We were eager to explore all the things to do in Porto Portugal.
We visited Lisbon, Cascais, Sintra, Fatima in Portugal, and Porto was much expected. Porto wine was one of the reasons. We also had a food tour in Lisbon.
Driving there from Lisbon was a comfortable and pleasant experience. It is a 3 hours drive, which is not too much when you consider all the beautiful places you see along the way.
Porto, Portugal, is smaller than Lisbon, but it takes quite some time (days) to explore it thoroughly. It is a city to walk through and stop now and then to have a good look at the surroundings.
You won’t see numerous architectural marvels, but the overall local color, tastes, and wine and promenades are great “soul food”.
Portugal seems somewhat relevant to the Spanish culture, but also it is not. From music to foods to architecture, all seem a bit familiar but also very different.
For us, Porto was the final destination on that trip in Portugal and a nice “closure”. Portugal needs further exploration, though, and we plan to go back.
Enjoy our experience and let us know if you’ve been there.
The Things To Do in Porto Portugal
One of the first things is to find a parking spot. We drove to Porto, and finding a place to leave our car was not easy.
Eventually, we decided to drop it in a paid parking station, which seemed instead cost affordable, only 0.5 euros per 15 minutes for 6 hours.
The parking was near Porto center, and that allowed us to dive into Porto history.
The best thing to do in your Porto itinerary is to start from the top of the city (near Clerigos Tower), towards Gaia, Porto.
In that way, you can explore all the intermediate sights, drift around the beautiful streets with colorful houses and end up to both sides of the harbor for the dining options, museums, wineries, and chestnut delicacies!
The Porto Historical Center received the status of the Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 1996.
Other World Heritage sites in Portugal are: The Historic Center of Guimarães, the Alto Douro Vinhateiro (Alto Douro Vineyards), and the Vale do Côa (Côa Valley).
Visit the Clerigos Tower
Pretty cool name, I know. Sounds like something from Game of Thrones, but not related at all. You can visit the tower, the museum, and the adjusting church.
All are related to the Brotherhood of Clerics. The overall architectural complex is considered a National Monument. The tower is the most iconic thing in Porto and can be seen from various points of Porto.
The museum is related to exhibits from the daily life of the Brotherhood. It hosts permanent and contemporary exhibitions all related to religious aspects.
Clerigos tower opening hours: All days, 9 am – 7 pm
Clerigos tower entrance fee: General entrance €3 (the church is free)
Walk Around the City
As usual, you learn about a place in 2 ways: walking around and eating around.
We like both but tend to walk a lot and take breaks every few hours, sitting in small cafes or anything that attracts our sight as “interesting”.
Porto is a city you will like to walk through if you don’t have an issue with uphill roads. Parking near Clerigos allows you to move downhill slowly.
You can always take a cab or a bus to get back if you feel too tired (or too drunk from all the Porto wine).
The city has nicely colored buildings with typical no-balconies architecture. The grass here seems to be way too bright green.
There are plenty of stone-paved, no-car, streets where people sit and enjoy the sunshine, wine, and “attractive” plates of cheese and meat.
Watch out for the tram, though, as it swirls through narrow streets, and you may walk on one of them.
Visit The Soares dos Reis National Museum
If you want to visit one Museum to get the essence of Porto, then this museum is your best option. It is the most prominent museum in Porto. The museum now resides inside the Carrancas Palace, the country’s oldest palace.
There are plenty of artifacts related to ceramics, sculpture, engravings, jewelry, furniture, paintings, textiles, and glassware.
The most impressive collection is that of António Soares dos Reis, a Portuguese sculptor born in 1847. As you assumed, the museum was named after the artist!
Opening hours: All days, except Monday, from 10 am to 6 pm
Ticket fee: €5 for adults and half the price for owners of Porto Card and youth card, seniors over 65 years old, and youth between 15 and 25 years old
Dine or take a break at Ribeira Square
That is the most public square in Porto. Praça da Ribeira is included in the historical center of Porto.
It is a rendezvous point for locals, next to the riverside (riverside is Ribeira in Portuguese).
