2 days in Porto

Mercado do Bolhão

The central market, reopened after a long renovation, with fish, fruit, flowers and cured goods on two levels. Places to eat are on the upper floor.

1 h 15 visitOpen 8:00 am–6:00 pm

Go before 11:00 for the fish and fruit stalls at their fullest. On a wet day come back for lunch upstairs.

The market is open Monday to Friday from 08:00 to 20:00 and on Saturday from 08:00 to 18:00. It is closed on Sundays. The restaurants upstairs are open Monday to Saturday from 08:00 to midnight.

Source: Mercado do Bolhão, checked October 5, 2026

Casa da Música

A concert hall designed by Rem Koolhaas, with an angular white concrete shape. It can be visited only on a guided tour of about one hour.

1 h 30 visit (official site suggests 1 h)Hours not confirmed. Check the official site.Adult ticket €12

Pair it with Serralves in one trip west, since both are on the same side of town.

Check availability and book English tours online. Tours in Portuguese, Spanish, French and Italian are sold only at the Casa da Música ticket office. Each tour takes up to 35 people.

Visits are guided only. The tour times need to be confirmed on the booking page and depend on the programme of the hall.

Source: Casa da Música, checked October 5, 2026

Port wine cellars, Vila Nova de Gaia

Across the river from Ribeira, the Gaia waterfront is lined with the lodges where port ages. Most houses run a guided tour that ends with a tasting.

2 h 30 visitHours not confirmed. Check the official site.

Cross the bridge on the upper deck, do a tour in the afternoon, and come back by the lower deck or the cable car.

Tours run at set times in set languages, and the popular ones fill in the afternoon. Book the house you want ahead and check its own page for hours and language.

Each house sets its own hours, and they change with the season. Check the page of the cellar you choose.

Source: Cálem, checked October 5, 2026

Porto Cathedral (Sé)

A fortress-like Romanesque church on the highest point of the old town, with a Gothic cloister lined with tiles and a terrace with views.

1 h visitOpen 9:00 am–6:30 pm

Do the cloister first and the terrace after. Both are quieter before the day tours arrive.

The church, museum and cloister are open daily. The official site gives a summer closing time of 18:30 and a winter closing time of 17:30 without a changeover date, so assume the earlier time after the clocks change on 25 October. The cathedral closes at Christmas and Easter. Mass is at 11:00.

Source: Diocese do Porto, checked October 5, 2026

Jardim do Morro

A hilltop garden on the Gaia side at the end of the upper deck of the bridge, with the best view back over Porto at sunset.

45 min visitAlways open

Arrive 40 minutes before sunset and bring a layer, because the hill is exposed to wind.

Source: Visit Porto, checked October 5, 2026

Livraria Lello

A neo-Gothic bookshop from 1906 with a crimson staircase and a stained-glass skylight. Entry needs a ticket, which is a voucher you can spend on a book.

1 h visitOpen 9:00 am–7:30 pm · last entry 7:00 pmAdult ticket €15.95

Book the first slot of the day. The rooms are small, and the staircase is only clear for photographs early on.

Buy a timed ticket online before you go, because same day tickets are limited. Visitors with disabilities, people aged 65 and over, pregnant women and carers with infants have a separate priority queue.

Open every day from 09:00 to 19:30. Closed on 1 January, Easter Sunday, 1 May, 24 June and 25 December. A ticket is valid for up to 60 minutes after the time you book. Same day tickets can be bought until 30 minutes before closing, if any are left.

Source: Livraria Lello, checked October 5, 2026

Clérigos Tower

The Baroque bell tower of the Clérigos church, built in the 18th century to a design by Nicolau Nasoni. The standard ticket covers the tower and the museum.

1 h visitOpen 9:00 am–7:00 pm · last entry 6:30 pmAdult ticket €10

Go at opening. The stair is narrow, and it is easier to pass people when the tower is empty.

Tickets are sold on site or online in advance. The online option saves a wait at the ticket desk when the queue is long.

Open daily from 09:00 to 19:00, and later in the Easter, summer and Christmas seasons, when it can stay open until 23:00. Last entry is 30 minutes before closing. On 24 and 31 December it closes at 14:00, and on 25 December and 1 January it opens at 11:00.

Source: Torre dos Clérigos, checked October 5, 2026

São Bento Station

A working station whose entrance hall is covered in blue and white tiles showing the history of Portugal and of transport. It costs nothing to step inside and look.

30 min visitHours not confirmed. Check the official site.

Go early or late in the day, when fewer tour groups block the middle of the hall.

Source: Visit Porto, checked October 5, 2026

Palácio da Bolsa

The 19th century stock exchange, now the seat of the city's commercial association. You see it only on a 30 minute guided tour through halls such as the Arabian Room.

1 h 30 visit (official site suggests 30 min)Open 9:00 am–6:30 pmAdult ticket €14

Take one of the first tours of the day. The language of your tour depends on who is ahead of you.

Tickets cannot be bought online for the same day. Buy ahead online, or at the ticket office, where you choose the visit time and the language of the tour. The language is set by order of arrival, and the day of an online ticket cannot be changed.

Open daily from 09:00 to 18:30. The palace closes to visitors from 16:00 on 10 October and all day on 24 October 2026. On 24 December the last entry is at 13:00, and on 31 December at 16:00.

Source: Palácio da Bolsa, checked October 5, 2026

Igreja de São Francisco

A Gothic church whose interior was covered in gilded wood carving in the 17th and 18th centuries. The visit also takes in the museum and the catacombs.

1 h visitOpen 9:00 am–7:00 pm

Pair it with the Palácio da Bolsa next door, and fix the time of the Bolsa tour first.

Ticket office hours are 09:00 to 20:00 from 1 April to 30 September and 09:00 to 19:00 from 1 October to 31 March. Closed on 25 December.

Source: Venerável Ordem Terceira de São Francisco do Porto, checked October 5, 2026

Dom Luís I Bridge

A double deck iron arch bridge from 1886 between Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia. Both decks have a footpath, and each gives a different view.

1 h visitAlways open

Cross by the upper deck to Gaia and return by the lower deck. The upper deck has no shade, so avoid it at midday in summer.

Source: Visit Porto, checked October 5, 2026

Ribeira

The riverside quarter at the foot of the old town, with narrow lanes, tall tiled houses and the quay along the Douro. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage area and the view most people picture first.

3 h visitAlways open

Walk the quay in the early morning for empty photographs, and come back after sunset when the Gaia side is lit.

Source: Visit Porto, checked October 5, 2026