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History of "Sardine City: Fish Tales and Tradition in the Porto Docks"

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Version 13 – November 28, 2025 23:40
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Cancellation notes
  • Up to 24 hours before the beginning of the activity: full refund
  • Less than 24 hours before the beginning of the activity or no-show: no refund
  • 90% refund if given 1 week notice prior to walk.
  • 50% refund if given 72 hours notice or more.
  • Less than 72 hours before the beginning of the activity or no-show: no refund
Cancellation Cutoff
  • 24
  • 72
Version 12 – November 28, 2025 23:28
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Know Before You Book
  • some stops may not be suitable for individuals with mobility impairments due to stairs and uneven terrain., the tour is conducted in english; proficiency is recommended., the tour operates rain or shine; dress appropriately for the weather conditions.
  • food tasting - let us know if you have any allergies
Version 11 – November 28, 2025 23:15
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Current Version
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Included
  • guided tour through plaka and anafiotika neighborhoods, tastings of traditional greek dishes and local specialties, wine tasting featuring small greek producers
  • all food consumed on the walk – almost a dozen different edible specialties, culinary backstreets guide , markets visit, selected wine
Version 9 – May 10, 2025 09:53
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Current Version
Previous Version
Landing Page URL
  • https://culinarybackstreets.com/tours-food-tours/tours-porto/2024/sardine-city-tour/
  • https://culinarybackstreets.com/tours-food-tours/tours-porto/2018/beyond-the-barrel-from-decadent-to-down-home-in-the-heart-of-porto/
Version 7 – May 10, 2025 09:46
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Current Version
Previous Version
Emergency Phone Number
  • 925519056
  • 961 665 247
Version 6 – May 10, 2025 09:46
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Current Version
Previous Version
Short Description
  • To refer to Matosinhos as “Sardine City” is not a stretch. For part of the 20th century, this small municipality – essentially a suburb of Porto – was the largest sardine fishing port in the world and home to 54 canneries working around the clock. While only three remain open, Matosinhos is still deep in the fishing business and even seeing a revival. Thanks to its access to some of the best fish and seafood to be had worldwide, the town is packed with restaurants, making for one of the liveliest and rewarding dining scenes in Portugal.
  • To refer to Matosinhos as “Sardine City” is not a stretch. For part of the 20th century, this small municipality – essentially a suburb of Porto – was the largest sardine fishing port in the world and home to 54 canneries working around the clock. While only three remain open, Matosinhos is still deep in the fishing business and even seeing a revival. Thanks to its access to some of the best fish and seafood to be had worldwide, the town is packed with restaurants, making for one of the liveliest and rewarding dining scenes in Portugal.
Description
  • On this full day tour, we’ll use the local connection to the sea – past, present, and future – as the backdrop for exploring a unique town whose motto seems to be “Yes, we (still) can.” We’ll begin our day as the locals do, with coffee and a sweet breakfast pastry at an old-school bakery, before making our way to the boisterous local fish auction, where we’ll be competing for space with early birds looking for a deal and seagulls looking for a steal. After taking a peek at some of the fishing boats moored in the harbor, we’ll stop into one of the living links to Matosinhos’s golden past, the workshop of craftsmen devoted to the art of mending sardine nets. Continuing through town, we’ll sit down with local workers at a neighborhood tasca for a fortifying late breakfast of salt cod fritters paired with a sparking vinho verde, and then get a taste of what’s new in Matosinhos by visiting a bakery where a former architect is now turning out spectacular sourdough breads using strictly Portuguese ingredients. Our next stop is one of Matosinhos’s most important landmarks, its municipal market, which along with its aisles of impeccably fresh fish and local produce, is also known for its stunning modernist architecture. Having worked our way through the market, the time has come for, what else, a taste of grilled fish. We’ll do this at a tiny restaurant run by a former stevedore who worked on the local docks, where we’ll dine on the seasonal catch of the day accompanied by boiled potatoes and a salad – a classic Matosinhos harborside lunch. For a sweet note, we’ll next visit a beloved local pastry shop for a taste of Jesuita, an exceptionally crunchy traditional local sweet made of custard-filled puff pastry. We’ll end our day, appropriately, with an epic tour and tasting at one of the last remaining canneries in town – open since 1920 – where the thrilling nautical tale of Matosinhos continues to be written.
