Ribeira
Igreja de São Francisco looks from the outside to be an austerely Gothic church, but inside it hides one of Portugal’s most dazzling displays of baroque…
Must-see attractions in The Douro & Trás-os-Montes
Foz do Douro
This fabulous cultural institution combines a museum, a mansion and extensive gardens. Cutting-edge exhibitions, along with a fine permanent collection…
Ribeira
From Praça da Ribeira rises a tangle of medieval alleys and stairways that eventually reach the hulking, hilltop fortress of the cathedral. Founded in the…
Ribeira
Completed in 1886 by a student of Gustave Eiffel, the bridge’s top deck is now reserved for pedestrians, as well as one of the city’s metro lines; the…
Museu Nacional Soares dos Reis
Miragaia
Porto's best art museum presents a stellar collection ranging from Neolithic carvings to Portugal’s take on modernism, all housed in the formidable…
Ribeira
This splendid neoclassical monument (built from 1842 to 1910) honours Porto’s past and present money merchants. Just past the entrance is the glass-domed…
Aliados & Bolhão
One of the world's most beautiful train stations, beaux arts São Bento wings you back to a more graceful age of rail travel. Completed in 1903, it seems…
Aliados & Bolhão
Ostensibly a bookshop, but even if you’re not after books, don’t miss this exquisite 1906 neo-Gothic confection, with its lavishly carved plaster…
Aliados & Bolhão
On Rua de Santa Catarina stands the strikingly ornate, azulejo-clad Capela das Almas. Magnificent blue-and-white panels here depict scenes from the lives…
Vila Nova de Gaia
The cable car swings up to this hilltop park, which can also be reached by crossing the upper level of Ponte de Dom Luís I. Shaded by palms, these gardens…
Miragaia
Dating to the late 18th century, this captivating azulejo-covered church is one of Porto’s best examples of rococo architecture. The tiled panel on the…
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The Douro
A series of small chapels dotting the hillside, São Salvador do Mundo makes for a stunning diversion between Pinhão and Foz Côa. Follow the signs to these…
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Miradouro São Leonardo de Galafura
Peso da Régua
For jaw-dropping views of the Douro Valley, head for this magnificent viewpoint between Régua and Pinhão. The N313-2 relentlessly switchbacks its way into…
Parque Arqueológico do Vale do Côa
The Douro
Most visitors to Vila Nova de Foz Côa come for one reason: to see its world-famous gallery of rock art. Although the park is currently an active research…
Museu da Misericórdia do Porto
Ribeira
The Museu da Misericórdia do Porto harmoniously unites cutting-edge architecture, a prized collection of 15th- to 17th-century sacred art and portraiture,…
Centro Português de Fotografia
Miragaia
This stately yet muscular building (1767) once served as a prison and now houses a photography museum. You actually walk through the thick iron gates and…
Porto
This was Porto’s first public cemetery when it was inaugurated in 1839. It is considered an important landmark for its neo-Gothic architecture and…
Porto
The Igreja da Lapa Catholic church holds particular significance in Porto as the place where Portugal’s former king and first emperor of Brazil’s heart is…
Aliados & Bolhão
At the southern end of Rua de Santa Catarina is the lovely, eclectic Praça da Batalha, framed by Nasoni’s gracefully baroque Igreja de Santo Ildefonso…
Foz do Douro
The hum of traffic on the Avenida da Boavista soon fades as you enter the serene, green Parque da Cidade, Portugal's largest urban park. Laced with 10km…
Ribeira
In this handsomely renovated medieval town house, according to legend, Henry the Navigator was born in 1394. The building later served as Porto’s first…
Aliados & Bolhão
Lined with bulging, beaux arts facades and capped by the stately câmara municipal (municipal council), this avenida recalls grand Parisian imitators such…
Miragaia
Blink and you might miss that this is a church in its own right, snuggled as close as it is to the Igreja do Carmo. The twin churches are separated only…
Aliados & Bolhão
This street is absurdly stylish and romantic, with trim boutiques, striped stone footpaths and animated crowds. It's home to Porto's most ornate tearoom,…
Ribeira
Down by the Rio Douro, narrow streets open out onto a plaza framed by austerely grand, tiled town houses overlooking a picturesque stretch of the river…
Vila Nova de Gaia
Don't miss a ride on this aerial gondola that provides fine views over the Douro and Porto on its short, five-minute jaunt. It runs between the southern…
Aliados & Bolhão
The 19th-century, wrought-iron Mercado do Bolhão closed its doors in spring 2018 for a major restoration project. No fixed date had been given for its…
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Capela de São Pedro de Balsemão
The Douro
This mysterious little chapel was probably built by Visigoths as early as the 6th century. With Corinthian columns, round arches and intriguing symbols…
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Igreja de Nossa Senhora dos Remédios
The Douro
One of the country’s most important pilgrimage sites, this twin-towered, 18th-century church has a trim blue-and-white stucco interior with a sky-blue…
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The Douro
Founded in 1543 by João III, the Mosteiro de São Gonçalo and Igreja de São Gonçalo weren’t completed until 1620. Above the church’s photogenic, Italian…
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Mosteiro de São João de Tarouca
The Douro
The stunning, massive yet skeletal remains of Portugal’s first Cistercian monastery, founded in 1124, stand eerily in the wooded Barosa valley below the…
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The Douro
With picturesque pink stone arches, the Cistercian Mosteiro de Salzedas is located 3km up the Barosa valley from Ucanha in Salzedas. This was one of the…
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The Douro
Older than Portugal itself, Lamego’s striking sé has been declared a national monument. There is little left of the 12th-century original except the base…
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Vila Nova de Gaia
This swanky port-wine emporium inside a restored 18th-century riverside building celebrates all things port. In addition to a shop where tastings are held…
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Peso da Régua
Bringing the Douro Valley's wine-producing history vividly to life, this wonderful museum has a wealth of artefacts and engaging displays, from a vast…
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Alfândega Regia Museu da Construção Naval
The Douro
Shipbuilding has been in Vila do Conde’s bones since at least the 13th century. This museum on the Rio Ave's banks, just west of Praça da República, has…
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The Douro
Hidden in one of the Mosteiro de São Gonçalo’s cloisters is this delightfully eclectic collection of modernist and contemporary art, a pleasant surprise…
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Jardim do Infante Dom Henrique
Ribeira
Presided over by the late-19th-century market hall Mercado Ferreira Borges and neoclassical Palácio da Bolsa, these gardens are named after the…
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Igreja Santa Maria de Almacave
The Douro
This unassuming little church is Lamego’s oldest surviving building, much of it dating back to the 12th century. It’s thought that after winning…
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Porto
Washing machines are installed in every house, but local donas (ladies) still swear by the daily ritual of stone washtubs and good old-fashioned elbow…
