What Are the Best Attractions to Visit in Porto?

Porto is a magical city in Portugal with a deep historical and cultural background. This vibrant city has plenty of attractions to offer, from breathtaking landscapes to interesting walking tours. From the Ribeira district to the bridges over the Douro River, Porto is one of those cities that keep enchanting visitors with endless things to explore and discover. Here is a detailed guide to the fifteen main attractions you should visit when you are in this fascinating city.

City Sightseeing Tour

If you want to explore the main attractions of Porto in a single day, then the City Sightseeing Tour is the perfect way to do it. The electric bus takes you around the main landmarks of the city, such as the Clérigos Tower, the Stock Exchange Palace, and the riverside district of Ribeira. The tour follows two itineraries, one of them going around the city center and the other focusing more on the riverfront. The tickets for the tour can be easily bought online, and it is a great way to get an overview of the city in a short amount of time.

Serralves Museum

The Serralves Museum is located in the picturesque residential area of Foz. It is a museum of modern and contemporary art and includes many exhibitions, both permanent and temporary ones. The building itself is a piece of artwork, as its exterior combines modernist architecture with historical elements. It has some large gardens full of rare plants and a restaurant located inside. The Museum also organizes music concerts, during which visitors can enjoy beautiful views or spend their time shopping in its Guimarães Rosa mini-market.

Caves of Vinho Verde

The Caves of Vinho Verde are located around 10 kilometers north of Porto and are an attraction you shouldn’t miss if you are a fan of wine. Touring these famous caves is the perfect occasion to learn more about the traditional Porto wine production and get familiar with different characteristics and flavors of this beloved beverage. The guided tour takes around one hour and offers a tasting experience of Porto wines produced in the region.

Palácio de Cristal Garden

The Palácio de Cristal Garden is an English-style botanical garden located at Passeio Alegre, very close to Don Luis I bridge. Created in 1839 by Don Ferdinando II, this beautiful and peaceful garden provides stunning views over the Douro River as well as plenty of chances to observe various species of animals and plants in their natural environment. Visitors can also enjoy a stroll around or hire a paddleboat if they want to admire the landscape from the water.

Book Market

Technically known as Feira do Livro de Porto, this market brings together booksellers from all around Portugal for a special occasion full of book-lovers. Located at Praça da Liberdade, it takes place about twice a year and is quite popular among locals as well as tourists. Here visitors can get some books at really cheap prices, find old titles as well as rare editions, attend special presentations, or listen to lectures from renowned writers who are invited to participate in this event.

Livraria Lello

Just a few meters away from Praça da Liberdade, Livraria Lello is home to one of Europe’s most beautiful bookstores. Founded by two brothers in 1906, this incredible bookstore is visited by thousands of tourists every day due to its immense external architecture, its impressive interior design, and its large variety of books in different languages. It is also believed that J.K. Rowling got inspired here while writing Harry Potter series as she lived in Portugal for several years.

Tram “Number 28”

The number 28 tram is probably one of the most charming parts about discovering Porto. This old-fashioned vehicle runs through narrow cobblestone streets in both Vila Nova de Gaia and actual Porto and provides a unique experience that immerses visitors into an ancient atmosphere sparked by the typical noises of trams throughout public transportation in Portugal’s second largest city. On this route you can explore some oldest areas in Porto, visit authentic taverns and cafes, or stop at some churches for amazing picturesque views of the Douro River.

Sao Bento Station Hall

The São Bento Station Hall is a well-known building integrated into the main local train station, which was founded in 1895. In 1906 the Hall was dismantled and designed with small azulejo tiles depicting several historical events along with rural and urban scenes related to workers’ movement or abolitionism activities that took place across Portugal. Today these same tiles are considered part of the building heritage by national authorities such as IGESPAR or IPPAR, entities responsible for keeping Portuguese architectural monuments as well as its idiosyncrasy intact.

Casa da Música

The Casa da Música is an impressive building located at Av. da Boavista, opened in 2005 as cultural center for music concerts and other events related to music industry. This modern architecture was designed by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas to impress visitors with its sharp angles, glass walls, and “floating” walls adjoined by bridges. Concerts in Casa da Música feature all kinds of music genres, from jazz and classic music to alternative rock and alternative pop.

Palácio da Bolsa

The Palácio da Bolsa (Stock Exchange Palace) looks almost like a palace with its amazing architecture and façades that remind us of royal apartments like Alcazar in Seville, Spain or Royal Palace in Queluz, Portugal. Located nearby Clérigos Tower at Rua Ferreira Borges, this majestic building also houses two significant economic associations: the Portuguese Commercial Association that currently preserves all commercial contracts signed in Portugal throughout history, and Camara dos Comerciantes (Chamber Commodities) active during 90’s centuries conducting various trading activities.

Clerigos Tower

One of Oporto’s recognizable landmarks is Clérigos Tower standing 75 meters tall at Praça dos Clérigos nearby Camara dos Comerciantes building. This neo-classical-style tower was built between 1754 and 1763 by Nicolau Nasoni who also designed several churches and public buildings all over Portugal. The viewing platform at the belfry provides spectacular views over Oporto’s city center, but be aware that there is an entrance fee for visiting these facilities.

Solar do Vinho do Porto

If you’d like to taste some local wines while enjoying beautiful riverfront views during your stay in Oporto then this winery might be just what you were looking for! Solar do Vinho do Porto offers delicious fortified wines produced according to centuries-old traditions as witnessed during guided tours across its vineyards or during wine tasting sessions hosted by professionals inside their tasting room (reservations required).

Don Luis I Bridge

Connecting Porto with Vila Nova de Gaia across Douro River lies Don Luis I Bridge. This double decker bridge was built between 1881 and 1886 with Eiffel family’s help after replacing an old iron bridge destroyed by rain tides during severe flooding that also caused extensive damage across Vila Nova de Gaia city center. Although bridge was damaged by international bombings during WWII it managed to retain its main characteristics thanks to intensive reconstruction works between 1949 and 1951 involving local authorities – hence Don Luis I bridge nowadays stands out as one most iconic landmarks in Portugal due its impressive engineering works yet intimate feeling it provides when crossing over it at sunset or at dawn during peaceful cruise along Douro river banks.

Caves Croft

The Caves Croft is another winery located near Praça da Batalha in Porto where visitors can follow guided tours across production lines as well as get some Porto wine tastings for up to three hours (reservations needed). Besides knowledge about vintage wines produced locally you will have also have an opportunity to learn more about techniques used here such as aging processes, type of grapes used for winemaking as well as stories regarding local population which led production techniques used here to perfection along past centuries since winery was established back in 1928 after buying several century-old wine cellars from Croft family back 1957 when production capacity really started to expand yet legacy remains still intact ever since.

To conclude, when planning your trip to Porto there are many different attractions you can pick based on your particular taste or simply based on your specific interests: whether that be local cuisine or historical sites or classic music concerts or simply enjoy natural scenery while visiting beautiful villages surrounds locals call “Portucale” which still remain unchanged after centuries thanks preservation works performed globally along past decades transforming this beautiful scenario into some kind of postcard filled with invaluable experiences only locals know how to transfer perfectly into visiting guest’s path throughout their journey into world’s oldest demarcated regions for wine production – hence make sure you discover more about them since you will be visiting one most magical yet underrated cities located at old continent filled with such surprises!

To learn more about attractions in Porto please visit VisitPortugal website, where you can find tips on hotels, restaurants, tours and other attractions in Porto!