Five cocktails you have to try in Porto

If you’re searching for the perfect place for a sundowner, look no further. Take the lift to the seventeenth floor of the Hotel Dom Henrique, in the Baixa, and settle in at the bar with a panoramic view over the city. Ask for the cocktail list and try one of their many house mixed drinks. If in doubt, we recommend a 17º Downtown, made with cognac, mandarine napoléon, orange bitters, champagne and orange juice. Price €11.

If a bar in a garden sounds good, then it’s extra points for a bar in a garden in the centre of Porto, right next to the Torre dos Clérigos, especially if it has cold mojitos always ready to go. There are also white and red wines, sangria, cider, beer and gin, and Base is expert at refreshing punters with caipirinhas, daiquiris and mojitos – classic or passionfruit. Price €6.

Creamy and with a splendid citrus smoothness: that’s Terraplana’s Contrabandista. It’s one of eight cocktails on the list at this bar, and is made with a premium London gin (Sipsmith), sweet-and-sour Campari, Martini Rosso and egg white. It’s crowned with orange peel prepared with rosemary and sugar caramelised with Grand Marnier liqueur. Price €10.50.

This place boasts 60 cocktails – classics, house specials, with and without alcohol – but we ended up falling for the Porno Star. It has vanilla-infused vodka, passionfruit liqueur and purée, a squeeze of lemon juice and – the cherry on top, so to speak – half a passionfruit bobbing about in it. On the side is a shot of sparkling cava, to alternate sips with your cocktail and offset the sweetness. Price €8.50.

Conceição 35 is a lesbian- and gay-friendly place that serves great whisky, vodka, rum and gin cocktails. With rum in particular currently having a bit of a moment, we’d go for mango daiquiri, made with rum, mango pulp, lemon juice, lime and mint leaf. From 4pm to 8pm it’s happy hour – each drink comes with a tapa mini-snack. Price €8.