Porto welcomes its visitors with the best of its rich cuisine. It is placed in an exceptional location, on the banks of the Duero and bathed by the Atlantic Ocean. That favours that in Porto you can eat good seafood, taste the best wines and delight your assorted pastries.

You can find restaurants to suit all tastes and all pockets. You can eat very well for only 5 € in its houses of meals, or in Michelin-starred restaurants, like The Yeatman.

One thing to consider when you sit in a restaurant is that the appetizer being served first, and without asking, is not a present. It has to be paid. This leads sometimes to misunderstandings.

Also, it's common to start a meal at any restaurant with a soup, preparing rich and in many different ways.

One of the areas with more choice of restaurants is Ribeira. It is a very lively place, from which you have the best views over the city. Here you can come to eat the grilled octopus or cod Chez Lapin and "Guts Oporto" da Filha da Mãe Preta.

In the Rua de Aviz there were many of the bookstores in the city. Today it is a hive of trends. Among the new art galleries we found the Book restaurant, where once was sited Livraria Aviz. You will see that all around this place reminds its past as a library.

Wine tourism is one of the best options for the city and its delicacies. To do this it is advisable to cross to the other side of the river, where we can find wineries like Vila Nova de Gai. On this side of the river you can also taste many recipes for cod, which are so famous throughout Portugal, El Bacalhoeiro (Avenida Diogo Leite, 74).

The Café Santiago has a good reputation in serving the best francesinhas, one classic of Oporto´s cuisine. You know that it is true when you see the big queues at their gates in order to get one in Rua Passos Manuel 226. Francesinha is a slice of bread filled with different types of sausage and meat, and covered with melted cheese and bathed in hot sauce. You can imagine that with these kind of ingredients it is a very heavy dish that will fill you with lots of energy; even more if you accompany it, as usual, with a few chips and a cold beer.

In order to know what products are popular in Porto, approach the Bolhao market. It was built in 1914, and it is one of the emblematic buildings to live day by day of tripeiros (gutties). Curious adjective, right? Citizens of Oporto are know tripeiros because, during preparations for the conquest of Ceuta in 1415, they had to turn to the issue all the meat and keep only the gut. Now, as tripas à moda do Porto is in the dish in town!

Francesinha by jfcfar| Tripas a moda do Porto by MariaCartas

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One of the most representative meals in Viennese gastronomy is wiener schnitzel (or Viennese escalope). In fact, is the national food, even is originally from Austria, actually.

Is a common recipe in many countries: in Spain is known as San Jacobo or cachopo, also seen as the Japanese tonkatsu, the Argentinian escalope or the Italian cotoletta, among other examples.

The origin has become an intense debate among culinary historians. Most of the agree to point the origin in Spain, where it was introduced by Arab traders, who already covered meat on bread during the Middle Age.

Then we have the legend, which says it was imported from the Italian "costoletta milanesa" by marshal Joseph Radetzky, who sent the recipe to Franz Joseph I of Austria. They said he liked it so much that he incoroporate it to the Austrian gastronomy under the name of winer schnitzel.

Therefore, many countries claim the origin. This happens often for any new invention even sometimes, what happens is that it appears in different countries simultaneously, a each country looks for old gastronomy books to claim the origin.

However, there’s no doubt that is a delicious and crunchy dish, wanted by any tourists that arrives in the city.

To prepare it, a thin slice of veal is softened with a mallet, then is dipped in flour, egg and breadcrumbs, and finally fried in butter. It’s served with potatoes, salad and lemon slices and seasoned with vinaigrette.

Generally, these dishes are easy to cook and delicious, but not so glamorous. That’s not the case with schnitzel, presented as an haute cuisine specialty. It might be because of the elegant way Viennese people cooks it.

Even the veal is the main ingredient for the classic version of this dish, pigmeat is often used and is more popular. There is also a version made of chicken or a veggie made of tofu, seitan or soy.

In Vienna you can try this meal anywhere in the city centre. This is a list with some of our favorites so you don’t leave the city without trying the Viennese schnitzel.

Figlmüller
Wollzeile 5, | Bäckerstraße 6, Vienna

Schnitzelwirt
Neubaugasse 52, Vienna

Gasthaus Poschl
Weihburggasse 17, 1010, Vienna

Strandcafé Wien
Florian-Berndl-Gasse 2,1220, Vienna

Café Einstein
Rathausplatz 4, 1010 Vienna

There is not only wiener schnitzel in Austria gastronomy. Even it’s a little country, it has a long culinary tradition, mixing many European specialties. You shouldn’t miss a chance to try more typical dishes like tafelspitz (boiled beef), milling trout (Forelle nach Müllerin Art), Kaiserschmarrn (sweet), Palatschinken (Crêpes), Apfelstrudel (apple cake) or Sacher cake. Yummy!

