3 Days in Porto: The Perfect 72 Hours

Three days in Porto is the perfect amount of time to really get under the city’s skin and see its nooks and crannies. 

With 72 hours, you’ll be able to see most of Porto’s most important sights and either fit in a day trip or discover some of the city’s off-the-beaten path gems. 

After living in Porto for a month and visiting for a week prior to that, I can easily say that spending three days in Porto is the sweet spot. 

You can check off the “must-sees” like climbing the Clerigos Tower, taking a tour of a port wine lodge, and eating the famous francesinha, while also getting the chance to take a day trip by train to town’s like Guimarães and Aveiro.

While you can certainly see a good chunk of Porto in one day, you won’t really get to slow down and appreciate its nooks and crannies, which are what makes this city so magical.  

Whether you’re looking to take it easy or you want to pack your days to the brim, this is the guide for you.
This three day itinerary for Porto will cover everything from how to get there and around, how to spend your three days wisely, and when you should visit!

Shortcut Itinerary for Three Days in Porto

Day 1: Spend your first day in Porto seeing the famous sights, which are luckily concentrated in the city’s historic center.

Day 2: Your second day in Porto can be spent tying up any loose ends from your first day and fitting in a few tours or experiences, like a cruise down the Douro River.

Day 3: Choose your own adventure! Decide if you want to venture out of the city for the day or head to another corner of Porto, like Foz do Douro!

Porto Three Day Itinerary Map

Is three days in Porto enough?

Three days is the perfect amount of time in Porto. You’ll have plenty of time to see the city’s best sights in the first two days and spend your third day either seeking out hidden gems or on a day trip.

Most travelers only stay in Porto for 24 hours. My honest opinion? Don’t be like most travelers! Porto is a smaller city than Lisbon (about half the size) with fewer major attractions and monuments to see, but that leaves you extra time to get into the nooks and crannies.

The day trips are also well worth lingering in the city for longer than two days!

Getting to Porto

Getting to Porto is easy and straightforward. First, most international flights land in Lisbon. From there, you can easily catch a connecting flight to Porto. Other major European cities also have direct flights to Porto.

Public transportation into the city from the airport is easy breezy. The metro picks up at the airport and goes straight to the center of town, taking about 45 minutes. You’ll likely have to make a switch at some point along the way, but the metro is very easy to navigate.

If you’re already in Portugal, high speed trains connect Lisbon and Porto hourly. The fastest train reaches Porto in about 2 hours and 40 minutes with the first train pulling out of Gare do Oriente (Lisbon’s main train station) at 6:40 am, although this train is a bit slower than the fast train that leaves at 7:10 am. 

Other larger cities in Porto like Coimbra, Aveiro, and Braga will also have direct trains to Porto that leave regularly throughout the day.

The Perfect 3 Day Itinerary in Porto

To make the most of your time, I highly recommend you arrive the night before this itinerary would start (technically four nights, three days in Porto).

If you can’t, try to catch the earliest train to Porto that you can. From Lisbon, that means you can arrive just before 10:00 am, store your bags, and get started exploring!

Day 1

Breakdown of Day 1:

• Pastel de nata for breakfast
• Hunt for azulejos! 
• Climb Se do Porto
• Lunch at Cervejaria Gazela
• Port wine lodge tour
• Drinks at Orpheu
• Dom Luis I Bridge for sunset
• Dinner at Brasão
• Fado show

Morning

Grab breakfast at Manteigaria

Manteigaria might be a Portuguese chain but there’s no denying that they bake up some of the best pastel de nata this side of the Atlantic!

You’ll get to see them making the pasteis (plural pastel) from scratch and have the option to take a box and your meia de leite (latte) to go or you can eat in there. Whatever you prefer!

There are two locations in Porto, one near the Mercado do Bolhão and another near the São Bento train station. I recommend starting at the Manteigaria near São Bento for this itinerary. Both locations open at 8:00 am.

