Porto rises in granite terraces from the north bank of the Douro, a few kilometres before the river reaches the Atlantic, and its historic centre, the Luís I bridge and the Serra do Pilar monastery across the water have been on UNESCO's list since 1996. The Portugal page covers the moments most visitors come for: the Ribeira at golden hour, the six-bridges cruise, Livraria Lello, the tiles of São Bento station, a francesinha at Café Santiago, the port lodges of Gaia and the São João night.
This page is the rest. The old centre between the cathedral, the Clérigos and the Bolsa is compact but steep. The Baixa around Avenida dos Aliados and the Bolhão market is the flatter shopping centre. West, Boavista holds the Casa da Música and Serralves, and the river road runs out to Foz and the ocean, with Matosinhos and its fish grills just beyond.
Climb the narrow stone spiral of Porto's granite spire to a balcony with the city all around you.
What it is
The Clérigos Tower marks Porto's skyline, built between 1754 and 1763 by the Italian architect Nicolau Nasoni as the bell tower of his Baroque Clérigos church. From the top you see the Ribeira roofs, the cathedral on its hill, the Douro and the port lodges of Gaia.
How to do it
The day ticket, valid from 9:00 to 19:00, costs €10, or €7 for students with ID, and covers the tower and the brotherhood's museum; last entry is 30 minutes before closing. At Easter, in summer and at Christmas, a €5 night ticket opens the tower from 19:00 to 23:00. Book a time on the official calendar in high season.
Good to know
Porto Card holders get 50% off the day ticket, and a €25 combined ticket adds the Bolsa palace tour.
End a guided tour of Porto's stock exchange in the Arab Room, built from 1862 to 1880 with the Alhambra as its model.
What it is
Porto's merchants laid the first stone in October 1842, on the ruins of the São Francisco convent cloister burned during the civil war, after the old exchange closed and left traders doing business in the open. The tour starts in the Hall of Nations, the old trading floor, under an iron-and-glass dome ringed by the arms of Portugal and the countries it traded with in the 19th century, and climbs the grand staircase of 1868.
How to do it
You can only see it on a guided tour: 30 minutes, in Portuguese, English, Spanish or French, with the time and language assigned at the ticket office in order of arrival, from 9:00 to 18:30.
Good to know
Arrive early, since the language of your tour depends on the order of arrival.
See the gilded interior and catacombs of São Francisco
Infante (Ribeira)
About 1 hourNo booking needed
Step from a plain Gothic exterior into an interior where almost every surface is carved wood coated in gold leaf.
What it is
The Franciscans built São Francisco, beside the Bolsa, between 1383 and about 1425, and it is the best example of Gothic architecture in Porto. The talha dourada went on in the first half of the 18th century: walls, pillars, side chapels and the roof. The visit continues next door in the Dispatch House of the Third Order of St Francis, now a museum with a Baroque interior, and down into the catacombs, where members and benefactors of the order were buried in the 18th and 19th centuries and a glass panel in the floor shows the bones packed below.
How to do it
Allow an hour, and pair it with the Bolsa tour next door.
Good to know
Look for the Tree of Jesse altarpiece, Christ's genealogy carved as a gilded tree, and the Manueline chapel of St John the Baptist, built in the 1530s for the Carneiro family.
See the tiled cloister and terrace of Porto Cathedral
Terreiro da Sé
45 minutesNo booking needed
Stand on a broad stone terrace over the old town roofs, the Luís I bridge and the Serra do Pilar monastery across the river.
What it is
Porto Cathedral crowns the hill above the Ribeira, the oldest part of the city, and stands on the site of a chapel founded in 1108 by Henry of Burgundy, father of Portugal's first king. It is a fortress-like Romanesque church with two square towers, reworked in Gothic and Baroque times. The Terreiro da Sé outside is the view many come for.
How to do it
The church itself is usually free to enter; a separate ticket covers the Gothic cloister, whose walls were lined with blue-and-white azulejo panels in the 18th century, the chapter house, the treasury and the tower.
Good to know
From the terrace, walk down through the medieval lanes of the Barredo quarter to the Ribeira rather than retracing your steps.
See contemporary art and walk the park at Serralves
Serralves (Boavista)
Half a dayNo booking needed
Walk the woods, lawns and formal gardens of the Serralves park and its raised walkway through the canopy, reason enough to come.
