Ribeira
Igreja de São Francisco looks from the outside to be an austerely Gothic church, but inside it hides one of Portugal’s most dazzling displays of baroque…
Must-see attractions in The Douro & Trás-os-Montes
Foz do Douro
This fabulous cultural institution combines a museum, a mansion and extensive gardens. Cutting-edge exhibitions, along with a fine permanent collection…
Ribeira
From Praça da Ribeira rises a tangle of medieval alleys and stairways that eventually reach the hulking, hilltop fortress of the cathedral. Founded in the…
Museu Nacional Soares dos Reis
Miragaia
Porto's best art museum presents a stellar collection ranging from Neolithic carvings to Portugal’s take on modernism, all housed in the formidable…
Ribeira
This splendid neoclassical monument (built from 1842 to 1910) honours Porto’s past and present money merchants. Just past the entrance is the glass-domed…
Massarelos
Sitting atop a bluff, this gorgeous botanical garden is one of Porto's best-loved escapes, with lawns interwoven with sun-dappled paths and dotted with…
Boavista
At once minimalist, iconic and daringly imaginative, the Casa da Música is the beating heart of Porto's cultural scene and the home of the Porto National…
Aliados & Bolhão
One of the world's most beautiful train stations, beaux arts São Bento wings you back to a more graceful age of rail travel. Completed in 1903, it seems…
Trás-os-Montes
Famously depicted on bottles of Mateus rosé, the 18th-century Casa de Mateus is one of Portugal’s great baroque masterpieces – probably the work of…
Ribeira
Completed in 1886 by a student of Gustave Eiffel, the bridge’s top deck is now reserved for pedestrians, as well as one of the city’s metro lines; the…
Aliados & Bolhão
Ostensibly a bookshop, but even if you’re not after books, don’t miss this exquisite 1906 neo-Gothic confection, with its lavishly carved plaster…
Aliados & Bolhão
On Rua de Santa Catarina stands the strikingly ornate, azulejo-clad Capela das Almas. Magnificent blue-and-white panels here depict scenes from the lives…
Vila Nova de Gaia
The cable car swings up to this hilltop park, which can also be reached by crossing the upper level of Ponte de Dom Luís I. Shaded by palms, these gardens…
Miragaia
Dating to the late 18th century, this captivating azulejo-covered church is one of Porto’s best examples of rococo architecture. The tiled panel on the…
Trás-os-Montes
Just north of the town of Ermelo, on the N304 between Vila Real and Mondim de Basto, is a turn-off to the dramatic Fisgas de Ermelo waterfalls. From this…
The Douro
A series of small chapels dotting the hillside, São Salvador do Mundo makes for a stunning diversion between Pinhão and Foz Côa. Follow the signs to these…
Miradouro São Leonardo de Galafura
Peso da Régua
For jaw-dropping views of the Douro Valley, head for this magnificent viewpoint between Régua and Pinhão. The N313-2 relentlessly switchbacks its way into…
Aliados & Bolhão
The 19th-century, wrought-iron Mercado do Bolhão closed its doors in spring 2018 for a major restoration project. No fixed date had been given for its…
Ribeira
This riverfront promenade is postcard Porto, taking in the whole spectacular sweep of the city, from Ribeira's pastel houses stacked like Lego bricks to…
Parque Arqueológico do Vale do Côa
The Douro
Most visitors to Vila Nova de Foz Côa come for one reason: to see its world-famous gallery of rock art. Although the park is currently an active research…
Museu da Misericórdia do Porto
Ribeira
The Museu da Misericórdia do Porto harmoniously unites cutting-edge architecture, a prized collection of 15th- to 17th-century sacred art and portraiture,…
Foz do Douro
The hum of traffic on the Avenida da Boavista soon fades as you enter the serene, green Parque da Cidade, Portugal's largest urban park. Laced with 10km…
Ribeira
In this handsomely renovated medieval town house, according to legend, Henry the Navigator was born in 1394. The building later served as Porto’s first…
Aliados & Bolhão
Lined with bulging, beaux arts facades and capped by the stately câmara municipal (municipal council), this avenida recalls grand Parisian imitators such…
Miragaia
Blink and you might miss that this is a church in its own right, snuggled as close as it is to the Igreja do Carmo. The twin churches are separated only…
Ribeira
Down by the Rio Douro, narrow streets open out onto a plaza framed by austerely grand, tiled town houses overlooking a picturesque stretch of the river…
Igreja de Nossa Senhora dos Remédios
The Douro
One of the country’s most important pilgrimage sites, this twin-towered, 18th-century church has a trim blue-and-white stucco interior with a sky-blue…
Vila Nova de Gaia
This swanky port-wine emporium inside a restored 18th-century riverside building celebrates all things port. In addition to a shop where tastings are held…
Jardim do Infante Dom Henrique
Ribeira
Presided over by the late-19th-century market hall Mercado Ferreira Borges and neoclassical Palácio da Bolsa, these gardens are named after the…
The Douro
Occupying a grand 18th-century episcopal palace, the Museu de Lamego is one of Portugal’s finest regional museums. The collection features five entrancing…
Aliados & Bolhão
Sticking out on Porto's skyline like a sore thumb – albeit a beautiful baroque one – this 76m-high tower was designed by Italian-born baroque master…
Miragaia
With its cobblestones polished smooth by centuries of shoe leather, and pretty tiled houses with little wrought-iron balconies and window boxes brimming…
Miragaia
Porto is reduced to postcard format at this viewpoint, perched high and mighty above a mosaic of terracotta rooftops that tumble down to the Douro. It's a…
Trás-os-Montes
Overlooking a dramatic bend in the Douro just south of the village of Picote, this viewpoint is a dramatic spot to watch the sunset.
Trás-os-Montes
Climb uphill from Largo de São Vicente and you’ll soon set foot inside the astonishingly well-preserved 12th-century citadel. People still live in its…
Centro Português de Fotografia
Miragaia
This stately yet muscular building (1767) once served as a prison and now houses a photography museum. You actually walk through the thick iron gates and…
Porto
This was Porto’s first public cemetery when it was inaugurated in 1839. It is considered an important landmark for its neo-Gothic architecture and…
Porto
The Igreja da Lapa Catholic church holds particular significance in Porto as the place where Portugal’s former king and first emperor of Brazil’s heart is…
Aliados & Bolhão
At the southern end of Rua de Santa Catarina is the lovely, eclectic Praça da Batalha, framed by Nasoni’s gracefully baroque Igreja de Santo Ildefonso…
Trás-os-Montes
This lovely little town of 70 souls situated in the eastern half of the park is entirely unfazed by the Spanish–Portuguese border splicing it down the…
