We were recently in Portugal and spent a wonderful evening with 50,000 raving fans in Porto watching FC Porto beat a team I can’t remember. Singing, hollering, flag waving for 2 hours! And lots of whistling to show their displeasure. Also nice to see so many families attending as well.
Tickets were cheap and a short metro ride.
Highly recommended and we aren’t even fans!
I've also found that attending professional sports in foreign countries is a great cultural experience. Not so much about what's happening on the field, more about seeing how the locals conduct themselves. Personally, I highly recommend Japanese professional baseball (what a trip!). I'm hoping to check out a Hurling match in Ireland next summer.
Of course, do be careful at big football (soccer) matches (or any sport) where alcohol-fueled passions run high and fans (aka hooligans) may get out of control.
Agreed! We caught a Benfico Lisbon game in Sept. The enthusiasm is electric. Got swept into a group hug on the 2nd goal.
My husband dragged me to an Espanyol game vs Atletico Madrid...I have to say I loved it!
From the train ride to walking with the fans, drinking beer outside and chanting on the way to the game, to watching them beat Madrid!
This Feb. we will be attending a game in Bruges (vs Ghent) should be fun...freezing but fun!
Been to Dragon Stadium in Porto a bunch of times to see matches. It was built in 2003 and as stadiums go it's an architectural gem, and one of the best facilities in the world to see a sporting event.
I'm sure you are absolutely right -- except "cheap". I don't know about Porto -- a city and club with a long history in the top flight -- but many European tickets are very expensive if you can get them at all.
Our tickets were 15 euros each; sitting at bottom of top tier at top edge of penalty area so decent. The cheapest were 12 but sold out.
To us that was a cheap night of entertainment!
Fifteen euros for a top-division team is astonishingly cheap by English, German, Spanish or Italian standards.
I have not been to a match in the UK or Germany, but one can find some pretty good deals on tickets in Spain, even for the first division, I definitely wouldn't characterize them as expensive.
For example, tickets for next's week's FC Barcelona match vs Cultural Leonesa (from Leon) at Camp Nou start at 9 € (south goal seats). Lateral seats close to the pitch go for 15 €. While the norm for the top clubs in Spain is around 40-60 €, it is not uncommon to see decent tickets go for 15 - 25 € for FC Barcelona or Real Madrid games.
I commend it too! Visiting any local festive or activities have you had a feeling of being hyped to your visit experiences and is a great souvenir, making you feel you're part of them. I had one experience too as you did and it was awesome! I met new friends and even hang out with them after the game. Take note, I wasn't even a fan of whom they're cheering on or even on the enemy!
We went to a soccer game in Florence back in 2011. This was our first trip to Italy and our first experience with Italian lines- there are none. After realizing that we were not making progress toward the ticket window, but everyone else was, we became a bit more assertive. But we thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
Passports are required to birth purchase tickets and get into the stadium.
Going to a match in Milan is on our bucket list while living here.
I agree - I love attending sporting events when I travel. I have seen soccer matches in Barcelona, Berlin, and Mexico City. When I am in London at the end of March, my friend and I will be going to an Arsenal match at Emirates Stadium, which should be a lot of fun.
Seeing sights is great, but some of my best travel memories are experiences like sports!
