If a friend called me and said they’d just booked a trip to Porto, the first thing I’d say is: know what matters to you before you land, and make your dinner reservations before you leave home. Porto has enough to fill two weeks, and most people have three or four days.
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Where to Stay
Before we moved to Porto, Chris and I tested two very different hotels on an earlier trip, and I’d recommend either one depending on what you’re after.
Torel Palace Porto is the splurge. It’s a literary dream. Each of its 24 rooms is dedicated to a Portuguese author, the design is gorgeous, and there’s a Michelin-starred restaurant on site. If you’re celebrating something or you love books, it’s worth every euro.
Book your stay at Torel Palace Porto.
Sé Catedral Hotel Porto is the smart choice for a first visit. It’s steps from Porto Cathedral and the Dom Luís I Bridge, stylish, and part of the Hilton Tapestry Collection if you’re a points person. When we stayed there, we discovered White Port and Tonics for the first time. A pastel de nata was waiting in the room when we arrived.
Book your stay at Sé Catedral Hotel Porto.
For more, see Torel Palace Porto vs Sé Catedral Porto: Best Hotel for You?
Start in the City Center
The cluster of sights around Clérigos Tower, one of the most beautiful churches in Porto, is a great place to begin. If you climb the tower, you’ll get panoramic views that are worth the uphill walk from Rua das Flores. That uphill walk is not gentle, and the tower can be crowded. We found the views worth it. Book timed tickets online in advance (around €12 per person) and go early if you can.
Clérigos Tower rising above Porto’s skyline.Just a few minutes beyond Clérigos is Igreja do Carmo, which I’d rank as the third-best church in Porto. There’s an intricate crypt, gorgeous artwork, and a photo-worthy fountain nearby called Fonte dos Leões. Tickets are only a couple of euros.
Also in this area: Livraria Lello, one of the most photographed bookstores in the world. If you’re a book lover, go. The interior is gorgeous. It does require advance timed tickets, and it’s crowded even at its quieter times. Your ticket price is credited toward any book purchase. If books aren’t really your thing, it’s skippable.
Visiting Livraria Lello in Porto: A Booklover’s Dream
Rua das Flores is one of Porto’s oldest and most beautiful streets. Unique independent shops and restaurants line it, along with some touristy ones. The azulejo-tiled facades make it one of the more photogenic stretches in the city, and you’ll often encounter musicians and street performers as you stroll through.
Don’t Miss São Bento Train Station
This is free, takes about fifteen minutes, and the artwork within is spectacular. Walk into São Bento Station just to look at the azulejo tile murals covering the walls. Over 20,000 tiles masterfully depicting Portuguese history. You don’t need to catch a train. You just walk in and look around. If the tilework captivates you, know that you’ll find beautiful azulejos all over the city: on the exterior of Igreja do Carmo, covering the entire facade of Capela das Almas, and inside Porto Cathedral’s cloister. You can even make your own.
Painting Portugal: Art of Azulejos in Porto
For Churches, Prioritize Sé do Porto
If you only have time for one church, make it Porto Cathedral. It dates to the 12th century, has a remarkable Gothic cloister with 18th-century azulejo panels depicting the Song of Songs, and sits right next to the Dom Luís I Bridge. Entry is only about €4.
Walk Across the Dom Luís I Bridge
Cross it. The upper level offers breathtaking views of the Douro River and the city skyline, and from the Gaia side, you can catch the cable car down to the riverfront. I’d recommend getting the round-trip cable car ticket so you don’t have to climb back up. Gaia Cable Car ticket information.
At the top of the Gaia side, Jardim do Morro is a lovely park where live music often plays as the sun sets, usually pop and rock, not traditional. Vendors walk through selling drinks and snacks. It’s casual and a nice way to end an afternoon or start an evening. In winter, there’s often someone nearby selling bags of roasted chestnuts.
Port Wine Tasting in Vila Nova de Gaia
We popped in here and did a wine tasting before heading to the restaurant we had reservations at. I didn’t jot down the name of this spot.Once you’re down by the river, do a port wine tasting. The cellars line the Gaia riverfront, and most are open for tours and tastings. Graham’s is reportedly excellent, but we couldn’t get a spot. I’ve been to Cálem a couple of times, and the experience is solid.
One thing worth knowing: if you come across a Colheita Port, try it. Most ports are aged as blends (10-year, 20-year, 40-year), but a Colheita is a single vintage.
For a more intimate tasting, there are also a couple of chocolate shops on the Porto side of the river worth knowing about. Dubon Chocolate Bar on Rua dos Mártires da Liberdade pairs artisan chocolate with port tastings, and the street has a slightly off-the-tourist-track feel that I appreciate. Vinte Vinte on the famous Rua das Flores is a beautiful, relaxed stop: their chocolate is made bean-to-bar in Vila Nova de Gaia, and you can pair it with a glass of port.