  • On this full day tour, we’ll use the local connection to the sea – past, present, and future – as the backdrop for exploring a unique town whose motto seems to be “Yes, we (still) can.” We’ll begin our day as the locals do, with coffee and a sweet breakfast pastry at an old-school bakery, before making our way to the boisterous local fish auction, where we’ll be competing for space with early birds looking for a deal and seagulls looking for a steal. After taking a peek at some of the fishing boats moored in the harbor, we’ll stop into one of the living links to Matosinhos’s golden past, the workshop of craftsmen devoted to the art of mending sardine nets. Continuing through town, we’ll sit down with local workers at a neighborhood tasca for a fortifying late breakfast of salt cod fritters paired with a sparking vinho verde, and then get a taste of what’s new in Matosinhos by visiting a bakery where a former architect is now turning out spectacular sourdough breads using strictly Portuguese ingredients. Our next stop is one of Matosinhos’s most important landmarks, its municipal market, which along with its aisles of impeccably fresh fish and local produce, is also known for its stunning modernist architecture. Having worked our way through the market, the time has come for, what else, a taste of grilled fish. We’ll do this at a tiny restaurant run by a former stevedore who worked on the local docks, where we’ll dine on the seasonal catch of the day accompanied by boiled potatoes and a salad – a classic Matosinhos harborside lunch. For a sweet note, we’ll next visit a beloved local pastry shop for a taste of Jesuita, an exceptionally crunchy traditional local sweet made of custard-filled puff pastry. We’ll end our day, appropriately, with an epic tour and tasting at one of the last remaining canneries in town – open since 1920 – where the thrilling nautical tale of Matosinhos continues to be written.
Cancellation notes
  • 90% refund if given 1 week notice prior to walk.
  • 50% refund if given 72 hours notice or more.
  • Less than 72 hours before the beginning of the activity or no-show: no refund
  • 100% refund if given 1 week notice prior to walk.
  • 50% refund if given 72 hours notice or more.
  • Less than 72 hours before the beginning of the activity or no-show: no refund
Version 5 – May 10, 2025 09:45
Field
Current Version
Previous Version
Highlights
  • culinary walking tour , harborside lunch, local fish auction, market visit - mercado de matosinhos, visit to residential neighborhoods
  • culinary walking tour , harborside lunch, market visit - mercado de matosinhos, taste and see how to make the iconic cachorrinhos, visit to residential neighborhoods
Version 4 – May 10, 2025 09:42
Field
Current Version
Previous Version
Highlights
  • culinary walking tour , harborside lunch, market visit - mercado de matosinhos, taste and see how to make the iconic cachorrinhos, visit to residential neighborhoods
  • culinary walking tour , market visit - mercado bolhão, portuguese sheep and goat cheeses with 10 year old port wine, taste and see how to make the iconic cachorrinhos, visit to residential neighborhoods
Included
  • all food consumed on the walk – almost a dozen different edible specialties, culinary backstreets guide , markets visit, selected wine
  • all food consumed on the walk – almost a dozen different edible specialties, cheese tasting , culinary backstreets guide , markets visit, selected wine
Version 3 – May 10, 2025 09:38
Field
Current Version
Previous Version
Short Description
  • To refer to Matosinhos as “Sardine City” is not a stretch. For part of the 20th century, this small municipality – essentially a suburb of Porto – was the largest sardine fishing port in the world and home to 54 canneries working around the clock. While only three remain open, Matosinhos is still deep in the fishing business and even seeing a revival. Thanks to its access to some of the best fish and seafood to be had worldwide, the town is packed with restaurants, making for one of the liveliest and rewarding dining scenes in Portugal.
