Where is Porto in Portugal?

When it comes to talent in the kitchen, Porto knows few rivals in Portugal. With the Atlantic on its doorstep, the Douro vineyards rolling east and the Trás-os-Montes producing smoked meats in its fumeiros and tangy cheeses - the city cherry picks the finest regional produce.

So loosen the belt and prepare to scoff and slurp your way around our favourite spots in Porto: this is one perfect day for food lovers.

Make a pit-stop at Café Majestic for guaranteed glamour. Image by Maremagnum / Photolibrary / Getty

Market mornings

Jump-start your morning with a cimbalino (espresso) at Café Christina (Rua de Sá da Bandeira 401), which has been brewing some of Porto's finest coffee since 1804. Just across the way is the Mercado do Bolhão, Porto's glorious 19th-century wrought-iron covered market, where vendors do a brisk trade in fruit, veg, olives, cheese, bread, smoked meats and sausages made with every bit of the pig except the oink. The market is also sprinkled with inexpensive stalls where you can nibble on still-warm pastries, sardines or fish fresh and flaky from the Atlantic, and sip on some vinho (wine). The market is at its lively best on Friday and Saturday mornings.

While you're in this neck of town, mosey over to the old-school grocery stores along Rua Sá da Bandeira. At number 347, Casa Ramos is piled to the rafters with beans, bacalhau (dried salt cod) and alheira sausages by the kilo, while a couple of doors down at number 343, Casa Chinesa stocks everything from tinned fish to nuts, grains, piri-piri chilli peppers and broa de Avintes (dense corn and rye flatbread).