What it is
Serralves is Porto's contemporary art foundation, on the western side of the city: a white museum building by the Porto architect Álvaro Siza, opened in 1999, set in a large park around the Casa de Serralves, a pink Art Deco villa. The walkway is the Treetop Walk; the villa itself was temporarily closed.
How to do it
Porto's tourism board lists the museum or the park, Treetop Walk included, at €12 each, or €20 for museum, park, Treetop Walk and the Manoel de Oliveira cinema house. It opens from 10:00, closing at 19:00 on weekdays and 20:00 at weekends in the longer season, an hour earlier the rest of the year.
Good to know
The free first Sunday morning is for Portugal residents only.
Shop the fresh stalls of a restored stone and iron market hall around an open courtyard, with small restaurants on the gallery above.
What it is
The Bolhão is Porto's main food market, in the Baixa, and it reopened on 15 September 2022 after four years of restoration. The fresh stalls fill the lower level: fish, fruit and vegetables, flowers, meat and cheese, with shops facing the streets outside.
How to do it
The market opens Monday to Friday from 8:00 to 20:00 and Saturday from 8:00 to 18:00; the restaurants stay open from 8:00 to midnight, Monday to Saturday, and the whole building is closed on Sundays. Bolhão metro station is next to it.
Good to know
In must30's view, come in the morning, when the stalls are full, buy cheese, ham and fruit for a picnic or for the Douro train, then go up to the gallery for lunch.
Ride a vintage tram along the Douro, under the Arrábida bridge, to the garden in Foz where the river meets the Atlantic.
What it is
Porto's trams go back to 1872, and a few historic lines still run with vintage cars. Line 1 is the one to ride: it leaves Infante, beside the São Francisco church on the Ribeira, and follows the north bank west to the Passeio Alegre garden, about 5 km on. The ride takes around 20 minutes.
How to do it
The fare costs more than an ordinary bus ticket, and the queue at Infante is longest in the morning. At Foz, walk out on the breakwater to the Felgueiras lighthouse, then follow the seafront Avenida do Brasil past the beaches and cafés. For the way back, line 18 runs from Passeio Alegre up to the Clérigos, or take a bus.
Good to know
On 23 June, the São João night, both lines stop early in the evening.
Hear a concert in a hall whose end walls are corrugated glass, so the city shows behind the stage.
What it is
Casa da Música, the concert hall that Rem Koolhaas designed for Porto, opened in 2005 on the Boavista roundabout: a faceted white concrete block. It is home to a symphony orchestra, a baroque orchestra and a choir, and the programme runs from classical to jazz and pop.
How to do it
See it at a concert if you can. Otherwise, the daily guided tours in Portuguese, Spanish, French and Italian leave at 11:00 and 15:00 and are sold only at the ticket office; English tours are booked online, where their times are confirmed. Tours cost €12 (€5 for ages 13 to 18, €9 with the Porto Card). Casa da Música metro station, served by most lines, is beside it, and Serralves is a short bus ride west.
Good to know
Which rooms you see depends on the day's rehearsals and events.
Look over the Douro from the Crystal Palace gardens
Jardins do Palácio de Cristal
1 hourFree
Look down on the Douro and towards the Arrábida bridge from the viewpoints of a 19th-century park planted with camellias.
What it is
The Jardins do Palácio de Cristal sit on a ridge above the Douro, west of the old centre, named after the iron-and-glass exhibition palace that stood here from 1865 until it was demolished in 1951; the domed pavilion in the middle replaced it. The viewpoints are on the southern edge. The gardens are about 15 minutes' walk from the Clérigos tower.
How to do it
Entry is free. Guidebooks give the hours as 8:00 to 21:00 from April to September and 8:00 to 19:00 from October to March.
Good to know
In must30's view, come late on a clear afternoon, then walk down to the river at Massarelos and catch the old tram 1, which follows the river to Foz.
Eat charcoal-grilled fish on the street grills of Matosinhos
Matosinhos (Rua Heróis de França)
A long lunchNo booking needed
Pick a fish from the day's catch and watch it go whole and salted onto a charcoal grill out on the pavement.
What it is
Matosinhos, the fishing port just north of the Douro mouth at the end of metro line A, is where Porto goes for grilled fish. On Rua Heróis de França and the streets around it, one restaurant follows another. The fish is sold by the kilo and served with boiled potatoes, olive oil and grilled peppers, with a cold vinho verde.
