How to make the most of one day in Porto

You might be organising a day trip to Porto from Lisbon, or you have a flight connection in Porto and hence have a few hours to spend in the city.
It doesn’t matter. Whatever the reasons are for you to spend one day in Porto, welcome! Here you’ll find my one day itineraries in the city. And you want to know the things you CAN’T MISS in the city, check out my Ultimate Bucket list of Porto! 🙂

No time to read a long article? Here’s a summary

You can either read the detailed itineraries I wrote OR you can pick TWO of these blocks (do one in the morning and another one in the afternoon):

• Block A) Visit to a Port wine lodge (Graham’s or Cockburn’s) + Take the 6 bridges cruise + Take the cable car from Cais de Gaia
• Block B) Lello bookstore + multimedia show at the Clérigos church + São Bento train station + Vitória viewpoint
• Block C) Palácio da Bolsa + St Francis church + walk in Ribeira neighborhood
• Block D) Serralves contemporary art museum + Casa da Música + Synagogue of Porto

Sprinkle it with lunch or dinner and voilá!, you have day planned 🙂

5 possible itineraries for a single day in Porto

What you decide to do on a single day in a city really depends on your pace, your travelling profile and also who you’re travelling with.
Therefore, I wrote five day itineraries in Porto: one for families with kids, one for couples, one for middle age / senior citizens, one for large groups and another one for solo travelers.

Regardless of your age and the people you are travelling with, I suggest you to take a private tour with us.

You will make the most of your day if you book a private tour with us

If you have just one day in Porto then the best way to get to know the city and learn more than the obvious things is to join a tour with an experienced, enthusiastic and knowledgeable guide.
Our tours are always private, which means that we will tailor make an itinerary that matches your travel expectations and your rhythm. You can read the reviews on our TripAdvisor and see the wonderful things that people are writing about us.
If you are interested, check our tours page or send me an email to sara.riobom@portoalities.com with your preferred date for the tour, and a bit of information about your group. I will take it from there 🙂

One day in Porto: itinerary for Couples

What you find romantic is not necessarily what I find romantic, so please keep an open mind when reading this suggestion 😉

If I had one day in Porto with my boyfriend, I’ll definitely start with a morning walk at the Crystal Palace gardens. It’s a peaceful garden, very close to the city centre and free of charge.
There, you can go for a walk, sit quietly by the lake, feed the peacocks, visit the roses’ garden and even take a quick nap. It’s perfect 🙂

Afterwards, go walking in Rua Miguel Bombarda, where most part of the art galleries in Porto are located. On this street, as well as on a perpendicular one called Rua do Rosário, you will find beautiful concept stores and cute restaurants.

Then go for lunch. A place where I really enjoy going to is Centro Comercial Bombarda – it’s a cool, modern shopping mall with cute concept stores and two nice restaurants. Go to a restaurant called “Sabores & Açores”, as it has really nice Azorian – inspired dishes at affordable prices.
In the afternoon, continue your walk towards the city centre. There’s plenty of monuments to see – Lello bookstore, the stunning Clérigos tower, Allies Avenue, São Bento train station, the cathedral of Porto… whatever you end up doing, you have to cross the upper deck of Luiz I bridge at the end the day, and watch the sunset at Serra do Pilar. It’s so romantic!
If you feel like doing something more entertaining you can end your day in Porto with a fabulous Fado show at Casa da Guitarra. You can get an online ticket to watch a Fado show for just 15€, which includes a glass of Port wine.

One day in Porto: itinerary for >50 years old

From my perception, usually middle aged and seniors prefer to do slow tourism, as they don’t feel the rush to see everything but would rather enjoy what they really want to see at their own pace. I suggest the following itinerary:

If you only have one day in Porto, start it with a guided tour (followed by a wine tasting) at a Port wine lodge. Usually the lodges by the riverfront are very crowded and the tours are not very good, so I suggest you to pick a lodge on the hills: Graham’s or Cockburn’s Port wine lodge.

From there walk down to the riverside, where you can get the 6 bridges cruise. This is a relaxed cruise in Douro river that will allow you to enjoy the fantastic views of both Porto and Gaia, on the other side of the river.
After these activities, you can grab a bite at Mercado Beira Rio, still in Cais de Gaia, where you’ll find plenty of food options.

Afterwards, simply take the cable car from Cais de Gaia (where you just had lunch) to the top of Luiz I bridge, the famous iron bridge from Porto. From there, it is a short and easy walk to the city centre.
Once you arrive in downtown Porto, there are some very nice monuments for you to see: the cathedral of Porto, the stunning São Bento train station, Avenida dos Aliados (the Allies’ avenue), and Lello bookstore.
You should also go to the Clérigos church – don’t get discouraged by the long queue, that is for the TOWER, not the church itself (which is stunning and free of charge, by the way! 😉

You can end your day in Porto with a fabulous Fado show at Casa da Guitarra. It is the cheapest way of listening to Fado in Porto, because it does not involve dinner. You can get an online ticket to watch a Fado show at Casa da Guitarra for only 15€, which includes a glass of Port wine.
This Fado show in Porto starts at 18h and it lasts for one hour, during which the voice of a wonderful female singer and the melody of Portuguese guitars will take you on a journey into the Portuguese culture 🙂
I recommend you to get the online ticket to Casa da Guitarra as it is a very popular show, so it gets sold out very easily. You don’t need to print it, just show it on your smartphone at the entrance.
Another affordable way of listening to Fado in Porto is to get a combo ticket to visit one of the best Port wine cellars in Porto and enjoy the wine tasting while listening to a live fado concert played in front of the wine barrels. How does that sound?! 🙂
Now, this is a really good deal because a visit and wine tasting at a Port wine cellars costs around 15 / 18€ these days, and if you go to a traditional Fado show (in a restaurant) you will never pay less than 30€. Therefore, by getting a combo ticket you are saving a lot of money since it only costs 21€.

