Porto is Portugal’s second largest city, famous for its manufacturing and commercial centre, and it was crowned European Cultural Capital in 2001 which gives you some idea of what to expect – lots of monuments/churches/museums and galleries!
Main Tourist Sights
The main tourist sights included Torre & Igreja dos Clérigos, a 225 step tower with beautiful views of Porto at the top - €1 entry, open 10am-5pm daily and Sé Cathedral which dominates the centre of Porto - €2 entry, open 9am-7pm daily.
Other Things to Do
Other things to do include river cruises which last between 45 - 60 mins and depart hourly from Cais sa Ribiera or Cais da Estiva. Tickets cost €8 - €10 with children going half-price.
There’s also the obligatory city bus tour offering a hop-on-hop-off city tour for €12.50 which includes a visit to a port wine lodge.
If you fancy something slightly less energetic, try the beach at Leça da Palmeira or have a stroll round a winery sampling the produce.
Porto’s centre is small enough to be covered mainly on foot. However, there is a fully comprehensive public transport system which serves the city and which includes metro, bus, tram and train.
Getting Around By Public Transport
The Metro system operates 5 different lines which are conveniently marked with different letters (A through to E) as well as different colours. You can use the metro to get around the city as well as to get to neighbouring cities. Fares are based on destination zones: information is available on the site www.metrodoporto.pt.
The bus and tram system are both operated by the same organisation and both are commonly used by travellers. The tram system is more often used as a means of seeing the city and enjoying some of the major tourist attractions. The bus is used for more extensive internal travel. www.stcp.pt
There are only 2 trams left in Porto. Tram 1E goes from Igreja de São Francisco (Ribeira) via the tram museum at Massarelos, out to Foz do Douro (25 min trip) & Tram 18 goes from Igreja do Carmo down to Massarelos. Both run every half-hour from 08:15am - 7:30pm daily. The fare is €1.
The local train system is another method of getting around Porto. This system is more commonly sued for getting to neighbouring areas than for travel within Porto itself. It is particularly used by tourists to get to some of the nicest beaches in the area. www.cp.pt
Trains - On regional trains you can get your ticket from a machine at the station or on the train itself. A full list of tickets are available on the website.
Getting Around By Car
It is highly recommended that travellers make use of the variety of public transportation options available. Driving is not recommended and public transport is both convenient and inexpensive. The streets are crowded with heavy traffic and bad drivers who are easily confused by the random one-way streets which make up Porto.
There are several parking lots within the town centre including one at the shopping centre.
Getting Around By Taxi
Taxis marked ‘A’ on the door, number plate or elsewhere means that they are for hire. (Aluguer - for hire). If you phone for a cab you may have to pay a surcharge of €0.80. Meterless taxis are marked ‘T’ (Turism) and can be hired for private excursions.
