Porto
The city that named the wine, though the wine is aged across the river
- When to go
- October 18° · 16 rainy days
- Per day
- €€€price 3 of 5
- How many days
- 2days
- For you
- 6 questions →
- Nearest airport
- 13 km Porto · 76 km Vila Real
- Right now
Porto takes two days, and a third belongs to the Douro valley. The old town climbs steeply from Ribeira on the river up to the cathedral, and the port wine cellars aren't in Porto at all but across the Douro in Vila Nova de Gaia — so a day here is split between two banks and the bridge that joins them.
Gaia is a separate municipality, and its riverfront is lined with the lodges where the port houses age their wine in barrels. You walk over on the lower deck of the Dom Luís I bridge, at water level, and back on the upper deck, which also carries metro line D: from below you see Ribeira from the river, from above both banks at once. Over on one deck and back on the other costs nothing.
The drop between Ribeira and the upper town is what wrecks plans: the Guindais funicular covers the 61 metres from the river up to Batalha in two and a half minutes, and on foot it's a staircase. So a day in Porto runs from the top down — São Bento station and Clérigos in the morning, Ribeira and the bridge after lunch, the Gaia cellars at the end.
Guides for Porto
Shorter, practical pages for one concrete question each — how many days, how much money, where to sleep, where to escape the city.
Porto in 2 days
→Two banks, one bridge and the cellars on the wrong side of the river — Porto in two days, with a funicular instead of…
What to see in Porto
Dom Luís I bridge
An iron bridge by Théophile Seyrig, Eiffel's former partner, opened in 1886. Its 172-metre arch was the longest of its kind in the world at the time, and since 1996 the bridge has been UNESCO-listed together with the old town. The lower deck carries buses, taxis and pedestrians, the upper one the metro and pedestrians.
The Gaia cellars
Sandeman, Graham's, Taylor's and other houses run lodge tours with a tasting, about an hour long; the price depends on the house and how many wines you taste. From May to October slots sell out days ahead, so book before you arrive.
São Bento station
A railway station whose hall is lined with around 20,000 azulejos across 551 square metres, painted by Jorge Colaço between 1905 and 1916. Free, because it's still a working station — walk in, look up, walk out.
Livraria Lello
A neo-Gothic bookshop from 1906 with the staircase everyone crowds around. Tickets are timed and work as a voucher: the full amount comes off a book bought the same day. If you aren't buying, you're paying to join a crowd around one staircase.
Clérigos Tower
A baroque bell tower about 75 metres high, with a view over the whole city and river. Entry is €10 and includes the museum. A narrow spiral staircase leads to the top — not for anyone who dislikes tight spaces.
Two things you probably did not know
Port wine is not made in Porto but in the Douro valley, a hundred kilometres upstream. It is only aged across the river in Vila Nova de Gaia, where the climate is steadier, and by law until 1986 it could be exported only from there.
The Lello bookshop of 1906 has a staircase that splits and rejoins, and charges admission that is deducted if you buy a book. The line about it inspiring Hogwarts is marketing: Rowling taught English in Porto, but has publicly denied the link.
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