Picture by Kobako

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By Laia Zieger from gastronomistas

Breakfast or Brunch at the Maison Dandoy

Opened in 1829, Maison Dandoy is one of the oldest pastry shops in the city. To go with an exquisite cup of hot chocolate, you can choose from an endless range of local sweet delicacies; large, light and crunchy Brussels Waffles, or the sweeter, softer Liege variety, Speculaas biscuits flavoured with cinnamon and other spices, Sablés (butter biscuits) and ‘Greek Style Bread’; a baguette sprinkled with cane sugar.
Rue Charles Buls, 14 - Bruxelles

For lunch, make your way to Chez Lola

Fashionable, contemporary and cosmopolitan, Chez Lola serves international dishes made with local, market ingredients. Standouts include cold roast beef served with homemade mayonnaise, foie gras and bouchée à la reine; puff pastry bathed in béchamel and studded with small pieces of different meats, mushrooms and snails. It’s worth noting that the menu always has a special section of dishes using in-season ingredients, be they asparagus, mussels or artichokes.
Place du Grand Sablon, 33 - Bruxelles

At the end of a perfect day, have dinner at La Taverne du Passage

The Galerie de la Reine, an old shopping arcade with a glass covered ceiling, is one of the city’s most emblematic spaces. Inside is this must-visit restaurant, whose menu is an ode to Belgium’s national cuisine. La Taverne du Passage’s décor, with it’s elegantly classical lines, and formal, white jacket and black bow-tie waiting staff, evoke another era or at least seem to have stepped out of a silent movie.

The specialities of La Taverne du Passage include (of course!) mussels with pomme frites (with various sauces to choose from) and prawn croquettes (probably the best in the city). But above all try the steak tartar. Prepared at the table with two teaspoons of homemade mayonnaise, this alone is worth your trip to Brussels.
Galerie de la Reine, 30 - Bruxelles

*And at any time of the day when hunger strikes, throw restraint out the window for a cone of pomme frites at Friterie du Café Georgette. Not your average chip, the potatoes are hand cut and fried the old fashioned way – in beef fat. They can be enjoyed with dozens of sauces at your disposal. 
Rue de la Fourche 37/39 - Bruxelles

For More Information: Tourist Office of Wallonia-Brussels

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When you picture Amsterdam, what inevitably springs to mind are its canals. As they traverse the city all over the place, you are bound to cross several bridges whenever you go for a stroll here. Any number of snapshots with you standing on bridges are also likely to feature among your holiday photos. The capital of Holland has over 100 canals, and the ones bounded by the Singelgracht canal were listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2010. But, do you know the story behind them?

The Origins

Amsterdam’s fabulous network of canals dates from the 17th century, when marked urban population growth sparked by the arrival of waves of immigrants required the city to be enlarged. At that time Amsterdam was one of the wealthiest cities in the world, thanks to the huge volume of goods from all over the planet that were moved in and out of its harbour.

The urban extension works were based on a plan that called for land to be reclaimed from the sea by draining the neighbouring marshes. Arranged in concentric circles, the canals were built in two stages. In the first stage, which lasted from 1613 to 1625, the north-west sector was laid. The Herengracht, Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht canals were earmarked for residential housing projects, while the encircling Singelgracht canal was designated for defence and water control works. During the second stage, which began in 1660, the southern sector starting from Leidsegracht was laid out.

For those who would like to learn more about the subject, we recommend you check out Museum Het Grachtenhuis, the museum dedicated to the canals of Amsterdam.

Boat Rides Along the Canals

Getting about the city by boating along the canals is a great way of sightseeing in Amsterdam. It also affords interesting views of the beautiful buildings lining the canals, prompting stopovers to visit some of the major landmarks, like the Rijksmuseum, the Rembrandt House Museum, the House of Anne Frank and the Bloemenmarkt (Flower Market) – where flowers are sold from stalls on houseboats – all from a new perspective. There are various options, from a classic tourist boat with audioguides in several languages to a full boat rental for a small group. One of the most magical moments for plying the canals is at dusk, with its amazing interplay of light, providing the best picture postcard views of the city.

Don’t miss the chance to enjoy Amsterdam and its canals – book your Vueling here.

Text by Los Viajes de ISABELYLUIS

Images by Per Salomonsson