Porto in 4 days
- pat kelly
- 22 hours ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 4 hours ago
When deciding what to see in a Portugal trip, Lisbon is a must and most will enter or exit the country through the capital. If possible, schedule a trip to Porto in the country's north. It has a great, laid back atmosphere, allows access to the Duoro valley and was a very fun way to start our vacation with the all night party. It is a relatively short train ride from Lisbon but we chose to fly into Porto and take the train south to Lisbon before finishing our trip in the Algarve.
Porto
We timed our trip to coincide with the festival of Sao Joao as this biggest party in Porto was going on in our timeframe (June 23-24). The whole town takes part, celebrating in the streets with the locals eating, drinking, lighting paper lanterns, and hitting each other in the head with plastic hammers. What's not to love?
Where to stay in Porto: Ribeira (historic center) has colorful houses along riverfront promenade and you will spend time here in your trip but I found few options for rental houses and it would be loud for light sleepers. Baixa & Se are located just north of Ribeira. We stayed in part of Baixa adjacent to the Bolhao market. The apartment had tons of character and space for our group of two families. The market was great for local food and crafts and was directly across the street.
The first day of our Portugal adventure was straight from the Porto airport to the festival and we were up pretty late reveling with the whole city. We spent the night eating and drinking in the area by the Duoro River, Ribeira neighborhood, where food and drinks were sold out of stalls and people were lighting paper lanterns. It was a great introduction to the city and staying up past midnight took care of adjusting to the time change perfectly.
The next day we took a historical walking tour 'by locals' which was about 2 hours and was useful in getting the lay of the land which is why many recommend a walking tour on your first day in a city. This took us to the old Jewish quarter then the Miradouro da Vitoria which has great views across to Gaia. After lunch, we wandered through town in the direction of the Porto Cathedral (outside of which the girls stared dancing for some reason- giving me a good photo) over to Gaia via the dom Luis I bridge which has great views. We continued that theme taking the Gaia Cable Car down to the riverside promenade from the bridge. We had a great couple hours on the Gaia side of the river shopping at the touristy places and a drink in the sunshine. Make sure you take a quick detour to see the Half Rabbit sculpture made from trash and recycled material by Bordalo. We finished the day with dinner on the Porto side. It is hit or miss on the restaurants right by the river. It ending up being our last time eating in this densest tourist area.
On our last day touring Porto, we visited two of the famous blue tiled churches: the Chapel of Souls and the Church of St. Ildefonso, which are both worth seeing. The train station has a similar tiled interior and interesting architecture. The streets around it also have a lot of character.
Duoro Valley
The next day was a long but worthwhile tour of the Duoro Valley through Get your Guide. It featured great food and wine tastings and a private boat ride down the Duoro river. It was a great value and there is a reason people rate these Duoro valley tours so highly. I debated whether it was worthwhile given our original plan of 3 days in Porto but we added a 4th day which made a Duoro valley excursion an easy choice.
The next day we caught the train to Lisbon.
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