There are lots of restaurants here, and a whole riverside is a promenade place, so people walk up and down merely enjoying their walk.
Visit One of the Best Wineries of Porto, Portugal
All the wineries worth visit are on the Gaia side of Porto.
We visited one that was immediately after the lower bridge that connects Porto with Gaia: The Burmester Winery.
This is a visiting winery, offering an informative tour of how Porto wine was conceived and why it is different from regular table wines.
On top of that, you get to taste 2 to 4 different Porto wines. You choose which option you want and pay for that with your ticket fee.
You guessed, right. We took the 4 per person option.
Why Porto wine has that different taste
A day before, we tasted some Porto wine in Lisbon, and we were surprised by how tasteful and robust it was. It was close to the taste of brandy/cognac than wine.
Through that winery tour, a sommelier explained why this is the very essence of Porto wine and how it became like that.
Porto wine was a regular table wine at first, still with its varieties depending on the “terroirs” and year and ways of production.
However, Porto was also shipped to other countries like the United Kingdom and France.
Trips back then took months to complete.
That led to losing part of the production due to trip circumstances, weather, storage, and the constant movement of the ship. To cope with some of the reasons that allowed the wine to go wrong, wineries had to find a way to make the wine last longer and become more durable.
Do you guess what they did? They added brandy and also increased alcohol.
That changed the wine quite a bit. It became an intense “wine” that -when you taste it- feels sweeter and stronger.
Well, we landed that too, through tasting four different varieties each along with some chocolate to “clean the palate”. We got pleasantly dizzy fast.
It was terrific how delicious wines were. Each glass of white rose, black, was equally enjoyable. You could literally “taste the quality” of that wine.
We highly recommend visiting one or more of the wineries. Another one -recommended by friends who visited Porto- is the Sandeman winery.
Get a Tram Ride
That is a pleasant way to experience a big part of Porto. The iconic old-stylish tram is a standard method of moving around in Porto.
They go through many of the landmarks of the city, and you can skip lots of uphill walking.
Get on Top of Vila Nova de Gaia
There is the city of Porto, and then you can get across to Gaia. As said, all the worth visiting wineries are on that side, plus to enjoy the view towards Porto side.
When you go up, go head to the belvedere, next to the bridge. There you can sit at one of the stone benches and enjoy the view.
No need to take the cable car if you want to walk all the way uphill. It is a nice walk, but we thought of it as a small waste of time, as the view from the top is what is matters.
From there, you can get in as much of Porto as you can, as you see all the buildings and most of the by-the-sea neighborhoods.
Walk the Dom Luís I Bridge
Leaving the top of Gaia, you walk through the highest point of Dom Luís I Bridge (Luís I Bridge).
That is a double-deck metal arch bridge over the river Douro that connects Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia When it was built it was the largest in the world.
At the end of the bridge, you are back into Porto, and you can explore the upper part of the city.
Taste the October Chestnuts of Porto
Walk the Gaia Riverside! Watch the small decorated with barrels ships along the pier.
Many will do the same as it is an excellent way to admire the opposite side overseeing Porto harbor while tasting some chestnuts.
That is one delicacy you must not skip. Many small sellers roast chestnuts on coal stoves on the spot.
With 3 euros for a dozen of chestnuts, you get some guaranteed culinary satisfaction. No worries about the chestnut outer shells.
You get your chestnuts in a dual bag, where one is to place the shells. Bright and straightforward.
Dare to Taste the Francesinha Sandwich
We double dare you to taste the most iconic and characteristic food of Porto.
That is a variation of a French toast, filled in with five or more types of meat, covered and grilled in cheese, and finally served dipped into a “secret sauce”.
That is the Francesinha sandwich!
Each shop here claims to have its “own secret sauce” recipe. However, beer is the base for that sauce.
I, Chris, called that sandwich as The “Smelly” Sandwich. The smell was way too strong for me. It could be the beer or the type of cheese, or maybe all the combination of the above.
Paradoxically Maria liked it! She ate all of it. Anyway, you have to taste it to know.