Go on the hunt for azulejos

One of my favorite things to do in Porto is to search for azulejos! Azulejos are Portugal’s famous, blue tiles. Introduced to the country sometime around the 13th century, you’ll typically find them decorating the facade of churches and other important buildings. 

If you’re scratching your head as to where to find the most beautiful azulejos in Porto, many of the best examples are in the historic center. 

I recommend seeking out…

• São Bento Station
• Igreja de Santa Antonio
• Capela das Almas
• Igreja Santa Ildefonso
• Se do Porto

If you didn’t arrive in Porto at the São Bento train station, start there! The tiles here are simply gorgeous and across the street you’ll find another example at Igreja de Santa Antonio.

After that, the Capela das Almas should be next. These are some of my favorites and the most brilliantly blue. You can head to Igreja Santa Ildefonso next or save it for when you’re having lunch at Cervejaria Gazela later. 

If these beautiful blue Portuguese tiles don’t interest you, this would be a great time to swap in a Porto walking tour instead.

This one is about three hours long and covers many of Porto’s best sights while also giving you a local’s perspective on the city and its history. You can book here!

Climb Se do Porto

Built in the 12th century, the Se do Porto is the city’s crowning jewel. Little do most visitors know, but you can actually climb to the top of its right tower!

While visiting the cathedral’s nave is free, head inside the ticketing office to pay the €3 fee to see some of the sights lesser-known features. 

You’ll get to walk around the cloisters and second level terrace, both of which have amazing azulejos, before climbing the tower. Keep in mind that the stone staircase is very steep! 

Once you reach the top you’ll have beautiful views of the Douro River and out over the city’s terracotta rooftops.

Have lunch at Cervejaria Gazela

By now, you’ve probably worked up an appetite walking the city’s hills and climbing those stairs! That means you should head straight for Cervejaria Gazela, just a 10-minute walk away from the Se do Porto.

Made famous by Anthony Bourdain, this hole-in-the-wall restaurant has since grown to a second location which is situated across the street. 

I recommend visiting the original if you can for a more local vibe! We sat outside on the sunny patio to enjoy their specialty, cachorrinhos, otherwise known as Portuguese hot dogs. 

Slathered in a slightly spicy sauce and layered between cheese and crispy bread, these pair perfectly with an ice cold Super Bock or Coca-Cola! 

Timeline:

9:00 AM: Breakfast at Manteigaria
9:30 AM: Hunt for azulejos
11:00 AM: Climb Se do Porto
12:30 PM: Lunch at Cervejaria Gazela

Afternoon

Port wine lodge tour 

After filling your belly, make the trek down the hill to the riverfront, crossing the lower section of the Dom Luis I Bridge to the Vila Nova de Gaia neighborhood (often referred to simply as “Gaia”).

This is where all of the port wine lodges are located! If you’re short on time and trying to fit it all in, I would opt for either the Burmester Cellar Tour (1 hour, shortest tour, and least expensive) or the self-guided tour of Taylor’s Port Cellars, so you can move at your own pace. 

We did the Burmester Cellar Tour and had such a great time. Because we were traveling on a budget, this tour called to us. I was a little skeptical because it was the least expensive, but my husband and I both loved the experience!

You’ll take a guided tour through the cellars, learning about the history of Burmester and port wine making before a tasting of the good stuff.

Tours usually take around 1-2 hours, depending on which option you choose. Burmester also sits quite literally right across the Dom Luis I Bridge from the historic center of Porto, so you won’t have as much walking to do.

Head back across the bridge afterwards to walk along the Cais da Ribeira, the riverfront promenade. In summer, this section of town is bustling and you’ll likely have the chance to see Portuguese college students performing which is always a wonderful treat!

Drinks and petiscos at Orpheu

Keep the party going at Orpheu, my favorite bar in the city! Situated in the historic center, they dish up petiscos, otherwise known as Portuguese tapas, and delicious drinks.

