With Porto we had now reached the end of our Portugal tour. Completely without expectation, we began our discovery tour in the second largest city in Portugal. Surprisingly, this city captured my heart in a very short time.
On the way from Lisbon to Porto, halfway there, we made a short stop at the famous pilgrimage site of Fatima. It is reported that the Virgin Mary should have appeared there in 2017.
When we arrived in Porto, we started our tour in the heart of the city at Praça da Liberdade, the Freedom Square.
Praça da Liberdade
There are two churches nearby, the Igreja dos Clérigos and the Igreja de Santo Ildefonso. We’re not big museum and church fans, so we just took a snapshot and continued walking towards Ribeira.
Igreja de Santo Ildefonso
Igreja dos Clérigos 
Igreja dos Clérigos
When we arrived in the old town, we admired the Sé do Porto – the cathedral of Porto. This church sits enthroned on a hill and serves not only as a place of worship but also as a viewing platform.
Sé do Porto
From here it was only a short hop to the Praca da Ribera. It is one of the oldest squares in the city of Porto, is located directly on the promenade of the Douro River and is one of the most exciting areas of Porto.
To get a better overview of the Ribeira district, we decided to cross the Ponte Dom Luís I bridge. This connects the old town district of Ribera with Vila Nova de Gaia – the center of port wine production.
view of Ribera
view of Vila Nova de Gaia
Unfortunately we didn’t have a lot of time in Porto, but it was enough to leave a lasting impression.
Our personal opinion about Porto:
- romantic old town
- relatively cheap compared to the Algarve or Lisbon
- great viewpoints
On the following page you can get a very good overview of Portugal:
Best travel time:
Porto is an interesting travel destination all year round. We recommend spring and autumn for sightseeing.
Hotel recommendation:
Hotel Vila Galé Porto
More tips & recommendations:
Porto is small and manageable and the city can be explored on foot.
Those who like port wine are in good hands here. We personally like “normal” wine better, so we did not attend a tasting.
Here is our travel route through Portugal, we were on the road for 10 days.
Algarve – Lisbon – Porto
