24 Hours in Porto - 5 Top Tips

5 top tips for a short visit to Porto. 

If you find yourself in Porto with a few hours to spare here are my top tips.

Porto

At the start of a walking holiday in northern Portugal we had just over 24 hours in Porto.  It should have been a bit longer but a flight delay robbed us of a couple of hours.  Arriving after midnight we decided that we would do as much as we could on the following day before catching our train north the day afterwards.

Here are my recommendations for 24 hours in Porto:

1. Go down to the river.  Even though we arrived after midnight we found bars open and strolled down to the River Duoro.  Our accommodation was in the old part of the city on the north side of the river so the view we had was of the Port Houses, Sandeman, Calem, Graham, Taylors etc all lit up on the south side of the Duoro.  The Ferris wheel and bridges are also lit up so it is quite a sight at night.

In daylight the waterfront is busy with visitors, sightseers, locals getting ferries or simply wandering along the riverfront, browsing stalls of the craft market or sipping coffees or glasses of port in one of the cafes or bars. You could also take the ferry across the river to visit the Port Houses.

Porto riverside

2. Take a Postcard photo. Walk over the Ponte Luis I bridge to the south side for a great view of Porto.  From the riverside there is a funicular railway to take you up the hill, this stops near the cathedral and the top of the high bridge over the river.  Trams run along the middle of this bridge but pedestrians can walk along either side of the tram tracks. On the north side look down to see some lovely old rooftops, on the south side look back to the city for a postcard-worthy photo.

Rooftops seen from the bridge

3. Step into the past.  Return over the bridge to the north of the river and continue heading north until you reach the wonderful Sao Bento railway station.  Inside it has incredible tiled walls that take your breath away! The walls are covered with azulejos depicting scenes from many years ago.  They are absolutely stunning.

Azulejos inside Sao Bento  railway station

Here you can also do a spot of people watching, you might find some interesting characters around this part of the city, both inside and outside the station.

Interesting outfit

If you like spotting ghostsigns there is a great one to see from inside the station, overlooking the platform on the left.

Ghostsign spotted from the station platform

4. Head for the university. Heading north west to the University area, you will find:

• a very ornate baroque church (Ingreja do Carmo) with azulejos adorning the outside 
• a square, Praca Teixeira, with a fountain and probably a few skateboarders 
• a garden created on a car park roof (Praca de Lisboa) where students, locals and tourists relax 
• a famous historic bookshop (Livraria Lello) which usually has queues of people waiting to go inside! It apparently helped to inspire JK Rowling to write the Harry Potter stories.
  
  

Ingreja do Carmo

Outside the university

A garden on the roof of a car park

Livraria Lello

Queue to visit the bookshop

5. Climb up for a view.  At the south eastern end of the Praca de Lisboa garden is the Clerigos Church which has a tall bell tower that visitors can climb to get amazing views over the city. It is said to be the tallest bell tower in Portugal. Be prepared to queue if you want to go up the tower, and also be prepared to climb up about 230 steps to get to the top!

After all this walking you are probably thirsty so why not pop into a bar and sample a glass or two of port, the famous wine of Porto, with a Pastel de Nata custard tart to go with it...

Boa viagem!