Ribeira for the view, Gaia for the port, the Douro for a whole day.
Which Gaia lodge pours the better tasting, whether the bridges cruise earns its hour, and what lunch at a Douro quinta costs. Reviews of the tours you can book in and around Porto.
A walk to Lello, the six bridges, a Gaia cellar, a Douro quinta.
The four bookings most first visits to Porto are built around, with what each one costs and what the travellers who took it said.
01The first morningPorto Walking Tour, Lello Bookshop, River Cruise and Cable CarLello bookshop, the granite old centre on foot, then a boat on the river and the cable car back up. The whole city in one booking.
02Under the six bridgesSix Bridges CruiseUnder all six bridges and back from the Ribeira quay in under an hour. The cheapest way to see Porto from the water.
03The Gaia eveningTaylor’s Port Cellars & TastingTaylor’s lodge sits at the top of the hill in Vila Nova de Gaia: the cellars, a tasting, and a garden with the whole city across the river.
04A day up the DouroComplete Douro Valley Wine Tour with Lunch, Wine Tastings and River CruiseTerraced vineyards two hours east, tastings at the quintas, lunch and a boat on the river. The day trip most Porto itineraries are planned around.
Taste port in a Gaia lodge, at a Douro quinta, or on a boat out of Pinhão.
Port is grown up the valley and aged at the river mouth, so you can drink it at either end. Three kinds of wine day, what each costs to join, and where it takes you.
Porto on foot, Gaia across the bridge, then out to the valley and the coast.
The granite old town and its riverfront, the lodges on the south bank, the terraced Douro, Aveiro’s painted boats, the two old capitals of the Minho and the gorges at Arouca.
The tours Porto books most.
The full Porto list →The bookings more travellers make than any others in Porto and up the valley, and the reason each one holds its place.
1
The Unvanquished Tour in Porto City Center
In about two and a half hours, an English-speaking guide leads you through central Porto, from Avenida dos Aliados to the cathedral. You’ll see São Bento Station, the Clérigos Tower, Rua das Flores, and more, while hearing local stories and getting tips for the rest of your stay. Major paid sights are viewed from outside, and you pay what you want at the end.
Prices from $3
Read our review →
2
Douro Valley w/ Boat Tour, Wine Tasting & Lunch
from $82
3
Complete Douro Valley Wine Tour with Lunch, Wine Tastings and River Cruise
from $101
4
Six Bridges Cruise
from $21
5
Live Fado Show with Glass of Port Wine
from $23
6
6 Bridges Douro River Cruise
from $23
7
Torre dos Clerigos Entrance Ticket
from $11
8
Guided Tour by Tuk-Tuk & Optional Douro River Cruise
from $20
Six bridges, a sailboat at sunset, a rabelo upriver: Porto from the water.
The river is the city’s front room. Take the bridges cruise for the views, a sailboat for the evening light on the Gaia lodges, or a boat out of Pinhão when the trip is really about the wine.
- 1Six Bridges Cruisefrom $21
- 26 Bridges Douro River Cruisefrom $23
- 3Aveiro: Traditional Moliceiro Boat Tourfrom $16
One day out of Porto: Guimarães castle, Braga’s stairway, Aveiro’s canals, Arouca’s bridge.
The north of Portugal is small enough to see from one Porto hotel. Minibuses leave the centre around eight and are back for dinner, which is most of the case for never changing rooms.
Porto: climb the old town in the morning, drop to the river by lunch.
Every way into Porto →Start at the Clérigos tower and Lello while the lanes are quiet, wind down past the Sé to the Ribeira, and cross the iron bridge to Gaia when the lodges open. These three carry more travellers than any other way of seeing the city.
Lello bookshop, with a guide or without
Entry is by ticket bought ahead, and the line on Rua das Carmelitas still forms before the doors open. The guided walks that include Lello handle the ticket and the timing for you.
A tuk-tuk for the climbs nobody wants to walk
Porto runs uphill from the river in every direction. An electric tuk-tuk covers the Sé, Clérigos, the Foz road and the viewpoints in the time it takes to walk two of them.
Bifanas, cured ham and a francesinha argument
A walk through the Bolhão quarter and the tascas around it: a pork bifana at the counter, ham and cheese from the north, a warm nata, and the francesinha every local has an opinion about.
Three things Porto does better than anywhere.
Any city can sell you a river cruise. Fado in a Ribeira house, custard tarts burnt in the oven on purpose, and a boat built to carry wine casks down a gorge are another matter.
