Porto is a spectacular hillside town with picturesque and colorful buildings. It’s located on the banks of the Douro River in Portugal. Narrow streets with laundry hanging out to dry makes for a lot of pretty pictures. Surprisingly the town is actually quite small and despite the hills very walkable. it’s also famous for its port wine.
This is what we would recommend as the best way to explore. Getting lost in the streets and seeing where you pop out at the next overlook or hilltop is part of the fun. Even at night the city is full of tourists and we never felt unsafe or concerned about being too far from our hotel.
Porto is known for its bridges and there are many options for taking a short cruise along the river. The hop on hop off offers a combo ticket, which includes a six bridge cruise that takes about an hour. It offers a unique perspective of the waterfront and takes you past the various bridges including the Ponte Dona Maria Pia by Gustave Eiffel and the Dom Luis Bride by Léopold Valentin one of his students. The latter is open to pedestrian, road and train traffic. There is a funicular available.
Be sure to return to the Dom Luis Bridge and walk along the top pedestrian crossing to enjoy a spectacular sunset from this romantic setting.
If you are an early bird getting here at sunrise or early morning is also a treat as we found the calm waters showed a perfect reflection of the building and the angle of the sun gave them a nice glow.
We ended up taking the hop on hop off tour, which did take us a little further out including a fortress on the Atlantic coast (Castelo Do Queijo or Castle of the Cheese), which was an interesting visit.
The bus in town was almost slower than walking! Turning in the narrow streets with traffic and numerous one-way gave the impression of movement but checking the map we realized that we had barely advanced very far as we twisted and turned.
One of the highlights on the top of the hill is the Igreja dos Clérigos with the tall steeple making this 18th century church the tallest building in Porto. It’s worth the effort to climb the 240 steps to see the view from the top.
The terrace in front of the Sé cathedral is also a great vantage point to see the sunset.
Down at the bottom of the hill the Sāo Francisco church is just beautiful with almost 450 pounds of gold decorating the interior. No pictures inside were allowed and we do respect these rules.
Just a little higher up are two other churches, Igreja dos Carmelitas and Igreja do Carmo; a one-meter wide house remarkably separates these. Churches are not supposed to share a wall so when these two side-by-side churches were built the simple one-meter wide tiny house was put between them to separate. Do visit both, as they are very different inside.
Not to be missed is the Livraria Lello bookstore. This is the one that inspired the library in the Harry Potter series and it’s literally the most beautiful bookstore in the world. It’s a €4 entry fee to go in but a must do to get a picture on the wooden staircase and of the stained-glass ceiling. The entry ticket is actually a voucher if you opt to purchase any books from the store.
The historic Sāo Bento Railway Station is definitely worth a visit even if you’re not taking the train! Its entrance foyer is decorated with huge ceramic tile mosaics depicting Portuguese scenes and simply spectacular.
The picturesque waterfront is packed with affordable tourist shops, vendor stands and a myriad of restaurants. Traditional port wine boats line the docks and this area can be enjoyed day or night.
We would recommend indulging in a water view room and taking in the sights and sounds (and smells). Porto is like a Venetian experience but at 1/3 the cost, so even splurging will not set you back what other coastal cities would normally cost in Europe, especially in the off season.
If you are able listen in on some of the Fado street performers or go see a Fado show you are sure to enjoy it. This music has its roots from the early 1800s in Portugal and it’s an experience to enjoy.
Many museums with exhibits featuring port wine (of course), art, maritime, and even puppets can be found in the old town. Some are hidden in the small alleyways awaiting to be discovered.
The monastery on the Gaia side of the walking bridge (Dom Luis) gives wonderful views of Porto’s waterfront, the Douro River and is another excellent place to see a sunset.
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