Where to Drink Port in Porto: Our Favorite Spots
Fado
If you want to see a fado show, Casa da Guitarra is my recommendation. It’s an intimate, authentic experience, and the audience is there for the music. People don’t talk during the performance. At intermission, glasses of port wine are passed around, and everyone settles quietly into the second half. I’ve also seen fado at one of the port wine houses, and the quality of the show was comparable, but the atmosphere was different: the audience was more focused on the wine and chattier. If you’re going for the music, go to Casa da Guitarra.
Eat at Mercado do Bolhão
Some of the goods at Mercado do Bolhão.At Porto’s famous food market, you can shop for snacks, souvenirs, and put together a meal. The main level has fresh produce, cheese, wine, and vendors selling fruit cups and smoothies. The second level has restaurants. Most vendors take cards. There’s an ATM by the bathrooms if you need it. At lunchtime, people sit on the stairs eating and drinking wine.
Just beyond the market, Rua de Santa Catarina is Porto’s main shopping street. I never walked down it without encountering live musicians or street performers.
Make Your Dinner Reservations Before You Leave Home
Porto has excellent restaurants, and the good ones fill up. Showing up without a reservation, especially in the evening, usually means settling for wherever you can find an open table. That’s a shame in a city with food this good.
Coupage 51 on Travessa de Cedofeita is a laid-back tapas bar with a frequently changing menu and inventive dishes: fried eggplant with honey, cod croquettes, bok choy with mushrooms and pumpkin, and baked camembert were among our favorites. We liked it so much, we went back for our anniversary. Book through TheFork. They don’t have a website.
See Date Night in Porto: 7 Romantic Restaurants for Couples for more reservation-worthy dining recommendations.
A Word on Francesinha
The Francesinha is Porto’s famous sandwich: layers of meat, melted cheese, rich sauce, and usually a fried egg on top. It’s a very heavy meal. Café Santiago is the most famous spot for one. As you do research for your trip, you’ll likely see influencers, food writers, and others recommend it. We tried it, didn’t love it, but it’s a Porto thing and worth the experience.
The Pastel de Nata Stop
Manteigaria on Rua dos Clérigos, right near the tower, is one of the best places in Porto for a pastel de nata. Get one (or two) warm. If you get two or more, you’re ordering pasteis de nata, the plural form of the popular egg custard tart.
Porto’s Sweet Side: Best Pastries, Chocolate Shops, and More
The Douro Valley
The Douro Valley is the world’s oldest demarcated wine region, designated in 1756. It’s been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2001. Portugal has over 250 native grape varieties and the highest density of indigenous grapes per square mile of any country in the world. The scenery alone is worth the day trip: terraced vineyards dropping down to the Douro River, a stunning viewpoint at Miradouro São Leonardo de Galafura, and lovely wine to taste.
Guided tours depart from Porto daily. We took one that covered all of it in ten hours: the drive through Portugal’s longest road tunnel, lunch with local wines, a vineyard tour at Quinta São Luiz where we tasted Kopke wines, and a Rabelo boat ride on the Douro River to close out the day. The guide handled the two-hour drive each way, which, on those roads, matters, and introduced us to places we never would have found on our own.
It was one of the best days we had in Portugal. Full details, including the tour we took and what to expect at each stop, are in our Douro Valley post. You can also browse Viator options to find the right tour for your group.
Douro Valley Day Trip: Wine, Views, and History
One Off-the-Beaten-Path Stop
Inside Igreja da Lapa.Igreja da Lapa is a quieter, less-visited church. It houses the preserved heart of Dom Pedro IV. You cannot actually see the heart (it’s stored within a wall), but you can ask, and a kind gentleman at the church will show you exactly where it is. No entry fee that I recall.
Igreja da Lapa in Porto: History, Faith, & a Sweet
On Safety
Porto is a safe city for tourists. There are pockets within the touristy areas that can look a little rundown, but they’re almost always fine. The vandalism and vacant buildings you’ll notice here and there have a specific legal explanation: Portuguese inheritance law has historically meant that when a property owner dies, and the family can’t agree on what to do with it, the building simply sits, sometimes for decades. It gives certain streets an extra layer of character.
Porto Tours
For more tips on Portugal:
We lived in Portugal for over a year and a half. If you’re planning a trip there, these are the posts we recommend reading next.
- The Portugal Tips I Give My Friends
- What I’d Tell a Friend Visiting Lisbon for the First Time
- Fall in Love with the Algarve on this Romantic Road Trip
Prefer to skip the research and have someone build the perfect trip for you? I’m also a luxury travel advisor specializing in Portugal — let’s plan your trip together →
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