Yes, many of us love Porto also for the number of sunny days. BUT it also rains sometimes! 🙂 Statistically, the most rainy months are February, October and December. Here I have gathered some suggestions on what to do when raining. Enjoy and comment with any other ideas.
- Restaurants/Bars/Cafés – One of the easiest way how to escape rain is to enjoy food/drink out! For the best restaurants, bars and cafés, visit our previous articles (also see best beer bars, cocktail and best uncommon bars).
- Markets – Porto has several local markets, some of the being also indoor so you can visit them when raining. See our previous article about Best Markets in Porto.
- Wine tasting – Wine tasting might be an ideal activity while raining as Porto is famous for its Port wine, but there are also other amazing types of wine. You can visit either typical wine cellars located in Vila Nova de Gaia, or taste wine in some more uncommon places such as those described in our previous article about where to taste Port wine outside of Gaia caves.
- Tile painting – Tiles (or in Portuguese “azulejos”) are very typical in Portugal. Did you know you can try paint your own azulejo by Gazete Azulejos?
- Museums – There are several museums worth your visit, depending on your taste. I recommend the following:
- Serralves Museum of contemporary art – It is located in Serralves park worth visiting also in non-rainy day.
- Soares dos Reis National Museum – Art museum in an 18th-century palace with Flemish paintings, Portuguese sculpture & applied artwork.
- WOW – Or “World of Wine” is a recently opened cultural district located in Gaia with several museums, e.g. chocolate, cork, wine, etc. and also many activities going on.
- FC Porto Museum – For all football fans, do not miss a famous FC Porto Museum located in Dragon Stadium.
- Porto Tram Museum – The Porto Tram Museum is a museum inaugurated in 1992 and installed in a former thermoelectric power station next to the River Douro in Massarelos. It exhibits material related to the history of trams in Porto.
- Theatres – there are several theatres in Porto:
- Other cultural places:
- Portuguese Centre of Photography – It is completely free of charge.
- Alfandega Congress Center – There are several events throughout the year in this spectacular venue.
- Livravia Lello – Visit the famous Lello Library that looks like from Harry Potter movie. Although some claim that J. K. Rowling got an inspiration for her books here, she claims she has never visited this library before writing HP books.
- Cinema – The most well-known cinema chain is Cinemas NOS, but you can visit also some traditional cinemas described in this article.
- Casa da Música – Amazing concert venue and the new home of National Orchestra of Porto is also an architectural landmark and symbol in Porto.
- Monuments – Take an advantage of rain and visit some indoor monuments located in Porto:
- Sé do Porto – The Porto Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church located in the historical centre of the city of Porto, Portugal. It is one of the city’s oldest monuments and one of the most important local Romanesque monuments.
- Torre dos Clérigos – One of the symbols of Porto is Clérigos tower with church.
- Estação de São Bento – The famous tiles train station being one of the main train stations in Porto that still operates.
- Palácio da Bolsa – The Stock Exchange Palace is a historical building being visited by thousands of visitors every year.
- Indoor sports – Are you keen on sports or you just want to escape the rain? Then try one of the following:
- gyms – There are several in Porto, e.g. VivaGym.
- swimming – Campanhã Swimming Pool, Municipal Pool Senhora da Hora, or Constituição Swimming Complex.
- dancing – Try some of the dancing classes, e.g. Cuban salsa by Raíces, InDance – Academia de Dança do Porto, or Global Dança – Escola de Dança, Música e Teatro.
- padel – Padel became very popular recently. Check this article out and discover the best places to play padel.
- yoga – Check here the list of best yoga studios in Porto. If classic yoga is not enough for you, here you can find some aerial yoga studios.
- Spa – I love going to spa centers especially while raining. Here are some suggestions where to go:
- Guided tour in one of the local factories – Porto is full of local productions will a long history:
- Super Bock Beer House – Visit the factory where famous beer from Porto – Super Bock is produced.
- Pinhais Cannery & Co. – Visit traditional sardines factory located in Matosinhos.
- Shopping – If you have not found anything interesting above, you can still try some shopping 🙂 Check this article for the best places where to shop. And here I have gathered some traditional stores worth your visit.
