Boavista

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Travellers heading for a concert at the Casa da Música, a day at Serralves or a festival in the Parque da Cidade all pass through the same part of Porto: Boavista, the modern west of the city. It is not an old quarter like the Ribeira, and not a parish at all. The name covers the area along the long axis that runs from the Praça da República to the Atlantic, and above all the district around the Rotunda da Boavista.

The Rotunda sits about 2 km west of the Avenida dos Aliados. Beside it stands the Casa da Música, the concert hall by Rem Koolhaas that opened in 2005. From there the Avenida da Boavista, the longest avenue in the city, runs straight for about 5.5 km to the sea, past offices, shops, housing and the Parque da Cidade. The sections below cover the concert hall, the avenue, the museums and gardens within reach, eating, getting around, and who the district suits.

The Casa da Música

The common mistake is to see the Casa da Música only from outside, as a photograph stop. It is a working concert hall, and the building is best understood from inside.

It was designed by the Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas as part of Porto 2001, the year the city was European Capital of Culture. The building was not ready in time. The first concert, with the Portuguese band Clã and Lou Reed, took place on 14 April 2005, and President Jorge Sampaio opened the hall the next day.

The cost grew as much as the timetable. Budgeted at 33 million euros, excluding the land, it cost 111.2 million and finished four years late. It stands beside the Rotunda on the site of a former depot where the city's trams were stored and repaired.

The architecture was praised internationally. The New York Times critic Nicolai Ouroussoff called it the most attractive project Koolhaas had built.

Inside there are two main auditoriums, and other spaces are adapted for concerts, workshops and education. Guided tours of the building cost 12 euros.

For a visitor, a concert is the best way in. A guided tour is the alternative on a day without a programme that suits.

The avenue to the sea

The mistake is to plan a walk along the Avenida da Boavista as if it were a promenade. It is the city's longest avenue, about 5.5 km, and a working street.

It runs in a straight line from the Military Hospital to the Praça de Gonçalves Zarco by the Atlantic, known as the Castelo do Queijo after the old fort of São Francisco Xavier. The avenue was opened in the mid-19th century, and its last stretch, from Fonte da Moura to the sea, was finished only in 1917.

Until the middle of the 20th century it was lined with two rows of plane trees, cut down to make way for traffic. Today it holds offices, hotels, shopping areas and housing, much of it luxurious.

Along the way lies the Parque da Cidade, rated 4.7 out of 5 from 28,918 reviews, open every day from 7 AM to midnight and the home of Primavera Sound each June.

Near the avenue, the Estádio do Bessa is the home of Boavista FC. It opened in 2003, holds 28,263 spectators and was one of the venues of Euro 2004.

For a visitor, the avenue is a route rather than a walk: the places worth the trip sit at its ends and just off it.

Museums and gardens within reach

The mistake is to think the west of the city has only the concert hall. Within a short walk or a short ride of the Casa da Música are gardens, museums and one of Porto's major art institutions.

The Casa-Museu Marta Ortigão Sampaio, 435 m away, is rated 4.5 from 313 reviews and was listed as closed on Mondays. The Museu do Holocausto do Porto, 880 m away, is rated 4.2 from 417.

About 1.1 km away, the Jardim Botânico do Porto, part of the university's Museum of Natural History and Science, is rated 4.5 from 9,157 reviews and was open from 9 AM to 7 PM. The Galeria da Biodiversidade beside it is rated 4.7 from 1,561 and was listed as closed on Mondays. The Porto Planetarium, 1.1 km away, is rated 4.0.

Further west, about 2.3 km from the Casa da Música, lies Serralves: the Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art, rated 4.4 from 7,111 reviews, the Casa de Serralves and the Parque de Serralves, rated 4.7 from 12,301. They were open from 10 AM to 7 PM, and a ticket covering every space costs 24 euros at Serralves.

At the end of May, Serralves em Festa opens all of it free for 50 hours.

Eating and the Bom Sucesso market

The mistake is to leave the district to eat. The Mercado do Bom Sucesso, near the Rotunda, was built for exactly the opposite.

It opened in 1952 as the city's municipal fresh market, a modern building by ARS Arquitectos with a vaulted roof opened by large windows. It was listed as a monument of public interest in 2011, closed for works the same year, and reopened in 2013 as a food hall with shops, offices and a hotel. Today it is the place in the district for cooked food under one roof.

Among the district's most reviewed restaurants are two seafood houses. The Mariscaria Bom Sucesso, 386 m from the Casa da Música, is rated 4.4 out of 5 from 936 reviews and opens from noon to 11 PM. The Marisqueira do Porto, 707 m away, is rated 4.3 from 2,177 and opens from noon to midnight.

At Serralves, the Lareira restaurant is rated 4.3 from 1,077 reviews and the Churrasqueira de Serralves 4.3 from 832.

For choices across Porto, the restaurant rankings list the most reviewed places.

The market was built so the district would not have to leave to eat.

Staying in Boavista

The mistake is to assume a stay in Boavista puts the old town on the doorstep. The Rotunda is about 2 km from the Aliados in a straight line, a walk of around half an hour, and the Ribeira is further.

What Boavista offers instead is the west of the city: the concert hall, Serralves and the Parque da Cidade closer at hand, and the avenue's offices, shops and hotels around them.

A side-by-side view of the bases is in where to stay in Porto.

For a stay built around a concert at the Casa da Música, a visit to Serralves or a festival in the Parque da Cidade, a base in the west saves the journey back across the city at the end of the evening. For a first visit built around the old town, a base in the Baixa or Cedofeita keeps the monuments close while the Casa da Música stays a short metro ride away.

The Rotunda is about 2 km from the Aliados, half an hour on foot.

Getting around

The mistake is to walk everywhere from here. Distances in the west are longer than in the old town, and the metro is the link.

The Casa da Música metro station is on the blue line A, and a ride into the Baixa is an ordinary Andante trip; the operator, Metro do Porto, lists the fares by zone.

From the Rotunda, the Aliados is about 2 km away, Serralves about 2.3 km, and the Parque da Cidade further along the avenue towards the sea.

Check the timetable for the last train before a late concert.

Which ticket to buy is covered in getting around Porto.

Who Boavista suits

Music lovers get the most from Boavista. The Casa da Música is at its heart, and a base nearby turns a late concert into a short walk home.

It suits art lovers planning time at Serralves, and festival-goers heading to the Parque da Cidade in June.

It suits business travellers, since the avenue is one of the city's main office districts.

A short first visit centred on the old town is the weaker fit, since the Ribeira and the cathedral are a metro ride or a long walk away, and anyone who wants old streets and small squares outside the door.

Travellers who want medieval streets outside should look at the Ribeira or the Baixa; for the sea, Foz do Douro lies to the south-west, where the river meets the Atlantic.

A good day in the west starts at Serralves when it opens at 10 AM, continues in the botanical garden in the afternoon and ends with a concert at the Casa da Música.

Common questions

Where is the Casa da Música?

On the Avenida da Boavista beside the Rotunda da Boavista, about 2 km west of the Avenida dos Aliados. The Casa da Música metro station is on the blue line A.

Can you visit the Casa da Música without a concert?

Yes, on a guided tour, which costs 12 euros.

How far is Serralves from the Casa da Música?

About 2.3 km to the west. Serralves opens from 10 AM to 7 PM, and a ticket covering every space costs 24 euros.

Is Boavista a neighbourhood?

Not formally. It is not a parish and has no fixed limits; the name covers the area along the Rua and Avenida da Boavista and, above all, the district around the Rotunda.