Porto lodgings

Porto is not very big. If you pick a place somewhere between the Sao Bento train station and the river, it will probably be a decent location.

Last year I stayed at a hostel (private room with bathroom) called Being Porto in the Ribeira district. The location was excellent - plenty of cafes, close to the river (steep walk down to it, but Porto is very hilly), not far from the train station. The hostel was just fine - nothing fancy but I'd stay there again. But if you find it on a map, you could look for other places relatively close to it for reference.

http://beingportohostel.com/en/

The In Patio Guesthouse is a fantastic B&B.

In Patio fills up early, as I learned to my disappointment. Grab it if you can.

We had a fabulous stay at Casa Guindais for 3 nights, a studio with a kitchenette. It’s right above the river across from a Roman rampart and walking distance to the Sao Bento train station. We are now in Lisbon.

Hi Victoria!

Definetely, the galleries (by the way, the name of the neighbourhood is Victória, I was born there).

Close to the river you will have to climb hills all the time if you want to see some major atractions.

Close to galleries (I think you mean the art neighbourhood, around Rua Miguel Bombarda) you have (flat, no hills): the art neighbourhood itself; the vintage stores neighbourhood (antiques); the comercial street Rua de Cedofeita; Carmos and Carmelitas churches, and the house between them that is worth a visit; the stop for 2 of the 3 old trams (nr 22 and 18); Lello; the old jail (nowadays it is the photograph center); Clérigos tower; the best place to see the views (well, one of the best), "miradouro da Victória"; the best sunset at "Jardim das virtudes" - ok, here, to return, you have to do a litle of climbing. You would be also very near to very good restaurants and also the heart of nighlife (travessa de Cedofeita, Rua Galeria de Paris, Rua Cândido Reis, Rua da Picaria). In my opinion, that area is the best to stay.

Of course you will be a litle far from other "must see" places, like the riverbank, and Majestic, the old walls, São Bento train station, the Cathedral.. Not that they are far away if you are going from the galleries zone to this attractions... the dificult part is returning.

Close to the river it's the most touristic part of the city, so... only tourists, hard to find a decent restaurant, everything completely full, and besides InPatio or Pestana Hotel, never heard of other decent accomodations . But I must say it is a very nice area, of course. And a room with views to the river might be some unforgetable thing.

You asked for everybody's experiences... that's not my case, I'm a local. So I'm talking about my personal and professional experiences. Sorry if mine is not the kind of opinion you would like to have.

Victoria,

I was very pleased with my stay at Hotel da Bolsa, which is an easy walk to the river. There are restaurants both uphill and downhill from there.

If you're interested in taking one of the short cruises, they're easily accessible - https://www.livingtours.com/en/product/6-bridges-cruise-porto .

Although not generally favoured by some travellers, the HO / HO bus tours are also easily accessible. As I recall, they depart from in front of the McDonalds in Praça da Liberdade. Some of the tours go across the river to Vila Nova de Gaia where the Port warehouses are located.

Thank you all for your very informative suggestions. I value each perspective. This was all most helpful.

My plan for Porto is :

Day 1 arrive and do a walking tour to familiarize myself with the history and the city

Day 2: explore the city
- take a boat cruise as Ken suggested (thanks)
- Fado evening or food tour

Day 3: day trip to Aveiro in the am
Pm: Coimbra (Do I do a combined tour or do this in 2 separate trips? Suggestions welcome. I found a tour if the library.

Evening : Port tour

Day 4: still working on it

Obviously, this is a rough draft and I have to fill in more details. Any suggestions are appreciated! Thanks so much.