There is a very pleasant ten kilometre walk along Porto's Atlantic Ocean beachfront. Ideal for a leisurely day trip. There are sandy beaches and rocky beaches. Visitors can easily get to the beach from the city centre by taking the old historic tram along the river Douro to Foz do Douro on the coast or by catching a more modern bus or Metro tram.

One of the many bars along the Porto beach front

The whole coastline has a paved promenading which is frequented by many of the locals. You are never far from replaced eat or drink. Some of the cafes, restaurants and bars are actually on the beach with fantastic views over the Atlantic Ocean. Often it's quite windy and too cold to sit outside on the veranda and enjoy a meal, coffee or beer so most of these premises have large glass conservatory style indoor seating areas where you can still enjoy the view in comfort.

If you are lucky to visit the coast on a sunny day there is no better place to what the suntan, chill out, read a book or just people watch. Try ordering one of the local beers. Super Bock is Porto brewery whilst Sagres beers come from Lisbon. Both companies do three main types of beers. The regular lager that is served in bottles or can be ordered draft from a tap at the bar is refreshing cold on a very hot day.

The bars and resturants have fantastic views over the The bars and resturants have fantastic views over the Atlantic Ocean

If you want to be more adventurous try their stronger beers. They are darker in colour and have an alcoholic content of 6.2%. The super Bock company caused this type of beer 'Abadia' and the Sagres brewery calls their darker beer 'Bohemia'. I fell in love with them. They have such an intense flavour with a fruity aroma, creamy foam head and a reddish amber colour.

The other two beers you should try are the black beers. The Sagres brewery calls their stout beer 'Petra' whereas the Super Bock company just caused their black beer 'Super Bock Stout'. I did not expect to find this type of high quality beer choice in Portugal. The stout beers are served very cold and have a sweet yet bitter taste with a soft caramel flavour and a slightly fruity aroma. They are not as strong as brown beers as they range between 4-5%.

Confeitara Tavi Restaurant

At the Rua Senhora da Luz, fifty yards south of the Rua de Diu along Porto's Atlantic coast in the area known as Foz do Douro there is a wonderful restaurant that has magnificent views of the coast. It is called Confeitara Tavi.

Tavi Confeitaria da Foz restaurant and patisserie

In English that means the Tavi sweetshop. This location is no longer sweetshop but a full-blown restaurant with a bakery frontage. Finding the entrance is a bit confusing as from the coast road all you see is the back of the restaurant, a grey modern extension all round glass windows.

The front of the restaurant looks like a patisserie with a shop counter and front window display full of mouth-watering cakes, rolls and a selection of breads. The restaurant section of the Confeitara Tavi is at the back of the shop. At the weekends it is best to reserve a table. Ask your hotel front desk staff if they could do this for you.

Tavi Confeitaria da Foz viewed form the coast road

The new lounge terrace at the back of the shop has a panoramic view of the coastline. He did not have to order a meal. You can go in and just order coffee, a glass of port or a beer. But I defy you to walk past that amazing cake display at the front of the shop without being tempted to order a naughty nibble to have with your coffee. Some of the cakes just melt in your mouth. The dinner menu is varied and unusual. Every dish we tried was a delight and it was not too expensive. Try to get a window seat. Their website is www.tavi.pt

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