How to do it
Come at lunch, when the catch is freshest, and in summer for the sardines. Take metro line A to Matosinhos Sul; the street is about ten minutes' walk.
Good to know
In must30's view, ask the price per kilo before picking a large sea bass or turbot, since that is how the bill is built.
Join the crowd spilling into the street between two parallel lanes of bars behind the Clérigos, some in old Art Nouveau shopfronts.
What it is
Porto's nightlife is packed into a few blocks there. Rua da Galeria de Paris and the parallel Rua de Cândido dos Reis, which locals call the high street and the down street, are lined end to end with bars and small clubs. Part of the draw is the setting: several bars occupy old shopfronts and warehouses, one filled with shelves of old radios and toys, another a former bookshop playing jazz.
How to do it
It fills from around 23:00, above all from Thursday to Saturday. In must30's view, eat first and arrive after midnight, since Porto goes out late, and keep an eye on your belongings in the crowd.
Good to know
Plano B, at Cândido dos Reis 30, is the best-known club, with two dance floors and a lounge, open late from Thursday to Saturday.
About 50 minutes on a rabelo-style boat shows you Porto from the river, under six bridges and past the Ribeira.
What it is
The six-bridges cruise is the short version of the Douro: upriver under the Luís I, Infante, Maria Pia, São João and Freixo bridges, then back down past the Ribeira to the Arrábida, the bridge nearest the sea.
How to do it
Several companies sail it from the Ribeira quay and from the Gaia quay by the Luís I bridge. Departures run about every half hour from May to September and hourly in winter, so you usually pick a time at the pier rather than book days ahead. Sit on the open deck on the side facing Porto for the return leg.
Good to know
This is not the vineyard trip: the Douro Valley cruises go far upriver to Régua and Pinhão and take a full day.
Livraria Lello's forked wooden staircase rises to a carved gallery under a stained-glass window, and it is what everyone comes to see.
What it is
Livraria Lello opened at Rua das Carmelitas 144 in 1906. The stained-glass window is about eight metres long and carries the motto Decus in Labore. The ticket also covers the Manifesto Library.
How to do it
The shop has charged for entry since 2015. Buy on the official site, tickets.livrarialello.pt, rather than at the door; resellers add their own margin. It opens every day from 9:00 to 19:30. Take the photo of the staircase from the gallery looking down, then browse.
Good to know
Each ticket includes a voucher toward a book, so if you buy one inside, part of the entry comes back. Clérigos Tower is a two-minute walk if you want to stack the two.
Porto's knife-and-fork sandwich, meat under melted cheese and a near-boiling tomato-and-beer sauce, at one of its most cited cafés.
What it is
The francesinha is bread layered with mortadella, fresh sausage, linguiça, steak and ham, under cheese that melts into the sauce, often with a fried egg on top. It was first served at A Regaleira in 1953. Café Santiago, at Rua Passos Manuel 226, makes its version with wood-oven bread and a house sauce.
How to do it
It opens Monday to Saturday from 12:00 to 22:45. The same family runs Santiago F a few doors down at number 198, a fallback when the line at 226 is long. Order it with fries for the sauce and skip the starters.
Good to know
It closes on Sundays, which catches out weekend visitors.
Walk the Ribeira and the Luís I bridge at golden hour
Porto
2 hours with the bridge loopFree
Cross the Luís I bridge on the lower deck and come back on the upper one as the sun sets behind Porto.
What it is
The Ribeira is Porto's riverfront at the foot of the old town, inside the historic centre that UNESCO listed in 1996 together with the Luís I bridge and the Serra do Pilar monastery on the far bank. The quay faces south across the Douro, so the tall, narrow houses catch the late sun.
How to do it
A loop that works: start at Praça da Ribeira, walk the quay east and cross the lower deck of the bridge to Gaia for the full view of the stacked façades, ride the Gaia cable car or climb to the Jardim do Morro, then come back across the upper deck, shared with Metro line D, as the sun goes down behind the city.
Good to know
Climb back into town by the Escadas do Codeçal stairs rather than the busier main streets.
Cross the Luís I bridge to the lodges where port is aged, walk the cellars and finish with a tasting.
What it is
Port is aged in the lodges of Vila Nova de Gaia, across the bridge from the Ribeira, and most of them sell a cellar tour that ends in a tasting; the format is what differs.