The Porto Cathedral
A Roman Catholic church and a religious edifice in Porto also declared a National Monument. The building looks like a fortress.
It took quite a while to build it, that is why you will notice a series of different architectural styles in its structure.
Is There a Porto Beach?
Porto is not famous for its beaches, besides the fact that it is next to the coast. However, in a close distance, there are some famous beaches.
The closest one is Praia do Carneiro and Matosinhos beach.
Guided Tours in and around Porto
If you prefer someone to plan your day(s) in Porto, then you can check these guided tours for ideas.
- Porto & Wine Cellar tours (157 options)
- Porto & Douro Valley Tours (31 options)
- Porto Hop-on (9 options)
Where to Stay in Porto, Portugal?
The best areas to stay in Porto are the districts of Ribeira and Baixa/Sé. In case you prefer a more “business-like” neighborhood, then Boavista is your case.
Finally, the scenic wineries district, Vila Nova de Gaia, has some excellent hotels for romantic couples.
Where to stay in Porto: In Ribeira
Ribeira is part of the historical center of Porto. Colorful houses and the riverside make a beautiful ensemble for this district that was also the heart of medieval Porto, now a Unesco World Heritage monument.
Lots of bars and restaurants, not only at the riverside but also along the narrow streets.
Some good options to check for accommodation in Ribeira district are Pestana Vintage Hotel, 1872 River House, InPatio Guest House, Oporto Loft, 4* Hotel Porto River Condo Hotel.
Where to Stay in Porto: The Sé and Baixa
To experience some of the oldest and most atmospheric streets of Porto, this is the place. The Porto’s ancient cathedral is also here, above the river Douro as well as the Paco Episcopal (the palace of the bishops of Porto).
You may hear of São Bento train station. You guessed it right; you will find it here too.
Baixa, on the other hand, has plenty of interesting landmarks, like Torre dos Clérigos. The Igreja do Carmo is famous for its azulejos tiles.
If you like Harry Potter then the most famous bookstore in Europe is here. The Livraria Lello is the place where JK Rowling received inspiration for her Harry Potter books.
Check prices for accommodation in Sé and Baixa districts: Intercontinental Porto – Palácio das Cardosas, Flores Village & Spa, B The Guest Downtown.
Where to Stay in Boavista in Porto, Portugal
Some excellent options are Sheraton Porto – Hotel & Spa, Porto Palácio – Congress, Hotel & Spa, Hotel da Música.
Where to stay in Vila Nova de Gaia in Porto, Portugal
You already read our experiences in the Gaia part of Porto, so you are for sure, staying in an exciting place. Gaia is the part we described, plus the actual Gaia living area, which is more than the landmarks and Luis bridge.
Great places to check-in Gaia for accommodation are The Yeatman, Reis de Gaia, Charm Guesthouse.
How to Get to Porto, Portugal
There is an airport near Porto (Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport), so that is an option in case you want to start your trip in Portugal from Porto. It is 11km from the city center. Check for prices early from here.
In case you are staying in Lisbon or somewhere between Porto and Lisbon, there are different options, train included.
Lisbon to Porto train: Travel time is around 3 hours (same with driving with a car) with the quickest route being around 2.30 mins.
The train leaves at 06:00, but there are around 30 train departures in total between Lisbon and Porto (15 per destination and about every 45 minutes). All trains for Porto depart from Santa Apolonia Train Station (final stop of the Blue Metro Line). In Porto, the train stops at Porto’s Campanha station. Check this site for European Rail Travel.
Drive with your car: If you want to drive from Lisbon to Porto, it will take you around 3 hours, but you have the option to visit more places along the way. The highway is straightforward to navigate and in excellent condition. Renting a car in Portugal is not expensive at all. We found the lowest rental fee compared to many other European countries, booking through a famous company. Tolls are around 30 euros in total.
Bus from Lisbon to Porto: Numerous coaches do the route between Porto and Lisbon. Prices are similar to train services, but make sure you book ahead.
Well, we believe you got an excellent idea about the things to do in Porto, Portugal and how to plan your stay there.
Let us know how it worked out for you.
Have fun.
A great article. I want to talk.