Porto, Portugal – More Beautiful Than Lisbon

Jun 10, 2017 • By Leonidas K. • 5 min read

Portugal Travel

Porto gave Portugal its name. Literally. The Romans called this settlement “Portus Cale” and over a few centuries that became “Portugal.” It’s the country’s second-largest city (about 215,000 in the core, 1.7 million in the metro), and locals will happily argue it’s better than Lisbon.

I took the train up from Lisbon and within minutes understood why people love this place. The city is built into steep granite cliffs on both sides of the Douro River, every surface covered in colorful tiles, and the entire historic center has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996. Porto is also the birthplace of Port wine, though the cellars are technically across the river in Vila Nova de Gaia (a detail Porto residents pretend doesn’t exist).

Arriving by Train

The train from Lisbon to Porto takes about 3 hours and the arrival is one of the most scenic in Europe. You cross the Douro River gorge on a bridge hundreds of feet above the water, with the entire city stacked up on the cliffs ahead. Campanhã station is where you land, Porto’s main railway hub since 1877.

Bridges spanning the Douro River gorge, seen from the train arriving into Porto

Graffiti-covered CP trains at Porto’s Campanhã station

Train tracks leading into a tunnel, with the hillside city rising above

Streets, Tiles & Churches

Walking through downtown Porto is like being inside an outdoor museum of Portuguese decorative arts. Nearly every building is covered in azulejo tiles, the hand-painted blue-and-white ceramics that have been a national obsession since the 15th century (they got the technique from the Moors). The Capela das Almas on Rua de Santa Catarina is covered in roughly 16,000 tiles installed in 1929. Igreja do Carmo has the largest azulejo panel on any single church wall in Portugal.

A Fado bar with colorful street murals on a cobblestone alley

Historic buildings in downtown Porto with a “Vestir Bem e Barato” sign

A building facade adorned with traditional blue and white azulejo tiles

A bustling shopping street lined with classic European architecture

The Capela das Almas covered in stunning blue azulejo tile panels depicting religious scenes

An art deco building with a cylindrical corner tower

A shop window display of Port wine bottles with handwritten price tags

A church bell tower rising above Porto’s rooftops

An ornate Beaux-Arts building with a green-domed tower

A stone fountain surrounded by classic Porto architecture

The gilded main altar inside a Porto church, bathed in warm light

The baroque facade of Igreja da Trindade with its bell tower

A seagull perched on a fountain in front of a church with stained glass windows

Port wine shops are everywhere. The fortified wine has been produced in the Douro Valley since 1756, making it the world’s first officially regulated wine region. A bottle of decent tawny Port runs about $10-15, which is one of many reasons Porto is cheaper than Lisbon.

A tiled building with wrought-iron balconies and a red British-style phone booth

Motorcycles and scooters parked on cobblestone streets

Close-up of an azulejo tile mural depicting a historical religious procession

A war memorial statue in a small plaza surrounded by traditional buildings

A narrow pedestrian street lined with shops and traditional buildings

A Don Quixote and Sancho Panza street art mural

Colorful row of buildings with shops and cafes at street level

The Palácio da Bolsa (Stock Exchange Palace), built between 1842 and 1910, is worth a visit for the Arab Room alone. It’s a Moorish Revival hall that took 18 years to decorate. The building itself was commissioned by Porto’s merchant class to impress foreign traders, and it worked.

The ornate baroque facade of Igreja do Carmo

The neoclassical Palácio da Bolsa with its columned facade

Torre dos Clérigos

At 76 meters, the Torre dos Clérigos is the tallest church tower in Portugal and the best viewpoint in the city. Built between 1754 and 1763 by Italian architect Nicolau Nasoni, who designed half of Baroque Porto and is actually buried inside the church below. You climb 240 steps in a narrow spiral staircase (not recommended if you’re claustrophobic) and the reward is a 360-degree panorama of red rooftops, the Douro River, and Vila Nova de Gaia across the water.

Looking straight up at the Torre dos Clérigos with a saint statue in a niche

Panoramic view of Porto’s red rooftops from the top of the Clérigos Tower

Red rooftops stretching toward the Douro River and the Sé Cathedral

Aerial view from the tower looking down at the surrounding neighborhood

Tilt-shift view of Porto’s vibrant orange rooftops from the Clérigos Tower

I brought a tilt-shift lens specifically for this tower, and it was worth it. The miniature effect turns Porto into something that looks like a handmade model city.

