10 Things to Do in Porto in February

During the month of February you can get to know a whole new side of this city, popularly known as the capital of northern Portugal. I invite you to familiarise yourself with the sites, plans and events I will mention below, as they all offer quality entertainment so that you can enjoy Porto on your own terms, in comfort and in a completely memorable way.

Valentine's Day is one of the most important dates in the month of February on an international level and this is something that Portugal is well aware of, as it tries to position itself as a romantic destination as important and influential as Paris.

That's why it's a good idea to have a romantic dinner of Portuguese food on this day if it happens to coincide with your visit to Oporto during the month of February. Some places to consider are:

• Café Majestic, with its Belle Epoque aesthetic.
• The Café Santiago with its simple, but well-known Portuguese street food proposal
• Casa da Mariquinhas, which offers a typical Portuguese dinner with a Fado show.

At the same time, you don't have to sit in just one restaurant to enjoy the food on the 14th of February. Porto' s best gastronomic tours are a great way to familiarise yourself with the culinary world of Porto without having to give up your sightseeing interests.

Both Porto and its neighbour on the other side of the river, Vila Nova de Gaia, are cities known for their wine cellars, where it is possible to taste the famous Port wine and, on many occasions, enjoy a Fado concert, the traditional Portuguese music.

February is an ideal month to visit a winery not only because of its low tourist influx, but also because most of the wineries will be offering wine tastings that perfectly match the winter weather conditions, as the ideal Port wine for a summer evening is usually not the same as the one recommended for a cold winter evening.

Booking a guided visit to a winery, with wine tasting and fado concert is, without a doubt, a great plan to liven up the cold February evenings.

The World of Discoveries is a museum with mechanised and interactive exhibits that focuses on the history behind Portuguese colonisation around the globe and the strong influence that Portuguese explorations had on the connection between Europe and the new world.

Meanwhile, at the FC Porto Museum you will be able to walk through the three centuries of history of this important club and admire all the trophies that FC Porto has won over the years. By booking tickets for the FC Porto Museum you can also visit the Dragão stadium, including the dugout and changing rooms.

February is an ideal month to visit museums due to the low number of tourists, so you can visit these museums in peace and quiet, and it is also a fun and safe way to escape the cold that characterises the season.

The months with a low tourist influx, such as February, are known in Porto for being the party season par excellence. While summer clearly has a very significant nightlife throughout its length, winter is the time when the locals take to the streets to have fun and escape from routine.

So if you're looking to experience Porto's nightlife on the locals' terms and traditions, take note of the best neighbourhoods for partying:

• The Galerias de Paris street area is the party district par excellence when it comes to going out dancing, as its proximity to the University of Porto means that it is very much associated with Porto's youth.
• The Ribeira district in the heart of the historic citycentre is also full of bars that are a little quieter and more conceptual than those in Porto's university area.
• Matosinhos and Foz do Douro are other neighbourhoods that also have a significantly attractive nightlife scene, but bear in mind that they are not exactly close to the centre.

Don't miss a Fado concert in Porto

But going out at night and not seeing a Fado show in Portugal is a mistake. Listening to this traditional Portuguese song live is a delight for your ears and there are many places that allow you to enjoy it in Porto for a very affordable price.

The Casa da Música is the concert hall of the National Orchestra of Porto as well as two other philharmonic orchestras in the city. It is a modern building that over the past two decades has become one of the city's architectural icons.

The orchestras that use this cultural venue as their main concert hall are in the middle of their winter performance cycle throughout the month of February. That means you'll always have the chance to catch a show no matter what week of the month you visit Porto.

And if Portuguese music is your thing, there's nothing better than booking tickets for a Fado concert in Porto. You'll love it!

February is synonymous with carnival in many parts of the world and specifically in the south of Porto one of the most famous carnivals in Portugal is celebrated. This is the Ovar Carnival, which is a festivity that extends over the 4 weeks of the month, starting with an internal parade of the participating samba schools and orchestras and ending with the carnival contest.

