Local Informations

The Climate
Cost of Living
Meals & Restaurants
Local Holidays

The Climate

The climate in Porto is typical of the Atlantic regions: damp but temperate, with colder evenings. It may rain quite a lot in Winter, but it rarely snows. The temperature never falls below 0 ºC. In Summer temperatures raise and the warmest months are June, July and August, when temperatures vary between 20 ºC and 35 ºC. September, October, April and May are intermediate, with periods of atmospheric instability: quite frequently foggy mornings are replaced by sunny afternoons, or rain showers alternate with periods of bright sunshine. You are therefore advised to bring some warm clothes for the colder days.

Cost of Living

In spite of the perceived price increase after Euro has been introduced in 2002, Portugal has a relatively low cost of living, as compared to other EU Member States, although some products might be more expensive here than in other countries. The inflation rate in 2012 was 2.8%.

The average monthly cost of living of a student in Porto can be estimated as follows:

Accommodation: between 150 EUR and 250 EUR;
Meals: between 150 EUR and 200 EUR;
Transports: 30.00 EUR (for a Z2 Andante monthly pass)

For your reference, these are approximate prices of some products:

Carton of milk - 0.60 EUR;
Bottle of water (1.5 l) - 0.39 EUR;
Roll of bread - 0.12 EUR;
1 kg of rice - 0.90 EUR;
Coffee (expresso) - 0.60 EUR;
1 meal - 2.35 EUR (in the canteen);
Bus/metro - 1.20 EUR (1 Z2 ticket); 1.45 EUR (1 Z3 ticket);
Newspapers - 1.00 EUR (daily) and 3.00 EUR (weekly);
Cinema - 4.50 EUR (student ticket).

Meals & Restaurants

Porto is known as a city where one can “eat well”. There are many restaurants (from cheap to expensive) both in the city and on its outskirts.

These are some of the dishes that are part of our typical cuisine: Tripas à Moda do Porto, Cabrito Assado, Bacalhau à Zé do Pipo, Bacalhau com Natas, Sarrabulho à Portuense, Peixe com Todos, Tripas Enfarinhadas, Arroz de Frango, Aletria, Arroz Doce, among many others. Another speciality is the traditional “Francesinha”. It is not then a surprise that some of the restaurants in Porto are expert in this dish.

Besides many restaurants (for all prices), there are also cafés and bars that prepare light meals and snacks. For all these reasons, “going out for a meal” is very common in Portugal. Restaurants are usually open as follows: 12.00 – 14.30; 19.00 – 00.00. However, there restaurants and bars open until 02.00 or even 04.00.

Local Holidays

1 January – New Year's Day
February – Carnival (optional)
(March/April) – Good Friday
(March/April) – Easter
25 April – Liberation Day
1 May – Labour Day
(May/June) – Corpus Christi (suspended from 2013)
10 June – National Day
24 June – St. John's Day
15 August – Assumption
5 October – Republic Day (suspended from 2013)
1 November – All Saints Day (suspended from 2013)
1 December – Restoration of the Independence (suspended from 2013)
8 December – Immaculate Conception
25 December – Christmas Day

Recommend this page Top