  • Porto is a postcard-perfect city, its beauty easily captured in a single frame. But that barely scratches the surface of the city. On this full-day food tour in Porto, with at least ten tasting stops, we’ll experience both sides of the city, from the decadent to the down-home. We’ll start with a Porto ritual of flaky, sweet pastries and a strong coffee before exploring the Mercado do Bolhāo, arguably Portugal’s finest food market, which was recently reopened after a full renovation. We’ll make our way through stalls selling fresh fish, smoked meats, fruit and vegetable stopping to greet the vendors and taste what’s in season. We’ll then set off into the city center to see some hidden spots from the belle époque of Porto on our way to a lunch counter where locals and visitors line up for a cachorrinho, a baton-shaped grilled cheese sandwich with smoked sausage, with a fanatical following. We’ll finish at a classic sweet shop, for an eggy cake that was created by nuns nearby, reminding us that Porto’s traditions are kept safe in the kitchen.
Description
  • On this full day tour, we’ll use the local connection to the sea – past, present, and future – as the backdrop for exploring a unique town whose motto seems to be “Yes, we (still) can.” We’ll begin our day as the locals do, with coffee and a sweet breakfast pastry at an old-school bakery, before making our way to the boisterous local fish auction, where we’ll be competing for space with early birds looking for a deal and seagulls looking for a steal. After taking a peek at some of the fishing boats moored in the harbor, we’ll stop into one of the living links to Matosinhos’s golden past, the workshop of craftsmen devoted to the art of mending sardine nets. Continuing through town, we’ll sit down with local workers at a neighborhood tasca for a fortifying late breakfast of salt cod fritters paired with a sparking vinho verde, and then get a taste of what’s new in Matosinhos by visiting a bakery where a former architect is now turning out spectacular sourdough breads using strictly Portuguese ingredients. Our next stop is one of Matosinhos’s most important landmarks, its municipal market, which along with its aisles of impeccably fresh fish and local produce, is also known for its stunning modernist architecture. Having worked our way through the market, the time has come for, what else, a taste of grilled fish. We’ll do this at a tiny restaurant run by a former stevedore who worked on the local docks, where we’ll dine on the seasonal catch of the day accompanied by boiled potatoes and a salad – a classic Matosinhos harborside lunch. For a sweet note, we’ll next visit a beloved local pastry shop for a taste of Jesuita, an exceptionally crunchy traditional local sweet made of custard-filled puff pastry. We’ll end our day, appropriately, with an epic tour and tasting at one of the last remaining canneries in town – open since 1920 – where the thrilling nautical tale of Matosinhos continues to be written.
  • Dig a little deeper into the backstreets and we find the complexities and contrasts of city life and all of the culinary diversity that comes with it. Porto is a place where century-old opulent Parisian-style cafes, sometimes staffed by tuxedoed waiters, can be found not far from rustic cheese-and-sausage shops run by the descendants of poor migrants from Northern Portugal. More contrasts abound: Walk around Porto and you will encounter octogenarian Portuguese shoe cobblers sharing the street with Bangladeshi grocers, while hidden behind former palaces are neat and tidy shanties. And, while this is the city that gave the world the refinement of Port wine, it is also the home of the gutbuster Francesinha, a working-man’s sandwich we’d only eat to win a bet.
  • On our walk, we'll head out into a classic residential neighborhood for a close look at how this city lives, and eats. At the local neighborhood tasca, we’ll be among all levels of Porto society who crowd the dining room for Senhor Dionísio’s daily specials. His cod fritters know no boundaries. Along the way we’ll visit an historic grocery for a taste of the seminal cheeses of the north along with a tawny port. We’ll also visit a newly opened grocery, to crack open a few of the finest locally produced tinned fish, a local delicacy. 
Version 2 – May 10, 2025 09:37
Field
Current Version
Previous Version
Name
  • Sardine City: Fish Tales and Tradition in the Porto Docks
  • Beyond the Barrel: From Decadent to Down-home in Porto - Clone
Short Description
  • Porto is a postcard-perfect city, its beauty easily captured in a single frame. But that barely scratches the surface of the city. On this full-day food tour in Porto, with at least ten tasting stops, we’ll experience both sides of the city, from the decadent to the down-home. We’ll start with a Porto ritual of flaky, sweet pastries and a strong coffee before exploring the Mercado do Bolhāo, arguably Portugal’s finest food market, which was recently reopened after a full renovation. We’ll make our way through stalls selling fresh fish, smoked meats, fruit and vegetable stopping to greet the vendors and taste what’s in season. We’ll then set off into the city center to see some hidden spots from the belle époque of Porto on our way to a lunch counter where locals and visitors line up for a cachorrinho, a baton-shaped grilled cheese sandwich with smoked sausage, with a fanatical following. We’ll finish at a classic sweet shop, for an eggy cake that was created by nuns nearby, reminding us that Porto’s traditions are kept safe in the kitchen.
