Porto was one of those cities that I found particularly enjoyable simply because so much of it could be explored on foot.
Built around the Douro River, the city combines steep streets, historic buildings, churches, markets and viewpoints with a waterfront that constantly seems to pull you back towards it.
I spent a few days exploring Porto, mostly by walking. Although the hills can make some routes more demanding than they first appear on a map, walking was also one of the best ways to experience the character of the city.
My trip included many of Porto's better-known landmarks, but some of my favourite experiences ended up being slightly different: learning about chocolate and wine at WOW, visiting the Pinhais cannery before walking along Praia de Matosinhos, and stepping inside the extraordinary Livraria Lello.
First Impressions: Walking Towards the Douro
One of my first walks through Porto naturally took me downhill towards the Douro River.
This was probably the best introduction I could have had to the city.
The closer I got to the river, the narrower and more atmospheric some of the streets became until eventually the Douro opened up in front of me.
Walking along the waterfront gave me my first proper view of the colourful buildings rising up the hillsides, the boats on the river and the enormous Ponte Luís I dominating the landscape.
It was also where Porto immediately started to feel different from Lisbon.
The river isn't simply something running alongside the city. It feels like one of the central features around which Porto has developed.
Over the next few days, I found myself returning to the Douro several times.
Porto Cathedral
One of the major landmarks I visited while exploring the historic centre was Porto Cathedral, or Sé do Porto.
Its elevated position means that reaching it involves some climbing, but the surrounding area provides excellent views over the rooftops towards the Douro.
The cathedral itself has a much more imposing appearance than many of the highly decorated churches elsewhere in Portugal.
Inside, the atmosphere becomes quieter and more restrained, while the cloisters introduce the blue-and-white tiles that appear so frequently throughout Porto.
More than anything, I enjoyed the cathedral as part of walking through the historic centre rather than treating it as an isolated attraction.
From here, Porto's steep streets continue downhill towards the river.
Church of Saint Francis
The Church of Saint Francis was another religious building I visited while walking around central Porto.
Its exterior gives relatively little indication of what waits inside.
Once inside, the amount of elaborate gilded decoration becomes the defining feature of the church.
It was a striking contrast to the much heavier appearance of Porto Cathedral and demonstrated just how different two historic churches within the same city can feel.
Because of its location near the riverfront, the Church of Saint Francis was also easy to incorporate into a wider walk around this part of Porto.
Crossing Ponte Luís I
It is difficult to spend much time in Porto without repeatedly seeing Ponte Luís I.
The enormous metal bridge connects Porto with Vila Nova de Gaia on the opposite side of the Douro and has become one of the defining features of the city.
Crossing it on foot was one of those simple experiences that I enjoyed far more than expected.
The views along the Douro reveal just how dramatically Porto rises from the river.
Looking back towards the city provides one of the classic views of Porto, while continuing across the bridge takes you into Vila Nova de Gaia.
And that became particularly important for one of my favourite parts of the trip: WOW – World of Wine.
Porto Legends: An Immersive Experience
One of the more unusual attractions I visited was Porto Legends.
Rather than another traditional museum, Porto Legends used an immersive multimedia and metaverse-style experience to introduce stories and legends connected with the city.
After spending hours walking around historic streets and visiting traditional monuments, the use of projection, sound and technology provided a completely different way of experiencing Porto's stories.
I always enjoy finding attractions that are slightly different from the standard sightseeing route, and Porto Legends provided exactly that.
Mercado do Bolhão
No visit to Porto would have felt complete without walking through Mercado do Bolhão.
Markets provide a completely different view of a city from its monuments and museums.
Inside Bolhão, the emphasis shifts towards food, produce and everyday activity.
Walking between the stalls was part of experiencing central Porto rather than simply visiting another attraction.
The surrounding area is also easy to explore on foot, making the market a convenient stop while walking through this part of the city.
Capela de Santa Catarina
While exploring the area, I also passed the Capela de Santa Catarina, which I viewed from outside.
The blue-and-white tiled exterior immediately catches your attention.
Porto is full of buildings where the exterior itself becomes the attraction, and this was one of them.
Rather than planning a lengthy visit, it became another interesting discovery during one of my walks through the city.
Coffee and Pastéis de Nata at Castro
There are times when walking around Porto's hills requires a break.
For one of mine, I stopped at Castro – Atelier de Pastéis de Nata for a coffee.
Naturally, being somewhere dedicated to pastéis de nata made it difficult not to combine the coffee with one of Portugal's most famous pastries.
Small stops like this became an important part of exploring Porto.
The city is compact enough that there is rarely any need to rush between attractions, and sitting down for coffee before continuing another walk suited the pace of the trip perfectly.
Trying a Francesinha
Another food experience I specifically wanted to try in Porto was the Francesinha.
For lunch, I stopped at bolhão bbgourmet and ordered a Francesinha Clássica.
This is not a light lunch.
The combination of bread, meat, cheese and the characteristic sauce makes the Francesinha one of Porto's most substantial dishes.
Trying local food is always an important part of my travels, and this was one of those dishes that I wanted to experience in the city where it became famous.
Afterwards, more walking around Porto suddenly seemed like a very good idea.
Jardins do Palácio de Cristal
One of the places where I could slow down was the Jardins do Palácio de Cristal.
