When I travel anywhere in the world, I always try to create a technology free experience for myself. I do my best to connect, embrace and enjoy wherever I am as purely as I can.
And though I do this so that I won’t forget what I feel and see or be distracted, I am also aware that technology makes travel all the more easy and enjoyable.
These are the essential apps to explore Porto:
MEETUP
Available on iOS and Android
Let’s start our list of the best apps to explore Porto with a truly versatile one. Meetup is an app that works not only to do research on the Invicta, but many other cities around the world.
Besides being very intuitive and easy to use, it also turns up a huge number of events from the most varied lines of interest.
I was absolutely baffled by the possibilities this app affords. I found a bookclub in Porto, you guys. Being an absolute nerd, that was the first thing I searched for and Tada! Now I’m a bookclub member! 😉
VIRAL AGENDA
Available on iOS and Android
In Viral Agenda, you will find not only entertainment events happening in Porto (and all over Portugal) but also free courses in universities, workshops, fundraisers, food festivals and competitions and pretty much anything you can think off.
It is one of the most complete apps I could find on the goings on in the city. The page for each event is complete with all the information you’ll need and further links so you can find out even more about the event.
When you select each event it also connects you to all other entries by the same organizer or place. You can narrow your search by selecting dates, specific places and tags.
Porto.
Available on iOS and Android
This is the most “official” app of this list of app to explore Porto because it is actually produced by the Office of Communication and Promotion of the Porto City Council. It is a sort of news portal for the city with the dissemination of third party articles and official news.
It lets you choose what kind of news you want to be shown from the environment, culture, economy, tourism, among others. Besides news, it is also connected to U.Porto, which stands for University of Porto, and the Municipal Theater and spreads information and alerts related to those two institutions.
It also has a calendar of events and is available in English. Personally, it is my go-to app for news about Porto and truly an essential app to explore Porto.
+Parque (Serralves)
Available on iOS and Android
+Parque is an app by the Serralves Foundation focused on the ecological importance and impact of the park in the city of Porto. For the ecologically minded – and really, shouldn’t we all be right now? – this is the most important amongst the apps to explore Porto.
In my opinion, this is one of the most beautiful apps in terms of design on this list. It is absolutely stunning and extremely easy to use and understand. It is essentially a map to explore the park that surrounds Serralves House, but in reality it is so much more.
+Parque, very aptly named, opens with a map of the park where twelve points of interest are signaled and named very creatively. From here you can select each point which leads you to a page with information, always with fun facts and very tongue-in-cheek. It also has really cool videos about each subject, extra bibliography for the nerds (thank you very much I will take all of it) and seasonal contents.
Sadly, it is not yet available in English, but if you can grab a Portuguese person and get them to tag along with you to translate – you can’t miss the extra fun you get with visiting the park accompanied by this app.
As a side note: Serralves also has an app for the Serralves em Festa! Summer event, but it’s only ever useful for a few days a year. Still, you can always download it when the time comes! 😉
Official FC Porto
Available on iOS and Android
For starters this isn’t really the app for me because football is not my sport (sorry, football fans, but I like the more subtle arts of rock climbing or figure skating).
Still, I can appreciate how cool the Official FC Porto app is. Besides being really well put together it’s very complete in terms of information.
The feed has all the recent publications and an overview of the latest and approaching games with dates and times. And if you select a past game it gives you a minute play by play of the whole game with links to videos of specific highlights from the game.
It has pages for each competition the team is competing in with full information about their rating and performance. You can of course consult the current squad, get access to the online store to buy tickets, merchandise and the fees to become a dragon supporter (that’s the team mascot, by the way). Members with a season pass also have a special page that “only a true Dragon can access”. That almost makes me want to become one.
Francesinhas
Available on iOS and Android
Let’s talk about food, shall we?
To be more specific let’s talk about Porto’s holy grail when it comes to food: the francesinha.
Considered one of the best sandwiches in the world, the francesinha is, in my opinion, so much more that a sandwich. Come on, it is a whole meal just by itself. A filling, wonderful, dreamy piece of heaven.
This app has one of the most simple premises on this list of essential apps to explore Porto: where can you find the best francesinhas in Porto? That’s it, that’s the whole thing. But it is so essential – believe me. I know because we have also compiled a list of the places where you can eat the most delicious and inventive francesinhas in the city.
Francesinhas is the perfect place to share your experience of this local dish and find other people’s experiences and the places they recommend for a tasting. It is complete with maps, photographs uploaded by the users, their commentary and honest opinions and a huge list of restaurants. Don’t miss out and give your belly a treat!
Metro do Porto
Available on iOS and Android
If you are a traveller, one of the essential apps to explore Porto is the subway app. Metro do Porto has an app and it is incredibly useful, even for a frequent user like me.
Through it you can access a map with all the subway lines and a city map to compare and make sure you are taking the right route. Besides that, it also has an easy to consult chart of all the lines with every station clearly signaled and services available at each one like parking, andante stores, bus stops and tram stops. There’s also a news tab, but frankly it’s not really that relevant.
The most important feature though is the Plan tab of the app. It allows you to choose a departure point and destination, and a date and time for your trip. It then gives all the information you need to make that journey. Proper schedules with all the vehicle changes, if they are necessary, the zones and cost of the trip for a single title or a monthly title and the expected time of the journey. You can also create a notification so you won’t forget you have a trip ahead of you!
UBER • Bolt • Kapten
Available on iOS and Android
For the last recommendations of the essential apps to explore Porto, we have a trio of ride-hailing apps. It really makes sense to group them all together since they are essentially the same app and have the same purpose.
They also don’t need a lot said about them since they are all so well known. I will say this though, they are really useful to get around in a big, crowded city center, especially if you are in a hurry.
If you are visiting Porto and wish to do it with as little hassle as possible, plan ahead and download some of these essential apps to explore Porto. Make your time with us the most efficient and relaxed experience.
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