Alternative plan for those who don’t want to visit the Port wine lodges:

If you’re not so keen on Port wine, then just substitute it with a nice tram ride followed by a coffee at a splendid pastry shop. How does that sound?! 😉

One day in Porto: itinerary for large groups

When you are traveling with a large group (whether family or friends) you most definitely need an open mind and loads of patience. After all, it is hard to combine the expectations and travel preferences of many people. But I am writing this article to help you make the most of one day in Porto, so here we go!

I get hundreds of emails from groups who, quite rightfully, believe that the best way to spend a day in Porto is to join a half day tour with us because this way they get to see the major sights and points of interests of the city. Moreover, because we only organize private tours, our tours are more price friendly to large groups.
However, if you prefer to do it on your own, these are my suggestions for one day in Porto:

The Stock Exchange Palace (Palácio da Bolsa), being one of the most famous monuments in Porto, needs no introduction. The tours inside the building are not particularly interesting (it’s very formal and impersonal, to be honest), but the building is stunning and will make your inner-Instagram-lover shine with joy.
Afterwards visit the stunning St Francis church, the only gothic church in the city. Even if you don’t like churches, I highly recommend you to set your prejudices aside and visit this one, because it is entirely covered in baroque gold leaf.
After these too monuments it is time to add some physical activity to your one day in Porto: rent a bike and ride all the way until Matosinhos, through Foz neighborhood! 🙂

You can stop halfway through to climb the Arrábida bridge’s concrete arch. It is quite an interesting activity (have you ever climbed the inside of a bridge?!) and the view at the top is very rewarding BUT it’s quite expensive.
Then you can continue all the way to Matosinhos, and head straight to one of the best seafood restaurants – I recommend you to go to O Gaveto or Salta o Muro, but you can’t really go wrong at a fishermen city.
After lunch you can go for a walk by the beach of Matosinhos. Afterwards, as you drive towards Ribeira neighbourhood (where you have to return your bikes), stop for a bite at Casa de Pasto da Palmeira (tapas tavern) or Bocca (a great pizzeria).
Another option is to stop pretend that you care about food and ride all the way to CaipiCompany to have some refreshing caipirinhas by the beach 😛

One day in Porto: itinerary Families with kids

Only parents know how challenging it can be to travel with kids. They get easily distracted / cranky / tired and it can be quite an adventure to make them eat anything.
One thing that I’ve learn after taking many families on my tours in Porto is that kids can be a really good travel companion if 1) you engaged them on the activity you’re taking them to and 2) you give them choices of different activities.
Therefore, I wrote a loose one day itinerary in Porto with a few alternatives – my suggestion is for you to ask your little ones what they would prefer to do! 🙂 And, in any case, make sure to read my guide of the Top 15 activities in Porto for families with kids, as it will prove useful to you.

If I had one day in Porto with my kids, I’d spend the morning in the city centre, and then do a more kid – friendly activity in the afternoon.
In the morning, you can either visit the main monuments of Porto, like Rua de Santa Catarina (a commercial pedestrian street in Porto), São Bento train station, Lello bookstore and the iconic Bolhão market.

Then, you can go for lunch at one of the best family restaurants in Porto.
In the afternoon, I most definitely recommend you to visit the Biodiversity Gallery, one of the best family museums in Porto, or to visit the Serralves contemporary art museum. Both these museums have very interactive exhibitions and are surrounded by beautiful gardens that you can explore with the kids, but Serralves has the advantage of having a fantastic buffet style family restaurant.

Something else you can do with the kids is to watch multimedia show at the Clérigos church. It’s a fantastic lights & sounds show, and I must say that seeing the succession of images reflected in the Clérigos church is one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen recently in Porto.

The show lasts half an hour (which is great because the kids don’t even have time to get bored), and the first time slot is at 17h30. I suggest you to visit the garden of Cordoaria before the show, as it is just across the street. There is also an Amorino ice cream shop nearby 😉

An itinerary for Solo travellers

One thing you don’t know about me is that I’d rather travel on my own most part of the times. Yes, I have people I can travel with, but I simply enjoy the freedom of not having to compromise on my trips, and the likelihood of meeting new people is much higher. It’s addictive once you start doing it, so I totally understand your urge to do it! 🙂
Unlike the other groups I’ve written about here, I don’t think it makes sense to write an itinerary of one day in Porto for solo travellers because you can pretty much do whatever you want.Nonetheless, I’d like to give you a few links that I think that you might like:

• The best hostels in Porto, which are great to meet new people.
• The best hidden places in Porto.
• Where to Eat on a Budget in Porto.

Is it possible to visit Porto on a day trip from Lisbon?

Technically yes, it is doable, but to be honest it is also a bit idiotic to do a day trip from Lisbon to Porto.

The train ride from Lisbon to Porto takes around 2h40 / 3h, depending on the train you take; and they are usually late. This means that you are going to spend at the very least FIVE hours and a half inside a train, so you either A) take a very early train from Lisbon to Porto, spend a full day in Porto and then take the last train back to Lisbon, leaving you exhausted or B) you take a train at a reasonable hour and then you won’t have much time to explore Porto.

Something else that you should be aware of is that there are frequent strikes on the Portuguese trains, so even if you book your ticket in advance, it might get a last minute cancellation.

My honest opinion is: if you don’t have time to visit Porto properly, then don’t come. Save that trip for another time, which will give you the perfect excuse to come back to Portugal 😉

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