Things to Do in Porto Portugal – Your Complete Travel Guide

Porto, a magnificent city in Portugal along the Douro River, offers countless things to do in Porto Portugal that will captivate every traveler. The iconic Dom Luís I Bridge and the delightful riverside promenade along the Douro are places you’ll likely visit multiple times during your Porto city trip. This vibrant city has numerous fascinating spots that you absolutely shouldn’t miss. Read on to discover these amazing places in this comprehensive guide.

During your visit, you’ll quickly learn that Porto is renowned for its port wine. But did you know the city was once called Portucale? And that the country’s name derives from this? I didn’t know this before my first visit to Porto. This port city northwest of Lisbon is Portugal’s second-largest city.

Are you planning to explore the city during your visit to Porto by booking a port wine tour? While I’m not a wine enthusiast, it’s certainly a perfect way to discover Porto’s background. Wander through one of the prestigious wine cellars in Gaia and immerse yourself in the rich history.

How Many Days Do You Need in Porto?

Porto deserves your attention. You can easily spend 2-3 days exploring Porto’s treasures. I’ve been there several times for a few days and gained a thorough understanding of the city’s culture. If you also want to take workshops or day tours in the surrounding area, 3-4 days might be almost too short.

Want to see more of the beautiful Douro River and its 6 bridges? Consider booking the Bridges Douro River Cruise for spectacular views.

Relaxing Along the Douro Riverside in Porto

After walking the Camino Frances, I took the train from Santiago de Compostela to Portugal. I absolutely loved strolling around during my visit to Porto, enjoying the sunshine on the riverside with wonderful music playing in the background. This music stayed in my head for a long time – what a delightful atmosphere it created!

Things to Do in Porto Portugal – Must-See Attractions

The Colorful Ribeira District

In the colorful Ribeira district, you’ll find a living painting full of history along the banks of the Douro. Every alley and stone whispers stories of centuries-old trade routes and maritime adventures. I loved getting lost in thought and wandering around here.

The woman on the balcon there? That’s one of those typical images I associate with Portugal.

As I continued wandering, I began to appreciate the Ribeira district more. Many traditional buildings, colorful houses, and plenty of charming little shops. When exploring Ribeira, take those narrow streets – that’s where the history of this city drips from every stone. I can completely lose myself in daydreaming there.

These are the wonderful glimpses I love when wandering through a city like Porto!

You want to see these great spots too? These are the once I love the most!

Clérigos Tower

From many angles in Porto, you can see this Clérigos tower. I had walked past it several times without noticing. I had even sat in front of it once, eating the delicious famous pastel de Bacalhau in 2016.

To get a beautiful view over Porto, you must climb the Clérigos tower, but the Clérigos church is also worth visiting. It’s a beautiful old baroque church with enormous amounts of gold and, as befits a Catholic church: statues.

Book your ticket for Clerigo Tower

The old church behind the tower is a great church still, a lot of decoration and statues. The building underneath the tower is a museum and interesting to walk through and see the history of Porto and the church itself.

Find a Beautiful Miradouro Overlooking Porto

There are many beautiful viewpoints, or as they’re called in Portugal: miradouros, in Porto to admire. One of the most famous is probably Miradouro do Jardim de Morro. It’s lively and crowded every evening, which naturally attracts artists who make lovely music while you sit on the grass enjoying the sunset over the Douro.

Other miradouros to visit include Miradouro da Vitoria, Miradouro das Fontainhas, Miradouro do Infante, or Miradouro do Rua das Aldas.

Looking for a more intimate spot to watch the sunset over the Douro? Walk a bit further from the city toward Miradouro das Fontainhas, where you could descend into the little gardens. This was recommended by a local. I indeed saw there were some kind of community gardens situated there, but it didn’t feel quite right to walk around there. It was very quiet when I walked there, which was very welcome, but the beautiful sunset was nowhere to be found that day.

Capela das Almas

Another beautiful chapel tiled with Azulejos. From a distance, you can see the blue shimmering on this church; the entire front and side are beautifully painted. The chapel is a popular background for many people’s new profile photos or Instagram updates 🙂 Inside, the church is also well-appointed with statues and gold.

The street Rua Santa Catarina where Capela das Almas is located is a nice street to browse for potential souvenirs.