We loved the port wine cocktails but they also have an amazing selection of local wine and an impressive list of N/A drinks too, like the Kombucha Flower and Palomita!

If the weather is nice, plan to sit out on the sidewalk, tucked between historic buildings with a view of the Clerigos Tower.

Timeline:

2:30 PM: Wine lodge tour
5:00 PM: Drinks and petiscos at Orpheu

Evening

Watch sunset on the Dom Luis I Bridge 

Spend your first evening in this magical city watching the sunset from the Dom Luis I Bridge. Built by a disciple of Gustave Eiffel (yes, the same guy who designed the Eiffel Tower!), this is one of the best viewpoints in Porto for sunset. 

Because the bridge faces directly west (or east), you can watch the sun dip below the horizon on a clear day. Porto’s metro also crosses the bridge and makes for unique pictures! 

Depending on the time of year, you might be pressed for time to make it to dinner and then the fado performance if you’re watching the sunset. The sun set’s around 5:00 PM in winter and at 9:00 PM in the summer.

If that’s the case, you could easily tack on this sunset spot to your day three itinerary after you get back to the city from Foz do Douro or your day trip!

Dinner at Brasão

After walking all over the city, now is your chance to try the famous francesinha, a Porto culinary classic. Head to Brasão Coliseu, a brewery turned restaurant that dishes up some really delicious bites. 

While the francesinha, a Portuguese take on the French croque monsieur, is definitely the star of the show, we also loved their rissole, kind of similar to Spanish croquettes.

The vibes and staff here are also amazing! Beers are brewed in house and served in specialty mugs. 

Catch a fado performance

End your first night in Porto with a bang! Ideal Clube de Fado is just a few minutes walk down the street and one of the best places in the city for a fado performance. 

Known for its melancholic melodies and forlorn lyrics, fado is to Portugal as flamenco is to Spain. These moving performances are accompanied by traditional Portuguese instruments like mandolins and guitars. 

The show at Ideal Clube de Fado is 1 hour and includes a glass of port wine. Considering they have over 1,000 five star reviews, this is the place in Porto for fado! 

Timeline:

7:00 (ish) PM: Sunset on the Dom Luis I Bridge
7:30 PM: Dinner at Brasão
9:15 PM: Fado performance at Ideal Clube de Fado

Day 2

Breakdown of Day 2:

• Breakfast at Confeitaria São Domingos
• Jardins Palacio Cristal
• Mercado do Bolhão
• Santa Catarina Shopping Street
• Lunch at Oficina dos Rissois
• Free time?
• Sunset cruise on the Douro 

Morning

Breakfast at Confeitaria São Domingos

Start day two with breakfast at a traditional confeitaria! Essentially a bakery and sweet shop, Confeitaria São Domingos offers a wide variety of traditional Portuguese pastries, served up with coffee, orange juice, and other morning beverages.

Despite being in the historic center, I think this spot is often overlooked. Still, it can feel a little chaotic if you come during peak breakfast hours. Just trust the process and know at the end you’ll have delights like pao de deus to look forward to! 

Stroll through Jardins do Palacio de Cristal

After filling up on pastries, walk it off at the Jardins do Palácio de Cristal. One of the most beautiful corners of Porto, this 20 acre park is perched overlooking the Douro River. 

Designed in tiers, it’s easy to find a secluded corner for a picnic (you could bring your breakfast here!) or pretty pictures. The swaying palm trees and views of the ocean in the distance on a clear day are reason enough to spend some time here.

One of the stars of the show in these gardens are the birds! You’ll see everything from peacocks to chickens and seagulls strutting around the grounds. 

Alternatively, you could swap out the gardens for visiting Livraria Lello, said to have been the inspiration for Flourish and Blotts in Harry Potter. 

I personally don’t think that Livraria Lello is worth the long lines. Still, I understand that it’s a bucket list destination for many! 

If you get there first thing in the morning (before 9:00 AM), it might be worth it. General admission is just €10 and your ticket goes towards the purchase of a book.

