Any suggestions for local tour guides or places we should see in Porto? We also would appreciate any suggestions for hotels or VBRO? Is it a place worth staying a week? Thank you!
Posted by
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
4582 posts
Here's where we stayed 3 weeks ago.
https://www.ocahotels.com/hoteles/oca-ribeira-porto-apartamentos
It's a block from the river which is good and bad. It's heavily touristed, but very nice. The bad is it will be an uphill walk to most of the sites not along the river, but it's also a short distanceto the bottom level of the bridge to get across to Gaia where all the Port brewers are. It's also a steep uphill with luggage back to the train station. We ended up taking an Uber to the airport for €14 in less than half the time the subway would have taken.
We took the Calem Port tour which was fun. It came with a tasting of 3 ports. Our favourite day was in Gaia. While on that side check out WOW Porto, it's kind of an arts building with shops and museums. There are excellent photos in the public area showing the history of the area and the Port industry. Also a cork museum inside that was worthy of an hour.
7 days may be a lot unless you're doing some daytrips. We spent 3 full days and that seemed about right.
Posted by
OP
Maineville Oh
40 posts
Thank you
Posted by
State of Washington, USA
266 posts
We stayed 4 nights in Porto in 2023, which we found to be plenty of time. Note that we didn't do any trips up the Douro valley, but spent the time in Porto and across the river in Gaia. We liked the location and cleanliness of our lodging, as well as having a kitchen and washing machine. A link to that lodging and details on how we spent our 3 full days is in our trip report: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-portugal-aug-sep-porto-coimbra-lisbon-then-to-spain
Posted by
OP
Maineville Oh
40 posts
Thank you this really helps, thinking instead of flying into Amsterdam first then doing train we will fly to Lisbon first, train to Porto then train to Amsterdam, it seems like 3 days is plenty in Porto. I have ordered the RS tour book for Portugal.
Posted by
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
4582 posts
Before your trip I'd recommend getting some uphill walks in and do a lot of calf stretching to prepare for the hills.
Posted by
NC
40 posts
In Sept. we stayed in RVA Clerigos Apartments (thru Booking.com), which was great for us. Across from the Clerigos Tower/church, great location, quiet even though in a busy area. We enjoyed a food tour with Taste Porto, a supper at Concept 31, and a splurge meal at Chama, which is a unique experience. The Bolhao market is fascinating, has good food, and often street musicians. Walking across the bridge and exploring Gaia was fun, and we took a day tour to the Duoro Valley. We were there 5 days and that was about right.