  • Porto is a postcard-perfect city, its beauty easily captured in a single frame. But that barely scratches the surface of the city. On this full-day food tour in Porto, with at least ten tasting stops, we’ll experience both sides of the city, from the decadent to the down-home. We’ll start with a Porto ritual of flaky, sweet pastries and a strong coffee before exploring the Mercado do Bolhāo, arguably Portugal’s finest food market, which was recently reopened after a full renovation. We’ll make our way through stalls selling fresh fish, smoked meats, fruit and vegetable stopping to greet the vendors and taste what’s in season. We’ll then set off into the city center to see some hidden spots from the belle époque of Porto on our way to a lunch counter where locals and visitors line up for a cachorrinho, a baton-shaped grilled cheese sandwich with smoked sausage, with a fanatical following. We’ll finish at a classic sweet shop, for an eggy cake that was created by nuns nearby, reminding us that Porto’s traditions are kept safe in the kitchen.
Description
  • Dig a little deeper into the backstreets and we find the complexities and contrasts of city life and all of the culinary diversity that comes with it. Porto is a place where century-old opulent Parisian-style cafes, sometimes staffed by tuxedoed waiters, can be found not far from rustic cheese-and-sausage shops run by the descendants of poor migrants from Northern Portugal. More contrasts abound: Walk around Porto and you will encounter octogenarian Portuguese shoe cobblers sharing the street with Bangladeshi grocers, while hidden behind former palaces are neat and tidy shanties. And, while this is the city that gave the world the refinement of Port wine, it is also the home of the gutbuster Francesinha, a working-man’s sandwich we’d only eat to win a bet.
  • On our walk, we'll head out into a classic residential neighborhood for a close look at how this city lives, and eats. At the local neighborhood tasca, we’ll be among all levels of Porto society who crowd the dining room for Senhor Dionísio’s daily specials. His cod fritters know no boundaries. Along the way we’ll visit an historic grocery for a taste of the seminal cheeses of the north along with a tawny port. We’ll also visit a newly opened grocery, to crack open a few of the finest locally produced tinned fish, a local delicacy. 
  • Dig a little deeper into the backstreets and we find the complexities and contrasts of city life and all of the culinary diversity that comes with it. Porto is a place where century-old opulent Parisian-style cafes, sometimes staffed by tuxedoed waiters, can be found not far from rustic cheese-and-sausage shops run by the descendants of poor migrants from Northern Portugal. More contrasts abound: Walk around Porto and you will encounter octogenarian Portuguese shoe cobblers sharing the street with Bangladeshi grocers, while hidden behind former palaces are neat and tidy shanties. And, while this is the city that gave the world the refinement of Port wine, it is also the home of the gutbuster Francesinha, a working-man’s sandwich we’d only eat to win a bet.
  • On our walk, we'll head out into a classic residential neighborhood for a close look at how this city lives, and eats. At the local neighborhood tasca, we’ll be among all levels of Porto society who crowd the dining room for Senhor Dionísio’s daily specials. His cod fritters know no boundaries.
  • Along the way we’ll visit an historic grocery for a taste of the seminal cheeses of the north along with a tawny port. We’ll also visit a newly opened grocery, to crack open a few of the finest locally produced tinned fish, a local delicacy. 
Summary
  • On this full day tour, we’ll explore Matosinhos, a fascinating seaside town on the outskirts of Porto, and its fishing traditions, visiting bustling markets, neighborhood grill spots, and a spectacular sardine cannery which has been in business since 1920.
  • Join this full day food tour in Porto and get to know the city’s lesser-known food traditions, local institutions and its heroes in the kitchen. We’ll experience both sides of the city, from the decadent to the down-home.
Has Height Restrictions
  • true
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Version 1 – May 10, 2025 09:35
Field
Current Version
Previous Version
Name
  • Beyond the Barrel: From Decadent to Down-home in Porto - Clone
  • Beyond the Barrel: From Decadent to Down-home in Porto