Visit Mercado do Bolhão for unique souvenirs

Next up is Mercado do Bolhão, the city’s largest market. You can either make the almost 30-minute walk through town (always my favorite option!), hop on the #8 bus, or take a taxi.

You’ll find over a dozen local vendors and restaurants, peddling everything from honey to wine. While there aren’t many stalls that serve food here, there are lots of restaurants around the market itself and on its second tier. 

If you find yourself already getting hungry, Culto ao Bacalhau is a wonderful spot to try Portugal’s claim to culinary fame — salt cod. If you don’t want to take my word, peep their nearly five star Google rating!

Timeline:

8:00 AM: Breakfast at Confeitaria São Domingos
*If you want to fit in Livraria Lello, get there before 9:00 AM!*
9:30 AM: Jardins do Palácio de Cristal
11:00 AM: Peruse Mercado Bolhão

Afternoon

Stroll down the Santa Catarina shopping street

If you’re looking to get in some retail therapy, there’s no better place to do it in Porto than Santa Catarina. Stretching about 1 mile long, visitors will find name brand stores like Zara and Levi’s alongside a few one-offs. 

All in all, it’s a bit touristy, but it makes for a fun afternoon activity on your second day! The gorgeous Capela das Almas and its blazing blue tiles also sits at the northern terminus of this road if you haven’t checked that off yet.

Grab lunch at Oficina dos Rissois

One of my all-time favorite restaurants in Porto, Oficina dos Rissois offers a modern take on the Portuguese classic, rissole. Rissole are a crispy, fried dough pocket typically filled with meat and sauce.

My husband and I visited many times during our month in Porto and I dream of eating here again one day. Don’t get me wrong, the food here is unpretentious and casual, but oh so elevated.

We loved their flatbreads, especially the black garlic, and the camarão (shrimp) rissole. Dining options are at their funky counter inside or on the sunny terrace.  

Climb Clerigos Tower

If you simply want to snooze for a few hours after a jam-packed day and a half in Porto, I wouldn’t blame you! 

For those who want to keep on exploring, climbing the Clerigos Tower is next. A towering Baroque monument and the highest point in Porto, the Clerigos Tower offers up some of the best sunset views in the city. Finished in 1763, the tower sits 246’ tall and is connected to the Catholic church of the same name.

You’ll have to climb over 240 stairs to reach the top, but once you do, you’ll be rewarded with breathtaking panoramic views of Porto. 

Tickets are just $11 and you can book time slots from 9:00 AM to 6:30 PM. Book here to climb the Clerigos Tower!

Timeline:

12:00 PM: Shop along Santa Catarina
1:00 PM: Lunch at Oficina dos Rissois
3:00 PM: Free Time or Climb Clerigos Tower

Evening

Dinner at Capela Incomum

One of my absolute favorite wine bars in Porto happens to be tucked inside a 16th-century chapel! Capela Incomum is the place to go for a romantic evening. 

After a fairly heavy lunch (depending on how many rissois you can eat!), head here for dinner and drinks. The food menu is fairly light but you can easily piecemeal an entire dinner of petiscos (Portuguese tapas).

Sip local, organic wine or one of their specialty port cocktails, perfectly paired with Portuguese cheese and other nibbles like cod croquettes. They also do a mean cachorro (similar to a Portuguese hot dog).

Depending on the time of year, you can sit inside the chapel itself (right by the altar!) or beneath the leafy beech tree in the courtyard out front. Talk about dreamy!

Sunset cruise on the Douro River 

There’s no better way to wrap up your second day in Porto than with a sunset cruise down the Douro River! 

This cruise option is the best in my opinion because you’ll also get to sail on the Atlantic Ocean for a portion of it! Float past the port wine cellars of Vila Nova de Gaia, the charming Foz do Douro neighborhood, and right out onto the open sea on a small sailboat.

