Staying in Matosinhos v. Porto - which is better?

[KariC]

This fall, I'm getting into Porto early afternoon, and plan to see the city and de-jet lag that day, starting to walk the next morning. I've read recommendations to take the subway from Porto to Matosinhos to avoid bad traffic, and start the caminho (coastal) from there. But what about spending the night in Matosinhos before starting the caminho, and walking along the boardwalk, or taking the subway back into Porto to see it? I haven't seen anyone writing about doing it that way, and was wondering why not.

And can anyone recommend somewhere to stay that they've liked in Matosinhos? (I could only locate one place in previous threads, and it was miles away from the river/boardwalk/market).

Obrigada!!
Kari

 

[SabsP]

Hi Kari,

I can highly recommend this one in Matosinhos, close to the bridge. Close to metro stop too.
http://www.pensaocentral.net/en/home/

Some pilgrims use a first day to walk from Porto centre to Matosinhos ( taking metro one way and walk then to their lodging ) and then start second day from Matosinhos. I just started from my pension in Matosinhos because of the heavy rain first day in Porto.
Btw the first day to Vila do Conde is wonderful!

 

[Anemone del Camino]

I stayed at the albergue in Porto, took the metro tomthe cathedral and walked from there to Matosinhos, then metro back to the albergue for the night, and again in the am to the Mercado station to start walking along the coast.

The walk across the iron bridge to the portwine cellars, crossing the Duouro again by boat and walking up from there is a lovely stroll, and you can stamp your credencial at the Cathedral.

 

[movinmaggie]

Hi Kari,

I can highly recommend this one in Matosinhos, close to the bridge. Close to metro stop too.
http://www.pensaocentral.net/en/home/

Some pilgrims use a first day to walk from Porto centre to Matosinhos ( taking metro one way and walk then to their lodging ) and then start second day from Matosinhos. I just started from my pension in Matosinhos because of the heavy rain first day in Porto.
Btw the first day to Vila do Conde is wonderful!

Thanks Sabine; making notes for 2017. All very helpful.

 

[Kiwi-family]

We spent a night in Porto, then walked to matosinhos in the afternoon and stayed there. Perfect!

 

[nonami]

Only stayed in Matosinhos so I can't make a comparison. Matosinhos was a great starting point to ease into a Camino rather than starting at Porto. It meant that we had more flexibility in deciding the finishing point on first day. There were some excellent seafood restaurants in Matosinhos. We stayed at Senhor de Matosinhos - a two star hotel. Very convenient though possibly there are better alternatives.

Before we started we took the metro into Porto to look around for a day and get our credential.

Of course as suggested elsewhere, you could stay in Porto and catch the metro to Mercado stop which is near the bridge you have to cross - easy to pick up the yellow arrows there.

 

[annakappa]

We stayed 2 nights in Porto. Walked everywhere. clocked up 16 Kms ( and we already knew Porto from a couple of years back). We did walk a long way along the river towards the estuary that day also. The next day, we took the bus from Porto to Matosinhos, which we though gave us a chance to see anything we had missed. And then we walked along the coast to Vila do Conde. Stayed the night there and then walked over to join the main Camino.

 

[KariC]

Hi Kari,

I can highly recommend this one in Matosinhos, close to the bridge. Close to metro stop too.
http://www.pensaocentral.net/en/home/

Some pilgrims use a first day to walk from Porto centre to Matosinhos ( taking metro one way and walk then to their lodging ) and then start second day from Matosinhos. I just started from my pension in Matosinhos because of the heavy rain first day in Porto.
Btw the first day to Vila do Conde is wonderful!

Thanks - looks wonderful!

 

[Walli Walker]

I'm with Kiwi-family, walk from Porto to Matosinhos along the river and up the coast.

We spent a night in Porto, then walked to matosinhos in the afternoon and stayed there. Perfect!

 

[nickbennison]

The walk from Porto to Matoshinos is beautiful and a great start to the camino. Extremely underrated!

 

[KariC]

I do want to walk along at least part of it, but during my jet lag recovery day, would prefer to do it w/o all my gear.