A three-day itinerary for Porto, Portugal

From the beautiful Douro river to fun museums, from boat trips to Port caves, Porto is a great place to see in 2 or 3 full days. 

You can’t go too far wrong where you stay in Porto (or even in Gaia, which is south of Porto across the bridge). It’s quite a walkable city and there are plenty of buses to take you around the town and beyond. One thing to be aware of though is that Porto can be quite hilly, so the closer your accommodation is to the places you want to visit, the better. Staggering up a hill after a port tasting is not a lot of fun!

I stayed at the Menina Colina Guesthouse near Porto’s old town which is absolutely beautiful. This stunning 19th century building has been renovated into a guesthouse, with much of the original architecture and features restored. All the rooms are different (I had the star room!) and the breakfast was a wonderfully elegant affair.

Here is what I got up to in Porto! You can find my Porto 3 day itinerary google map here, which includes all of the places below.

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Day one: explore Porto’s old town

Start off the day in the Miragaia and Cedofeita neighbourhoods by visiting Livraria Lello, one of Portugal’s oldest and most gorgeous bookstores. Then, head down R. das Flores for some shopping before reaching the riverfront in the Ribeira area. Here, take a boat trip to find out more about the six bridges of Porto. (Pro tip: I took a boat trip from the Ribeira side of the river but actually if you cross the Dom Luís bridge to Gaia, the trips are cheaper!)

You can read my blog post about what I got up to in Porto’s Old Town here.

 

 

 

 

Day two: visit Vila Nova de Gaia, just across the bridge

Cross over the bridge from Porto to Vila Nova de Gaia. Explore some of the market stalls and buy some souvenirs before visiting a port cave to try some of Porto’s most famous beverage. Then, take the cable car up to Jardim do Morro before walking back over the Dom Luís bridge to Porto.

You can read about what I got up to in Vila Nova de Gaia here.

Day three: have some fun at the World of Wine (WOW Porto)

(Just for context, World of Wine is a complex in Vila Nova de Gaia with seven museums, shops, bars and restaurants. I just visited the museums.)

Start off the day by visiting Porto Region Through the Ages before seeing the Bridge Collection, an archaeological museum about drinking and drinking vessels (which was a lot more interesting than it sounds!) Then, grab lunch before visiting the Wine Experience, and learn more about cork and how it is used to create wine stoppers at Planet Cork (again, a lot more interesting than it sounds). Round off the day at Pink Palace, a museum all about rosé. (This place is a whole lot of fun, and a museum in the loosest sense of the word!)

(Also on the WOW site is Choco-Story, a museum about chocolate; and the Atkinson Museum, which is an art museum).

You can read about my day trip to WOW Porto here.

Additional tip

About 15 minutes walk from Porto’s old town is Jardins do Palácio de Cristal. This pretty garden (with the Super Bock arena) wouldn’t be enough of a recommendation on its own, however…they have free-roaming cockerels! If you’re in the area it’s work a look.

Travelling to Portugal and thinking of travelling further afield? Read my blog post on what to do in Lisbon here.