A park with a circular café pavilion and people lounging on the grass, seen from above

Tilt-shift view over colorful buildings and red rooftops from the tower

Tilt-shift aerial view looking down a main avenue through Porto’s old town

Tilt-shift view of a small plaza surrounded by colorful buildings on the hillside

Tilt-shift view of the Douro River with boats and Vila Nova de Gaia across the water

The Porto Cathedral rising above the rooftops, with tilt-shift from the tower

The Sé Cathedral & Old Town Alleys

The Sé do Porto is the city’s oldest monument, a Romanesque fortress-church started in the 12th century. It sits on the highest point of the old town, and the surrounding alleys feel untouched by the last 400 years. Laundry hangs between buildings, stray dogs wander past, and the Fernandina Wall (built in the 1370s to defend against Castilian invasion) still stands at the base of the cathedral hill.

A narrow alley in the old town with a local and two dogs, laundry hanging from balconies

A man walking through a narrow, dimly-lit alley between weathered old buildings

The ancient Fernandina Wall and gate below the Porto Cathedral

Porto’s skyline at dusk with the Clérigos Tower in the distance

The ornate baroque loggia and battlements of the Porto Cathedral

Tilt-shift view of Vila Nova de Gaia with Port wine boats on the Douro River

The Sé do Porto with its fortress-like twin towers and the pillory column

The Douro River & Ponte Luís I

The Douro River is Porto’s defining feature. The Ribeira waterfront (the medieval neighborhood along the north bank) is where everyone ends up at sunset, watching the light hit the Port wine cellars across the water in Vila Nova de Gaia. The Ponte Luís I, designed in 1886 by Théophile Seyrig (who had previously worked with Gustave Eiffel on the nearby Maria Pia Bridge), spans 172 meters at a height of 45 meters. The upper deck carries the metro; the lower deck is for cars and pedestrians.

Church domes and crosses silhouetted against the sunset

A steep stone stairway descending toward the Douro River

A metal footbridge crossing over a deep ravine with old buildings clinging to the cliffside

Porto’s skyline from across the river showing the City Hall tower

The statue of Vímara Peres near the Sé commemorates the nobleman who reconquered Porto from the Moors in 868 AD. That’s basically the founding event of Portugal as a political entity.

The equestrian statue of Vímara Peres silhouetted against the evening sky with the Sé Cathedral behind

Tilt-shift view looking down the Ponte Luís I bridge with metro tracks and pedestrians

Buildings perched on vine-covered cliffs above the Douro River

Golden hour view of Porto’s hillside cascading down to the Douro River

The rocky Douro River gorge with a bridge in the distance

Tilt-shift view of a road winding along the Douro River cliffs

Tilt-shift aerial view of the colorful Ribeira waterfront along the Douro

Tilt-shift close-up of the Ribeira promenade with restaurant umbrellas and colorful buildings

A small church nestled on the rocky cliffs along the Douro River

São Bento Station

São Bento is a working train station that happens to contain one of the most impressive tile installations in the world. The entrance hall is covered in roughly 20,000 azulejo tiles painted by artist Jorge Colaço between 1905 and 1916. Each panel depicts a different scene from Portuguese history: medieval battles, royal courts, religious processions, and rural folk festivals. Most tourists take one photo and leave. Spend 15 minutes reading the scenes instead; it’s better than most museums.

Azulejo tile mural depicting a traditional folk festival inside São Bento station

Colorful tile mural of Portuguese folk in traditional dress inside São Bento station

Azulejo tile mural of a cavalry charge inside São Bento station

Azulejo tile mural of a medieval royal court scene inside São Bento station

Azulejo tile mural of a religious procession inside São Bento station

Porto After Dark

Porto transforms at night. The Port wine cellars across the river light up with neon signs, the Ribeira waterfront glows with restaurant lighting, and the Ponte Luís I becomes a lit-up frame for the whole scene. The Mosteiro da Serra do Pilar (a 16th-century circular monastery on the south bank) is especially striking when illuminated.