ARCA exterior 2

©Emily McAuliffe/Lonely Planet

ARCA Pub

Aliados & Bolhão

LoginSave

ARCA is a groovy pub on the fringe of Porto’s tourist centre that’s well worth a venture. In contrast to Porto’s many artisanal bars offering Portuguese brews, the ARCA crowd decided to pull together a drinks menu focusing on international beers, British organic cider, and vodka from Poland, Russia and the Ukraine (served icy cold from the freezer).

The bar is quaint and cosy with an artsy, industrial look, and while many of Porto’s watering holes close on Sunday or Monday, ARCA's doors are open seven days a week.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • Decorated interior of church museum of Saint Francis (Igreja de Sao Francisco) in Porto, Portugal. architecture, art, baroque, belief, catholic, church, construction, convent, decoration, destination, district, europe, famous, former, francis, franciscan, francisco, gothic, heritage, historic, historical, igreja, interior, landmark, leading, lines, monument, old, ornamental, orthodox, pattern, porto, portugal, portuguese, religion, ribeira, rich, romantic, saint, sao, site, symmetrical, symmetry, tourism, traditional, travel, urban, view, vintage, wealth, wealthy, world

    Igreja de São Francisco

    0.65 MILES

    Igreja de São Francisco looks from the outside to be an austerely Gothic church, but inside it hides one of Portugal’s most dazzling displays of baroque…

  • PORTO, PORTUGAL - AUGUST 22, 2013: Art deco villa in Serralves Gardens in the city of Porto, Portugal; Shutterstock ID 335447633; Your name (First / Last): Josh Vogel; GL account no.: 56530; Netsuite department name: Online Design; Full Product or Project name including edition: Digital Content/Sights

    Serralves

    2.41 MILES

    This fabulous cultural institution combines a museum, a mansion and extensive gardens. Cutting-edge exhibitions, along with a fine permanent collection…

  • Se Cathedral in Porto, Portugal

    Sé

    0.55 MILES

    From Praça da Ribeira rises a tangle of medieval alleys and stairways that eventually reach the hulking, hilltop fortress of the cathedral. Founded in the…

  • National Museum Soares dos Reis located in the ancient Carrancas Palace, in Porto, Portugal; Shutterstock ID 233117197; Your name (First / Last): Josh Vogel; GL account no.: 56530; Netsuite department name: Online Design; Full Product or Project name including edition: Digital Content/Sights

    Museu Nacional Soares dos Reis

    0.39 MILES

    Porto's best art museum presents a stellar collection ranging from Neolithic carvings to Portugal’s take on modernism, all housed in the formidable…

  • Porto, Portugal - August 25, 2020: Nations Courtyard at Stock Exchange Palace in Porto, Portugal. 1439431854 attraction, building, central, commercial, culture, dome, exchange, historic, historical, indoor, inner, interior, landmark, nations, octagonal, palacio da bolsa, patio das nacoes, porto, portuguese, stock, stock exchange

    Palácio da Bolsa

    0.62 MILES

    This splendid neoclassical monument (built from 1842 to 1910) honours Porto’s past and present money merchants. Just past the entrance is the glass-domed…

  • Jardins do Palacio de Cristal, Porto, Portugal ; Shutterstock ID 233117089; Your name (First / Last): Josh Vogel; GL account no.: 56530; Netsuite department name: Online Design; Full Product or Project name including edition: Digital Content/Sights

    Jardins do Palácio de Cristal

    0.58 MILES

    Sitting atop a bluff, this gorgeous botanical garden is one of Porto's best-loved escapes, with lawns interwoven with sun-dappled paths and dotted with…

  • JUNE 7, 2015: exterior of the House of Music concert hall (Portuguese: Casa da Musica) in Porto, designed by Rem Koolhaas. 1013813857 contemporary, street, blue, sky, architecture, auditorium, building, casa da musica, city, classical, colorful, concert, cultural, culture, design, europe, exterior, hall, house of music, landmark, leisure, modern, music, opera, porto, portugal, portuguese, scene, shape, site, theater, tour, tourism, town, travel, trip, urban, view, vivid

    Casa da Música

    1.02 MILES

    At once minimalist, iconic and daringly imaginative, the Casa da Música is the beating heart of Porto's cultural scene and the home of the Porto National…

  • Detail of Sao Bento Train station in Oporto. The first train arrived here in 1896, but the building (designed with a French Renaissance touch) opened in 1903.; Shutterstock ID 7016608; Your name (First / Last): Josh Vogel; GL account no.: 56530; Netsuite department name: Online Design; Full Product or Project name including edition: Digital Content/Sights

    São Bento Train Station

    0.39 MILES

    One of the world's most beautiful train stations, beaux arts São Bento wings you back to a more graceful age of rail travel. Completed in 1903, it seems…

View more attractions

Nearby Aliados & Bolhão attractions

1. Igreja das Carmelitas

0.21 MILES

Blink and you might miss that this is a church in its own right, snuggled as close as it is to the Igreja do Carmo. The twin churches are separated only…

2. Igreja do Carmo

0.21 MILES

Dating to the late 18th century, this captivating azulejo-covered church is one of Porto’s best examples of rococo architecture. The tiled panel on the…

3. Livraria Lello

0.24 MILES

Ostensibly a bookshop, but even if you’re not after books, don’t miss this exquisite 1906 neo-Gothic confection, with its lavishly carved plaster…

4. Avenida dos Aliados

0.27 MILES

Lined with bulging, beaux arts facades and capped by the stately câmara municipal (municipal council), this avenida recalls grand Parisian imitators such…

5. Igreja dos Clérigos

0.3 MILES

Nicolau Nasoni designed the Igreja dos Clérigos, with its theatrical facade and un­usual, oval-shaped nave, resembling a Fabergé egg due to its dusky pink…

6. Torre dos Clérigos

0.31 MILES

Sticking out on Porto's skyline like a sore thumb – albeit a beautiful baroque one – this 76m-high tower was designed by Italian-born baroque master…

7. Jardim da Cordoaria

0.33 MILES

This pleasantly leafy park is known simply as ‘Cordoaria’. Check out the four haunting sculptures by Spain's Juan Muñoz. The romantic, narrow lanes that…

8. Rua de São Bento da Vitória

0.37 MILES

With its cobblestones polished smooth by centuries of shoe leather, and pretty tiled houses with little wrought-iron balconies and window boxes brimming…