Igreja do Carmo / Carmelitas

A church I find worth visiting is the church of Carmo and Carmelitas. On the left, you’ll find the Carmelitas church for nuns, and on the right, the Carmo church for monks. During the time these two churches were built, they weren’t allowed to have contact with each other. For this reason, a tiny house with several floors was built between both churches! When standing in front of the churches, it’s almost impossible to see.

This is Porto’s smallest house with a width of just one meter at the front. Each floor of the house has only one room. So on the first floor, you’ll find the kitchen, on the second a bedroom, and the third wasn’t accessible. The house was used during various periods for secret meetings, for example, during the French Invasion from 1807 to 1811. Something like this really sparks the imagination!

What you need to try, just because it is a local famous dish!

The Pastel de Bacalhau

Something you definitely must try is this local specialty, a deliciously crispy oval ball of potato, cod, and seasoned with parsley, among other things. The shop is extremely busy, but while waiting in line, you have plenty to see. The entire history is explained to you like in a museum. Super fun to peek inside even if you don’t want to try this delicious ball.

Are you vegetarian and want to enjoy good food in Porto? I ate at Honest Green (vegetarian), which has multiple locations in Porto, on Rua Santa Catarina and Jose Falcao, but I also had lunch at Kind Kitchen (vegan).

Sé Cathedral / Porto Cathedral

From the Dom Luis I Bridge, I walked uphill and after crossing several streets, I arrived at the Cathedral. But I didn’t want to deprive you of this view of the bridge with a beautiful street.

It’s wonderful to walk under the laundry like this.

For this reason, taking those stairs is really worth it, I think!

I enjoyed the view more than taking photos inside the cathedral, I see.

Just before this visit, I had completed the entire Camino Frances. I walked about 800 km in 35 days, which was an amazing experience! When I came out of Sé Cathedral, I fell back into an old habit I had taught myself during pilgrimage… After my visit to this cathedral, I started following the yellow arrows!

The Yellow Camino Arrow!

São Bento Station

Something you also shouldn’t miss in Porto is São Bento station. Throughout the city, you see what we call “Delfts blue.” Here it’s naturally called Azulejos and is a typical Portuguese product. One of the highlights is definitely São Bento Station. With many of these beautiful buildings and churches, you can see it from far away… but that’s not the case here.

The entire large hall inside is completely ’tiled.’ You can look at it for hours and read entire historical stories.

Currently, in 2025, the 20,000 azulejos that the station is rich in are covered with a layer of white dust to protect the azulejos. There’s construction work for the station; the entire street is torn up.

Dom Luís I Bridge

This bridge is iconic for all of Porto. There are naturally many more bridges that can take you to the other side of the Douro, but this one is unique. The bridge is no less than 395 meters long and 45 meters high. At the time of the bridge’s construction (1880), this was the longest bridge in the world.

In the first video, you can see it briefly. The Dom Luís I Bridge. This is iconic when you take beautiful photos from the city’s lovely viewpoints. This way, you get the beautiful houses, the Douro River, and naturally that beautiful bridge!

And when I came to watch the sunset, Brazilian Fernando suddenly appeared in my lens. I arrived with him in Santiago de Compostela after 35 days of walking. That evening we had a lovely dinner together on Porto’s waterfront!

Vila Nova de Gaia

When you cross the beautiful Ponte Luis I, you arrive in this new city of Gaia. Also very interesting to visit. Here you’ll find most port houses and delightful restaurants along the Douro waterfront. These port houses are naturally open for visits.

Why I went to Vila Nova de Gaia was for this next masterpiece by Bordalo II. It’s called Half Rabbit, and this can be admired in the streets of Vila Nova de Gaia. I had also visited many of his artworks in Lisbon, and I find them beautiful.

In Vila Nova de Gaia, you’ll also find the WOW museum. It’s a cultural center that shows you the history of port wine, but also cork and chocolate. Around this center, you’ll naturally find many lovely restaurants.

Book your ticket for your visit to the WOW museum

Want to take the cable car over Gaia? Do you see the gondola in the photo above? You get fantastic views over Gaia but naturally also Porto and the Douro River. A one-way trip costs 7 euros and return 10. For children, you pay half that amount.

Street Art in Porto

Porto also has beautiful street art! I find it a fun way to discover a city lately. During my visit to Porto, I searched for beautiful street art. It takes you to completely different places and through different streets than you would otherwise visit. I had naturally already been to the Half Rabbit in Vila Nova de Gaia that I shared above.

