When my girlfriend and I were planning our trip to Porto she stumbled upon the Porto.arte apartments completely by chance. Since we have only ever stayed in B&B's before we were a little hesitant about renting an apartment for a week.

We arrived by taxi late on the first night and the owners had stayed up to meet us and to show us around. We had the ground floor apartment of the building. It had a quirky layout but it was one we quickly got used to with lots of gorgeous antique furniture (the couple who owned and ran the apartments ran an antique shop over the road). The main rooms were large, airy and well kept. The little things like washing up liquid in the kitchen and soaps and toilet rolls in the bathrooms were waiting for us along with a basket of fruit, teabags and biscuits on the dining table. Though we never used it, the room had access to a communal garden at the rear and via a general use passageway which had a table of guides and maps that were available to everyone. There was also a communal laundry and drying space.

The apartments are far enough from the city to escape the noise but close enough to access easily and quickly. The Torre de Clerigos and the bars near the university buildings were about a 15 minute walk away. The apartments are within easy reach of a tram stop which runs all the way to the beach at the mouth of the Douro.

We really loved our stay in Porto.arte and I cannot recommend it enough to anyone wanting to experience the wonderful city of Porto.

Maria's appartment is very cozy, new and very nicely decorated. It is perfect for two people and a small weekend or a longer stay. Maria and her husband were more than helpful at our arrival, flexible with chek-out time and offered to be reachable by phone during our stay in case we needed anything.
The appartment has a very nice patio, where spend some time in open air.
It is also very well situated, near a lot of art galleries and some nice restaurants, not in the most turistic area but close enough.