The gardens provided a welcome change from Porto's narrow streets and densely built historic centre.
Paths wind through landscaped areas with trees, plants and viewpoints overlooking the Douro.
This was less about having a particular attraction to see and more about simply enjoying the surroundings.
Porto's relationship with the river becomes apparent again here, particularly from the elevated viewpoints looking across the Douro.
After spending hours walking around the city, the gardens were an ideal place to take things at a slower pace.
My Favourite Experiences in Porto
Although I enjoyed Porto Cathedral, the riverfront, Ponte Luís I and the city's other major landmarks, four experiences stood out from the rest of my trip.
They also demonstrated just how varied a few days in Porto can be.
WOW – World of Wine
Crossing the Douro into Vila Nova de Gaia brought me to one of my favourite discoveries: WOW – World of Wine.
Despite the name, WOW is much more than somewhere to simply taste wine.
It is a large cultural complex containing several different museums and experiences focused on wine, food and the history and culture of Porto and Portugal.
The interactive approach made it particularly enjoyable.
Instead of simply reading information panels, the exhibitions were designed as experiences, which made spending several hours here surprisingly easy.
WOW also occupies an excellent position overlooking Porto from the Gaia side of the Douro.
The combination of museums, restaurants, wine and views across the river made this somewhere I would happily return to.
The Chocolate Experience
Within WOW, The Chocolate Experience was a particular favourite.
The exhibition follows chocolate from cacao through the different stages involved in producing the finished product.
It was both informative and entertaining without feeling like a conventional museum.
Chocolate is something almost everyone is familiar with as a finished product, but learning more about where it comes from and how it is produced gave me a completely different appreciation for it.
This was exactly the kind of interactive attraction I enjoy finding while travelling.
For me, The Chocolate Experience became one of the highlights of WOW and one of my favourite experiences in Porto overall.
Pinhais Cannery & Co. and Praia de Matosinhos
One of my other favourite experiences required travelling slightly away from Porto's historic centre towards Matosinhos.
Here I visited Pinhais Cannery & Co.
Portugal is famous for its canned fish, but visiting a working cannery gave me an opportunity to understand more about the process behind something I had previously only encountered as a finished product.
It was a completely different experience from Porto's churches, museums and monuments.
That was precisely why I enjoyed it.
After visiting Pinhais, I continued towards Praia de Matosinhos.
Walking along the beach added another dimension to the day.
After spending so much time among Porto's steep streets and historic buildings, suddenly being beside the Atlantic provided a complete change of scenery.
Combining the cannery with a walk along Praia de Matosinhos made the journey outside the centre particularly worthwhile.
Livraria Lello
Another favourite was Livraria Lello.
I enjoy visiting interesting bookshops when travelling, but this one is in a completely different category.
The moment I entered, it was obvious why Livraria Lello has become one of Porto's most famous attractions.
The elaborate interior, bookshelves, stained glass and distinctive staircase make it feel somewhere between a bookshop and a historic monument.
Despite its popularity and the number of people who visit, it was still one of the places I most wanted to experience in Porto.
And unlike many attractions, it remains a functioning bookshop.
For anyone who enjoys books, architecture or simply unusual interiors, I found it well worth visiting.
Why Porto Works So Well on Foot
One of my strongest impressions after spending a few days in Porto was just how much of the city I experienced by walking.
The distances between many central attractions are manageable.
The challenge isn't necessarily the distance.
It's the hills.
Porto involves plenty of climbing and descending, particularly when moving between the historic centre and the Douro.
But those walks also became part of the experience.
A route between two attractions could unexpectedly reveal another church, tiled façade, viewpoint or narrow street that I hadn't planned to see.
Walking also made the transition between different parts of Porto feel much more natural.
Eventually, many routes seemed to lead back towards the Douro.
My Porto Experience
A few days gave me enough time to experience several different sides of Porto without having to rush.
The Douro River, Porto Cathedral, Church of Saint Francis and Ponte Luís I provided some of the classic Porto experiences.
Mercado do Bolhão, the exterior of the Capela de Santa Catarina, coffee at Castro – Atelier de Pastéis de Nata and a Francesinha Clássica at bolhão bbgourmet added some of the smaller experiences that made walking around the city more enjoyable.
Porto Legends offered something more technological and immersive, while the Jardins do Palácio de Cristal provided somewhere to slow down and enjoy views over the river.
But my personal favourites were elsewhere.
Crossing into Vila Nova de Gaia to explore WOW – World of Wine and The Chocolate Experience became one of the highlights of my stay.
Travelling out towards Matosinhos to visit Pinhais Cannery & Co., followed by a walk along Praia de Matosinhos, showed me another side of the area entirely.
And finally, Livraria Lello managed to turn something as simple as visiting a bookshop into one of my most memorable stops in Porto.
Porto is certainly a city of landmarks, but I found that some of its appeal came from everything between them.
Walking downhill towards the Douro, crossing Ponte Luís I, stopping for coffee and a pastel de nata, wandering through a market or discovering another view across the river became just as much a part of the trip as visiting the major attractions.
For me, that is what made spending a few days in Porto so enjoyable: it is a city that encourages you to walk, explore and occasionally forget exactly where you were planning to go next.