But this way, I also found this beautiful cat in a super narrow alley. I walked past it and caught a glimpse of the 18-meter-high Cat in the Alley. I tried in multiple ways to capture the cat properly, but the entirety of 10 meters wide by 18 meters high was impossible for me to photograph well.

And I went searching for Look at Porto by Vhils. That was quite difficult to find, but eventually, I walked to Rua de Miragaia, near the World of Discoveries museum. It’s truly a beautiful artwork, but I didn’t find the location itself very interesting, unfortunately.

But walk around nicely during your visit to Porto and discover more surprising artworks and colorful spots of Porto.

Livraria Lello

But I still didn’t stand in line again. The line is always so long that I prefer not to spend my time on that. While I also think it’s magical to see… but when you have to share that image with so many people, I skip it.

There are different tickets available to visit Lello bookstore. It is the case that if you buy a ticket just for sightseeing Livraria Lello, this amount (10 euros in 2025) is deducted from the purchase of a book.

Are you a Harry Potter fan? Then you can’t miss Livraria Lello, naturally. The interior of this bookstore, but also the clothing of students in Porto, inspired JK Rowling when she lived in Porto. I can certainly imagine that when you stand in that bookstore, see the beautiful staircase, and have the Harry Potter films in the back of your mind, you make associations with them.

Will you book a walking tour which has this bookshop included?

Are you exploring Porto for multiple days? Maybe the Porto Card is handy then! You can use public transport for 1, 2, 3, or 4 days, and the card includes many discounts and access to several museums.

Do you prefer taking the Escadas dos Guindais, the stairs, to get a cool view, or would you rather use the Funicular dos Guindais? You can guess it; I’m team stairs. But if you’re with family or it’s too hot, I completely understand that you’d enjoy the view during the ride up.

Vegetarian Tips for Porto

I had some wonderful meals at several places during my visit to Porto. For once, it wasn’t difficult to eat vegetarian, and that really made me happy. The first one I want to recommend is an Indian restaurant:

Flavour Fusion Indian Restaurant

I went there twice and had an Aloo Tiki Chat and Samosa Chat. Really so delicious! I naturally love Indian food, and the chats here brought me back to India for a moment. They serve the chat as an appetizer, but for me, especially the Samosa Chat, was a whole meal.

Honest Green on Rua Santa Catarina

I also had a delicious vegetarian meal at Honest Green. The plate wasn’t super filled, and for an evening meal, I had just enough. Note that I’m not a super big eater. But the taste and concept of Honest Green make me recommend it. They also have meat options here but guarantee that it’s good quality regarding the animal’s life.

Kind Kitchen

At Kind Kitchen, I had a delicious sandwich with fries. I found it really super tasty and can heartily recommend it to you. The entire menu is simply vegan with a vegetarian exception, and that’s clearly indicated. How wonderful that such restaurants exist in a country that’s still so meat-oriented.

Where to Stay During Your Visit to Porto

Urban Garden Porto Central Hostel

During my stay I stayed several nights in this hostel. The location I found really ideal, but the room could be better regarding the arrangement of the beds. Using a mixed room with 8 beds with a curtain for each bed, which is always very nice. I also had my own charging facility, shelf/lamp, and lockable cupboard for my bag. I slept well there and found it a nice place as a base. Especially the garden they have is very relaxing!

And they have a great breakfast there, so it was a nice start in the garden with some work on the laptop first and then into the city!

Casual Raizes Porto

Do you want more privacy and an ideal location in Porto’s center? Then check out the Casual Raizes hotel in Porto. A beautiful boutique hotel with unique rooms. Each room is clearly furnished with care and taste, in the heart of Porto.

Casa da Marechal – Foz do Douro

Are you looking for more peace and want to stay a bit outside the city? What about Casa da Marechal located near Foz do Douro? This means it’s wonderfully close to the beach, but this hotel also offers its own swimming pool where you can recover in luxury and enjoy the Portuguese sun.

I flew with KLM from Porto to Amsterdam – how will you get to Porto for your weekend trip or midweek Porto break?

Final Tips for Your Things to Do in Porto Portugal Adventure

Porto is incredibly colorful! I’m thinking about flying to Portugal again. I think a combination city trip to Lisbon and Porto is quite a good idea, don’t you think? 😉

This comprehensive guide covers the essential things to do in Porto Portugal, from historic sites and cultural attractions to culinary experiences and accommodation options. Whether you’re interested in port wine tasting, admiring azulejo tiles, or exploring vibrant neighborhoods, Porto offers unforgettable experiences for every type of traveler.