How to do it
Taylor's, at Rua do Choupelo 250, runs a self-paced audio tour in 13 languages on your own phone, ending with a Chip Dry white port, a Late Bottled Vintage and a 10-year-old tawny; the cellar is open daily from 10:00 to 18:15, so bring headphones. Graham's, further up the hill, runs guided visits that need a reservation, and its tasting lunches must be booked at least 48 hours ahead.
Good to know
Two lodges in a day is plenty. The riverside names are the busiest; the climb to the hilltop lodges thins the crowd.
A working railway hall, free to walk into, lined with tiled scenes of battles, kings, harvests and wine coming down the Douro.
What it is
Jorge Colaço covered São Bento's hall with about 20,000 azulejos, some 551 square metres, laid between 1905 and 1916. Left of the entrance: the Battle of Arcos de Valdevez and Egas Moniz before Alfonso VII. On the right: João I arriving in Porto with his bride and the conquest of Ceuta. The wall facing the street shows a procession in Lamego, a cattle fair, the grape harvest and wine carried down the Douro, and a coloured frieze above runs through the history of transport in Portugal.
How to do it
São Bento is a working railway station, so its tiled hall costs nothing and you can walk straight in. Fifteen minutes covers it.
Good to know
Trains on the Douro line start here, so it is also where a valley day trip by rail begins.
Porto's biggest party runs all night: grilled sardines, basil pots, plastic hammers tapped on strangers' heads and fireworks over the Douro.
What it is
The night of 23 June is the eve of São João, and the party runs until the morning of the 24th. From the afternoon the streets fill with charcoal-grilled sardines, pots of basil and soft plastic hammers, a newer stand-in for the garlic flowers once used. Fireworks start at midnight over the Douro; in 2026 the show lasted about 12 minutes.
How to do it
Claim a spot on the Ribeira or Gaia quays between 19:00 and 21:00. After the fireworks, many keep going west to the beaches at Foz to wait for sunrise.
Good to know
In 2026 the Metro, STCP buses and CP trains ran extra services all night, so plan the way home around them.
Time needed
The whole night of 23 June
Best time
On the riverside by 21:00 for the midnight fireworks
Francisco Sá Carneiro airport is north of the city, and Metro do Porto line E runs from the terminal to the centre. Trains from Lisbon, including the Alfa Pendular, arrive at Campanhã, where frequent urban trains continue to São Bento in the old centre. Douro line trains also start at São Bento.
Getting around
Walk the centre and accept the hills: Porto is built on slopes, and the walk from the Ribeira up to the cathedral or the Clérigos is a climb. Use an Andante card on the metro, buses and urban trains. Metro line D crosses the upper deck of the Luís I bridge to Gaia. Historic trams 1 and 18 run to Foz, and the Porto Card adds public transport and museum discounts.
How many days
Two days cover the old centre, the Ribeira, a port lodge and the Bolsa, in must30's view; three let you add Serralves or the Casa da Música, the tram to Foz and a fish lunch in Matosinhos. Keep a fourth day for the Douro Valley by train or tour.
When to go
May, June and September are the most comfortable months. Porto is rainier than Lisbon, so pack a waterproof outside summer. The São João night of 23 June is the city's biggest party and fills hotels. The Bolhão market and Café Santiago close on Sundays, so plan food on other days.
Where to stay
The Baixa around Aliados and the Bolhão is central, flatter and close to the metro and São Bento. The Ribeira is the picture, with steep lanes and late noise. The Gaia riverside looks back at the old town and is a short walk over the bridge. Boavista and Foz are quieter, with the metro or buses into the centre.
Questions travellers ask
How many days do you need in Porto?
Two days for the old centre, the Ribeira, the Bolsa and a port lodge in Gaia. Three if you add Serralves, the Casa da Música, the tram to Foz and Matosinhos. Add a fourth for a day in the Douro Valley.
How do you get from Porto airport to the city centre?
Take Metro do Porto line E from the airport station into the centre; Trindade is the main interchange, a short walk from Aliados and the Clérigos. Buy and load an Andante card at the machines.
What is closed in Porto on Sundays?
The Bolhão market and its restaurants close on Sundays, and so does Café Santiago, the best-known francesinha address. Churches, the Clérigos Tower, Serralves, the Bolsa tours and the port lodges generally open, but check each one's hours.
Is the Porto Card worth it?
It depends on how much you will visit. It includes public transport if you choose that version and gives discounts such as half price on the Clérigos day ticket and €9 instead of €12 for the Casa da Música tour. Add up the places you plan to see before buying.
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