Porto is buzzing downtown. That's where most people want to buy an apartment. And the charms along the waterfront from the Douro River to the sea remain unchanged. It’s there that the most popular apartments for sale in Foz do Douro and the apartments overlooking the city park are concentrated, and that’s where many are looking for new villas in Porto.
But in 2012, a couple from Porto decided to buy a ruined warehouse in Campanhã, the easternmost part of Porto and until then underestimated. She has a degree in Philosophy; he has a degree in Mathematics; both are passionate about photography. They wanted a space where they could give way to the art of image, summoning artists, promoting exhibitions, spreading culture. The neighbours welcomed Manuela Matos Monteiro and João Lafuente with open arms, but could not disguise the strangeness of the geographical choice. Why would they want to open a gallery in a place where almost no one passed by?
But that couple fell in love with Miraflor Street and soon after bought another centenary warehouse there. And then another one. And another afterwards. This is how Espaço Mira was born, an art gallery mainly linked to photography. And right at the first exhibition, the newspaper Público announced: "Bonfim and Campanhã: nothing has been discovered to the east of Porto". That was the title of a news story that would become completely visionary. Today, the story of Manuela and João is widely known, has been told several times and, above all, has been imitated by hundreds of people. They are even spoken of abroad. And it's from abroad that more and more people arrive to find what they thought was lost forever: a simple life in the middle of the city.
In 2019, the parishes of Campanhã and Bonfim, which live side by side, are completely rehabilitated and have become the most popular territory for those who have any connection to the arts, but also for those seeking an identity that tends to be lost in large urban centres. Fish shops, butchers, fruit shops, fresh bread, street shops and traditional restaurants mix there, as nowhere else, with art galleries, architectural studios, alternative corners, performing arts spaces, music studios, designer restaurants and organic food cafés. It is also the ideal area for those looking for large properties, 4-bedroom apartments or 3-bedroom apartments, or even old houses to recover. Because it's all happening there, but there's still room and, above all, opportunities that are already scarce in other parts of the city. Since Bonfim is an old industrial area, it is full of factories to rehabilitate. Architects have a new weakness for these spaces and are turning ancient warehouses into real works of art to live in.
This new neighborhood is right next to downtown, but there is neither the confusion nor the traffic there. It has the same charm and the same cultural adrenaline, which will be catapulted very soon, when the slaughterhouse begins to be rebuilt there, an anchor equipment of the city designed by the Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, the same one that designed the New National Stadium of Tokyo. The project, which covers 20,000 square metres, will set aside around a third for cultural and leisure spaces. And it will make the parishes of Bonfim and Campanhã an even better place to buy an apartment in Porto.
In addition, this area also benefits from three rare qualities: it has the green lung of the gardens and woods of Quinta Nova Sintra (a breathtaking place overlooking the Douro River, sprinkled with historical sources that were recovered from various parts of the city and valued with public art, such as the recent bronze sculpture "Self Portrait Fountain", specially designed for that place by Julião Sarmento), it has free parking on almost every street and the underground is right at the door. As if it wasn’t enough, it is within walking distance of almost everything, including the city centre.
If you are looking for villas for sale in Porto, you must visit the parishes of Bonfim and Campanhã. Ask for the professional help of a prestigious real estate agency such as LUXIMOS Christie's International Real Estate and get a better understanding of why these parishes concentrate the best investments you can make right now.