That means that during the whole month of February you will have the opportunity to enjoy this carnival that takes place in the coastal town of Ovar, about 40 kilometres south of the metropolitan area of Porto.

This is one of those excellent activities to do with children in Porto because of the fact that the allegorical costumes that combine elements of Portuguese culture with the well-known Brazilian elements can be very entertaining for the little ones of the house.

Many say that to experience the true essence of a place you need to go shopping in a public market that is frequented by locals. This is exactly what a visit to the Bolhão Market offers you, as it is an establishment that has been opening its doors for more than a century to all locals who need to buy anything from meat and fish to flowers and condiments for their culinary preparations.

As you walk through its different levels you will get a close look at the way of life of the average local on a day-to-day basis. You will also be in a privileged location due to its proximity to Avenida dos Aliados and Rua Santa Catarina, two of the most important shopping and tourist areas in the centre of Porto.

My advice is to book a guided tour of Porto in which you will visit the most emblematic places of the city, including of course the Bolhão Market.

Portugal is known for having more favourable prices than many other European Union countries, at least when it comes to consumer goods. At the same time, February is a month that is plagued with discounts from start to finish due to the change of season and the need to sell off as much of the merchandise left over from the autumn and winter months as possible.

Shopping centres such as Alameda Shopping are a good option if you are interested in having a one-stop shopping session. In turn, the entire Rua Santa Catarina is known to be the most commercial street in all of Porto.

It goes without saying that I recommend you to leave the shopping session for the afternoon or evening. Most of the shops will remain open, and the rest of the tourist attractions usually close their doors around 5 pm.

Claus Porto is a brand dedicated to the artisanal production of soaps and perfumes that dates back more than 130 years. During this period the business has established itself as one of the major references when it comes to quality and luxury in the field of creating and marketing fragrances.

In February, all kinds of workshops are held on handcrafting soaps of the highest olfactory and aesthetic quality. It is also a good time to take advantage of discounts from one of the most famous Portuguese luxury brands of all at attractive and convincing prices.

The shop is located on Rua das Flores, right in the historic heart of the city. Perfectly suited as a short stop on your itinerary when you find yourself walking from the Clérigos Tower to the Porto Cathedral, or in the opposite direction on this route.

Porto is full of museums that relate to its extensive history or architectural values, as well as to the classical or modern art that has developed in Portuguese society throughout its history. Visiting them can be an excellent idea during the month of February as they are a safe escape from the cold as well as the low tourist influx. Here are the main ones:

• Serralves Museum, can be a good alternative if you want to get to know a space dedicated to contemporary art in an urban complex that also has one of the jewels of Portuguese Art Deco.
• Museo Nacional Soares dos Reis, is more advisable if you are interested in the Portuguese decorative arts that were created from the 17th to the 19th century.
• Port Wine Museum, offers you the chance to familiarise yourself with the history behind the region's wine industry.
• Porto Museum of Photography can be a fun experience if you highlight the fact that its facilities are housed in an old building that was once the city's prison.

The north of Portugal tends to have colder weather than the rest of the country during the winter and so you can expect temperatures ranging from 10 degrees Celsius to negative numbers. The average temperature for the month of February is around 8 or 9 degrees Celsius.

February is an ideal month to visit Porto without having to deal with thousands and thousands of tourists all over the city. This month has left behind the Christmas season and the arrival of tourists associated with the beginning of spring has not yet started.

The prices in Porto in February are another very convenient factor, as this is the low season so prices are also lowered in an attempt to capture as many tourists and consumers as possible. This is not a problem in the summer, which is why the excessive demand causes prices to rise rapidly.

Porto in February is characterised by humid and slightly rainy weather. For this reason I advise you to pack comfortable shoes for walking around the city, but it is important that you pay even more attention to the coats you choose. It is preferable that they are waterproof and versatile enough to be used in all kinds of contexts.