Where to stay in Porto — pick the right hotel, book in 3 clicks

Local dishes to try in Porto

1. 1🥪

   Francesinha

   Porto's iconic sandwich: layers of steak, ham and chouriço sausage stacked between bread, smothered in melted cheese and a hot tomato-and-beer sauce, topped with a fried egg. Heavy but essential.

   📍 Porto's signature dish
2. 2🐟

   Bacalhau à Gomes de Sá

   Flaked salt cod baked with potatoes, onions, black olives, hard-boiled eggs and olive oil. Named after José Luís Gomes de Sá, a 19th-century Porto merchant who created it.

   📍 Salt cod
3. 3🍲

   Tripas à Moda do Porto

   A hearty tripe-and-white-bean stew with sausage and vegetables. So tied to local identity that Porto natives are affectionately nicknamed tripeiros — the tripe eaters.

   📍 Porto-style tripe
4. 4🥧

   Pastel de Nata

   A flaky pastry shell filled with rich egg custard, dusted with cinnamon or powdered sugar. The classic afternoon-coffee treat — best eaten warm from the oven.

   📍 Custard tart
5. 5🍷

   Port Wine

   The Douro Valley's famous fortified wine, in Ruby (sweet, fruity), Tawny (nutty, long-aged) and White styles. Sip it after dinner or with cheese; taste it at the Gaia lodges.

   📍 Fortified wine
6. 6🥩

   Bifana

   Thin pork marinated in garlic, white wine and spices, then simmered and tucked into a soft roll. A cheap, fast, genuinely delicious workers' snack that punches above its price.

   📍 Pork sandwich

1. 1🌉

   Dom Luís I Bridge

   A double-deck wrought-iron bridge completed in 1886, designed by Théophile Seyrig, a former partner of Eiffel. Free to cross; the upper deck runs alongside the metro and offers the best golden-hour river views.

   📍 Landmark
2. 2📚

   Livraria Lello

   Often called one of the world's most beautiful bookstores, famous for its sweeping red staircase rumored to have inspired J.K. Rowling. Buy a timed ticket online in advance; the fee counts as credit toward a book.

   📍 Bookstore
3. 3🗼

   Clérigos Tower

   An 18th-century Baroque granite bell tower that defines the skyline. Climb the 225 steps for a 360° panorama over the red rooftops, the Douro and the distant Atlantic.

   📍 Viewpoint
4. 4🚉

   São Bento Station

   Step inside this working train station for the azulejos alone — more than 20,000 blue-and-white tiles painted around 1905 by Jorge Colaço, depicting scenes from Portuguese history. Free to enter.

   📍 Azulejo tiles
5. 5🏛️

   Palácio da Bolsa

   A dazzling neoclassical building whose highlight is the Arab Room, a Moorish-style hall inspired by Granada's Alhambra. Visitable only on a guided tour.

   📍 Stock Exchange Palace
6. 6🍷

   Gaia Port Lodges

   Vila Nova de Gaia holds the world's densest concentration of Port lodges. Book a tasting at Graham's, Sandeman (guides in the iconic Don cape) or Taylor's (self-guided audio tour and courtyard tasting).

   📍 Wine tasting
7. 7⛪

   Porto Cathedral (Sé)

   A hilltop Romanesque-Gothic cathedral with a cloister lined in blue azulejo tiles. The wide terrace out front is a prime viewpoint over the city and river.

   📍 Cathedral
8. 8🌳

   Crystal Palace Gardens

   Hilltop gardens above the Douro created for the 1865 International Exhibition. Shady walking paths, resident peacocks and some of the finest river views in the city.

   📍 Gardens + views