TO SEE

If you plan on visiting Porto’s highlights, grab a Porto Card which gets you free transport and access to 6 museums and a skip-the-line priority.

• Book a Sightseeing tour on the Douro This tour of the old wine merchants who transported Port to the rest of Europe.

• Take in the sunset at THE MIRADOURO DA VITÓRIA, it may look like nothing from the outside but it provides the best views

• Visit Livraria Lello, the world’s most beautiful library. This library supposedly inspired JK Rowling’s Hogwarts after she spent two years living in Porto. There are guided tours if thats your thing!

• Enjoy Port in Porto! Start at Porto Cruz Space, a five-story building that celebrates Porto’s wine culture and then wander to the wine houses down the street. Kopke Port House is the oldest, but also recommend Cálem, Caves Ferreira and Taylor (the most well known). This 3-hour Port wine tour + tastings explores some of the best Port houses.

  If you want to know more, take this full-day tour of the Douro Valley, which includes Port and olive tastings, traditional Portuguese lunch, and a Douro River cruise.

  • I also suggest Quinta da Roêda, which will set you up with a flawless tour and port-tasting, and the venue is just insane to look at -- hills covered with vines, olive trees, and poppies. Our wedding weekend is the perfect jump or ending to your trip to Portugal because harvest season is September / early October. You can do some old-school barefoot grape stomping.

• Torres do Clerigos it has been around since 1763. Access the bell tower via 230 stairs (it’s a workout!) which provides 360degree views of the city.

• Go tile hunting; Porto is known for its azulejo tiles which were first brought o Portugal from Spain in the 15th century. I recommend setting time to explore:

  • Porto Cathedral

  • Igreja de Carmo

  • Sao Bento Railways Station (20,000 tiles and way more than just a train station)

• Walk the Dom Luis Bridge and take in the sunset.

• Grab lunch and day drink at Praca Ribeira— the drinks are flowing and sometimes there is a Charlie Chaplin impersonator.

• Palacio da Bolsa was built between 1842 and 1910 you can walk around the amazing palace rooms yourselves or jump on a guided tour that start every 30 minutes.

• DAY TRIPS/ Extend your trip:

  • Praia de Matosinhos is a beach beloved by locals and is just a few minutes from Porto’s city center by public transport.

  • You’re right near Braga -- the country’s oldest town, often referred to as the “Portuguese Rome” because it can trace its origins back that far.

  • Ponte de Lima, a farming hub famous for its green wine (referring to age, not color) and hike into the mountains to see wild horses.