Fado
Fado gets filed under Lisbon, but Porto keeps its own houses and its own singers. A fadista stands in front of a Portuguese guitar and a classical guitar and sings about longing, the sea and the people who never came back. Rooms are small, sets are short, a glass of port usually comes with the ticket, and talking during a song is the one thing you must not do.
- 1Live Fado Show with Glass of Port Wine★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · 6,498 reviews
- 2Cálem Cellar Tour, Fado Show & Wine Tasting★★★★★★★★★★ 4.4 · 3,530 reviews
- 3Authentic Fado Show, Port Wine & Handmade Instruments★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · 2,737 reviews
Pastel de nata
The custard tart left a Lisbon monastery two centuries ago and reached every café counter in the country. A good one has a crisp, layered shell, custard barely set in the middle and a top scorched dark in a very hot oven. The classes have you pressing the pastry into the tins with your thumbs and eating the results warm, under cinnamon.
- 1Pastel de Nata Cooking Class with Grandma’s Recipe★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 1,565 reviews
- 2Pastel de Nata Pastry-Making Workshop★★★★★★★★★★ 4.9 · 1,542 reviews
- 3Pastel de Nata Cooking Class with Port Wine – Sé★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · 888 reviews
The rabelo boat
Flat-bottomed and square-sailed, the rabelo carried casks of young wine down the Douro rapids to the lodges at Gaia until the railway and the dams took the work. The lodges still race them on the river every June for São João. Today they carry passengers instead, from the Ribeira quay and from Pinhão in the vineyards.
- 1Pinhão: Douro River Solar Boat Tour with Wine Tasting★★★★★★★★★★ 4.9 · 469 reviews
- 2From Pinhão: Douro Valley Rabelo Boat Tour with Port Wine★★★★★★★★★★ 4.4 · 460 reviews
- 3From Pinhão: Douro Valley Tour w/ Wine Tasting and Boat Trip★★★★★★★★★★ 4.6 · 316 reviews
What a day in Porto costs, from a tower ticket to a quinta lunch.
Every tour on the site, sorted into three price bands. A good share of this city costs less than a bottle of decent tawny.
Cellar tastings, the bridges cruise, fado nights, tower tickets and the pastel de nata classes.
- 1The Unvanquished Tour in Porto City Centerfrom $3
- 2Six Bridges Cruisefrom $21
- 3Live Fado Show with Glass of Port Winefrom $23
Most Douro Valley days, the Braga and Guimarães coaches, food walks and e-bike rides.
Private quinta days, chartered yachts and small-group tastings at the big estates.
Four Porto bookings that will not wait for you.
Most of Porto can be decided over breakfast. These four run on timed entry, capped groups and a harvest calendar that fills well before you arrive.
- 01Porto Walking Tour, Lello Bookshop, River Cruise and Cable CarLello admits visitors on tickets bought ahead, and the first slots after opening are the only ones without a crowd inside.
- 02Aveiro, Paiva Walkways and Arouca 516 FootbridgeThe suspension bridge is crossed in timed groups with a cap on each one, and the walkway days from Porto run on small minibuses.
- 03Torre dos Clerigos Entrance TicketThe tower climb is sold for set times. The late-afternoon slots over the rooftops are the first to go in summer.
- 04Douro Valley w/ Boat Tour, Wine Tasting & LunchSeptember is harvest, the busiest weeks at the quintas, and the small-group valley days sell out a long way ahead.
When the Atlantic rain sets in over Porto, go down into the cellars.
Porto gets about twice the rain London does, most of it between November and March, and it comes in off the Atlantic sideways. The answer is a roof: the cool lodges across the river, a fado room, a kitchen full of pastry, a museum on the waterfront.
By place: the city, the river, the north
Porto, Gaia, the Douro, Guimarães and Aveiro: a week that covers the north.
MatosinhosPorto tours we reviewed most recently.
More fresh Porto reviews →
Private Tour of the Historic City in a Classic Ford T
Read our review →
Private Tour to Lamego and Viseu, the Dão wine region
Read our review →
Douro Valley Private Day Trip including Boat Ride & Wine Tasting
Read our review →
Adventure Paiva Passages: Suspension Bridge and Picnic | Porto
Read our review →
Paiva Walkways & Arouca Suspension Bridge – All Inclusive!
Read our review →
Half Day Porto & Beach Side Small-Group Tour- Different Tastings
Read our review →
Porto Food Tour: 10 tastings at 5 restaurants & eateries
Read our review →
