Na Travessa Suítes

Madeover Townhouse Tucked in Porto's Historic Center

This bourgeois townhouse-turned-boutique-inn stands as a showcase of original stonemasonry, pre-existing timbers and delightfully arching doorways, reimagined as a spare 21st-century sanctuary.

Interiors are awash in subtle natural pastel hues over matte concrete floors, and the ground-level common areas include a newly built, greenhouse-inspired breakfast annex, a pared down contemporary lounge and dining room, and a hidden interior courtyard. Eight upper-level, double occupancy suites come with private baths equipped with rain showers, smooth new wood floors, minimalist furnishings and small, city-view balconets. There are four types of suites (two rooms in each style), as follows:.

Standard rooms overlook the neighborhood market, with beamed ceilings and built-in furnishings and terracotta toned baths.

Standard Plus rooms are on the top floor, overlooking the market, city, and the blue-tiled São Bento Station. Interiors are contemporary and modular-like, offset by warm wood.

Superior rooms are on the middle level overlooking the garden, the Clérigos Tower, and downtown Porto from a small sitting balcony. Interiors are peaceful, spare and simple.

Superior Plus rooms are at the back of the top level, with garden, Clérigos tower and Old Town views and a spare, Zen-like ambiance with wood beams crossing white ceilings and a soothing sleep space.

The stay includes daily breakfast.

Around

Tucked into a residential street in central Porto, equidistant from the cathedral and the landmark São Bento Station, the property stands in the UNESCO-classified center of medieval Porto. Narrow neighboring streets extend in a tight pinwheel around the inn, and it doesn’t get much more central than this, with the Clérigos Tower visible from the windows, the cathedral practically next door, and the Luis I Bridge nearby as well. The Douro River is a quick walk away, and the area is also home to vintage boutiques, vinyl shops, and artists’ studios. Look up, as always in a European urban area, and take in the many balconies and architectural accents overhead. This being Porto, also pay special attention to the tiles covering the facades. Some azulejos date from the 13th century, when the Moors occupied the area, bringing with them the decorative ceramic tradition. The Douro River winds through the city, and flows into the Atlantic, crossed by the impressive Ponte Dom Luis I Bridge, and the Douro is plied by boats both ancient and modern, including the picturesque barges stacked with barrels destined for the city’s Port producers.

Porto’s historical center is a UNESCO World Heritage Classified Site encompassing the medieval heart of the city within 14th-century Romanesque walls. Streets here are long and winding, with ornately patterned, tiled buildings as well as steep staircases left from medieval days. Not to be missed in Porto is Vila Nova de Gaia, the port wine cellars and producers located on the waterfront on the riverbank opposite Porto’s Old Town. For an easy beach day outside the city center, head to Matosinhos to catch some waves. Buy the daily catch or wander the sands of Espinho, long lazy stretches ideal for sunbathing or beach jogging.

Location

Nearest airport: Porto (15 miles)

Best time to visit

April to October