store by the famous portuguese interior designer, Paulo Lobo. He signs a lot of projects, up to 130 in the whole Porto area, like: Buondi Bar , in Foz, the restaurant Cafeína, the Shis, the Bhule, the Twins and Porto Palace are some of the examples.

In this Lobo Taste store you can see truly craftsmanship work being displayed. It is a feast for all the design lovers!

Image credit cntraveller.com

Note: Place to eat near Lobo Taste – Traça restaurant

Rua Miguel Bombarda

This is a street full of contemporary galleries including O! Galeria that has loads of illustrations on the walls ans stores that sell mid-century modern pieces and artistic objects.

Note: Place to stay – Favorita – ” white, minimalist rooms off a winding staircase, a sunny garden and a popular basement restaurant.” cntraveller.com

Covet Lounge Porto Showroom

“The Porto showroom offers new fodder for the imagination and the eye. For lovers of great design, this showroom opens an impressive range of sophisticated rugs, golden bathrooms, extraordinary dining tables and the kind of unique accessories. There may be found a variety of exquisite taste from signature of the most remarkable brands in the industry like Boca do Lobo, DelightFULL, Brabbu, Maison Valentina, Luxxu, Essential Home and Circu.” Coveted Magazine

Serralves Museum

You will find in Serralves the most mixed contemporary art and also amazing gardens outside that you will want to live in. It is an artistic and design place for design lovers to be enchanted!

Bolhão Market

It is an awesome place to see some old architecture and there you really breathe the portuguese culture with all those fresh vegetables, meat and fish. It is a great place to visit in Porto.

Note: Place to stay – The White Box House – close to Bolhão Market – ” immaculate hotel in a converted period building, with slouchy 1960s leather sofas, wrought-iron balconies and a few azulejos here and there. There’s also Miss’opo, an industrial-looking guesthouse/restaurant that goes heavy on the concrete walls and floors but manages to feel cosy thanks to pot plants, mismatched china and furniture and large-format photographs in the hallways. The raucous restaurant serves a daily-changing menu of Portuguese dishes.” cntraveller.com

The White Box House

Miss’opo

Infante Sagres Hotel

The top hotel is called Infante Sagres and it has a sophisticated interior design project with beautiful pieces when you enter the lobby you feel like you are entering a movie scene hotel. The Hotel has been designed in the 50s by architect Rogério Azevedo dos Santos, the building is considered an architectural landmark in a time when the city was turning towards modernism.The facade of the building is antique and the location is perfect since it’s in the middle of the city. A great touristy place to be in and enjoy the great environment surrounding Oporto. This hotel has some amazing pieces by the known Portuguese design brand Boca do Lobo, they have a suite that is decorated with their gorgeous pieces.

Luís I bridge to Vila Nova de Gaia

“The Dom Luís I (or Luiz I) Bridge (Portuguese: Ponte Luís I or Luiz I) is a double-decked metal arch bridge that spans the Douro River between the cities of Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia in Portugal. At the time of construction its span of 172 m was the longest of its type in the world.” wikipedia

“the bridge looks back onto the higgledy-piggledy terracotta-and-yellow houses of hilly Ribeira, pockmarked with satellite dishes” cntraveller.com

You have a privileged view over Porto and the river, it is a gorgeous place to visit.

Taylor’s port cellars in Gaia

They can be a design inspiration. Were Porto wine was born and it is preserved through times and times. The wine tasting is an amazing experience that you should try.

Foz

To conclude your day go to the beach, to Foz. You will see the most amazing sunshine in a gorgeous place. Also, for dinner we some suggestions: Cafeína – designed by Paulo Lobo; Terra, its sister restaurant opposite, with both Portuguese and sushi menus; Bar Tolo, where the best seats in the house are on the terrace facing the sea.