Cruises leave around 7:00 PM, although shove off times vary depending on the season (early in winter, later in summer). Although the dolphins (!!) aren’t guaranteed, the port wine is! 

You can book this sunset cruise down the Douro here!

Timeline:

5:00 PM: Early dinner at Capela Incomum
7:00 PM: Sunset cruise on the Douro River

Day 3

Choose your own adventure! 

On day three, you can choose to take a day trip outside the city or keep exploring Porto and its surrounding neighborhoods. 

I usually opt for taking the train because I love traveling slowly and discovering a city at my own pace. Porto is an amazing destination for day trips by train, although you can also hop on a guided tour if that’s more your speed.

As far as day trips go, you have several options, but the most popular are Braga, Coimbra, Aveiro, and Guimarães (or some combination of two!). 

My favorite day trip from Porto was Guimarães. Tucked in the beautiful Minho region, Guimarães is just under an hour away and has delicious, regional cuisine, Medieval sights to explore, and a beautiful historic center.

You can read my guide on a day trip to Guimarães here!

If you decide to stay in Porto, I can’t recommend heading out to Foz do Douro enough. While Matosinhos typically gets all the hype — and it does have delicious seafood — Foz has a more charming feel. 

We took the antique, yellow tram (Line 1) out to Foz which was a fun experience in itself. Because it was a Saturday, we perused the weekend market and explored the quaint streets before grabbing an oceanfront lunch at Praia da Luz. Hint: Their terrace is more casual than dining inside!

When To Visit Porto

Porto is best visited in the off seasons of spring and fall. Temperatures are mild, crowds aren’t at their peak, and you’ll have plenty of daylight and (usually) sunshine.

Winter is actually one of my favorite times to visit Porto! The crowds are gone, the weather is often lovely, and prices are cheap.

Summer is typically fairly mild by most standards but the crowds — and prices — swell during this time of year. 

Getting Around Porto

Porto is a fairly small city and easy to get around using public transportation. 

The metro is extensive, fast, and will get you around both the historic center and to further flung neighborhoods in Porto like Matosinhos. Trams are another good way to get around and service areas that the metro doesn’t reach (like the Miragaia neighborhood).

Walking is probably the most popular way to get around Porto. Most of the famous sights are concentrated in the historic core, although keep in mind that Porto is very hilly! This can make the city much more difficult to get around if you aren’t used to walking hills or have mobility issues.

Uber also operates in the city if you need to get somewhere fast.

Where to Stay in Porto

You’re spoiled for choice when it comes to where to stay in Porto. There’s are plenty of swanky hotels, boho boutique properties, Airbnbs, and budget-friendly hostels to choose from. 

We usually stay in this Airbnb and can’t recommend it highly enough! While you’re right in the heart of the tourist center, it’s easy to go off-the-beaten-path and the views are *chef’s kiss*.

Tip: I would recommend staying in the historic center or on the Ribeira side of the river, no matter how long you’re staying in Porto, that way you’re close to most of the popular sights and you can easily store your bags. 

As for more traditional options, the Ribeira Douro Hotel is a stylish, boutique property tucked right on the Cais da Ribeira with rooms that face an interior courtyard — meaning you’ll be in the heart of it all but sleep peacefully. 

Torel Palace is another great spot with beautiful rooms and an outdoor swimming pool (rare in Porto). I would absolutely choose this option if I was taking a romantic trip to Porto! 

Final Conclusion

Three days in Porto is the perfect sweet spot to see all of the city’s most important sights and fit in a day trip or go exploring off-the-beaten path. 

My first trip to Porto was about a week long but after three days, I felt like I had a good grasp of the city. 

I hope this itinerary and its tips and tricks help you plan your three day trip to Porto! It’s going to be absolutely magical and I can’t wait to return someday soon myself.

If you only have 24 hours, fret not. You can also check out my guide to one day in Porto instead.

Planning a three day trip to Porto or dreaming of a European vacation? Save this post for later!