Are you planning a quick getaway to Porto? I hope this guide to Porto in 2 days is useful to you. One of the destinations that surprised us the most in Portugal was, without a doubt, Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia. It is a place that has everything and that you can make the most of to see it in a couple of days. That said, it will always leave you wanting more. You will not get tired of visiting its viewpoints, its old streets and the Ribeira area.
As a curiosity that people do not usually know, the city of Porto is only the municipality that is located on the right bank of the Douro River. The city on the left bank is called Vila Nova de Gaia and has more inhabitants than the city of Porto.
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Porto in 2 days
Day 1. Visit to the historical center and sunset at Jardim do Morro
The starting point of the trip through Porto in 2 days will be the Porto City Hall, one of the most iconic places and buildings in the city. Next to the town hall we will find the Aliados Avenue, one of the most important in Porto. As a curiosity, here is what they say is the most beautiful McDonalds in the world.
We will leave the Avenue and go to visit the Livraria Lello. This bookstore is considered one of the most beautiful in the world and it is said that the writer J.K Rowling was inspired by Harry Potter. If you want to enter this bookstore you will have to wait in a very long line and pay an entrance fee. We decided not to go in because there was quite a queue.
Very close to the Bookstore we have the Do Carmo Church and the Edificio da Reitoria da Universidade do Porto. Something that stands out is that in that area we will see many students who will remind us of those from Hogwarts.
Right next to it we will see a huge tower called Torre dos Clérigos. It is one of the highest points in the city and from where we can have a spectacular view of the entire historic center of Porto. To go up the tower the entrance costs €8. Very close to the tower we have a park called Jardim da Cordoaria, which is quite good to sit for a while and watch the old tram go by.

After the stop at the Garden we went to a viewpoint called Miradoura da Vitória. From here we have a very good view of the entire Ribera, the Cathedral and the Luis I Bridge.
We continue with one of the most important places in Porto: The Porto Cathedral or Sé Cathedral. We bought the entrance to the Cathedral and the truth is that it is worth it. If you go up you have panoramic views of the entire city.
To finish the first morning of the trip to Porto in 2 days we arrived at Sao Bento Station. The peculiarity of this station is that the main hall has walls full of tiles with historical events from Portugal and Porto.
To eat there are several incredible places depending on your tastes. At the end of this article I leave you recommended restaurants in Porto, both by price and quality of food.
In the afternoon we decided to walk through the Ribeira, on the Porto side, and watch the sunset in the Jardim Do Morro. This place is great to watch the sunset, both for the views and the atmosphere. That’s right… go get a seat soon!
When the sun went down we went for a walk through the Ribeira but through the Vila Nova de Gaia part. There is a very good atmosphere and seeing the Luis I Bridge at night is incredible. We also decided to try the sweet port wines. Later I will leave you recommendations for drinking sweet wine in Porto. Good pretty and cheap.

Day 2. Ribeira, Vila Nova de Gaia and Crystal Palace
We start with a good coffee to prepare for the day. By the way and as I said before, at the end I leave you recommendations of local cafes in Porto that are very worth it.
We started the day by visiting the Bolhao Market and the Chapel of Souls, which is located right next door. Afterwards we continued to visit the Stock Exchange Palace, but unfortunately for us it was closed to visitors that day, so we were left without seeing it. We continue our visit to Porto in 2 days going to the Crystal Palace Gardens. These gardens are incredible and you can get lost in them. It is great to spend some time during the day walking aimlessly through those gardens and enjoying its views and nature. At the end of the gardens there is an incredible viewpoint where you can see the entire Ribeira, the Ponte Da Arrábida and the mouth of the Douro River into the Ocean.
For the return, our idea was to take tram line 1 and tour the entire Ribeira, but in the end we decided to do it on foot. We toured the Ribeira and passed the Luis I bridge to cross next to Vila Nova de Gaia and see the Half Rabbit, a mural that shows a rabbit emerging from a painted wall. This wall art represents the struggles of urban wildlife.
To eat we decided to go to the Beira-Rio Market. Here you will have a lot of stalls with all kinds of food at a very good price and with views of the Ribeira.
We decided to dedicate the entire afternoon to the entire area of the Ribeira de Vila Nova de Gaia. There are a lot of wineries to visit and places with incredible decoration, such as the Portuguese Bacalau Cake House.
To see the sunset we went to a less crowded viewpoint called “Pedra dos Gatinhos”. To get here we have to climb to the highest part. You can do it on the Gaia Cable Car (you have to pay), on foot or with a super secret trick that I’m going to tell you. If you go to the Luis I Bridge Parking, inside there is an elevator that goes almost to the top and you can use it for free.
We couldn’t leave our trip to Porto in 2 days without trying the famous Francesinhas. We went to a restaurant called Café Santiago, totally recommended. Good price and good food (we left rolling).

Transportation in Porto. Porto in 2 days.
Tram
- Line 1: It runs along the banks of the Duero, crossing the historic center. It runs every day from 9:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
- Line 18: Massarelos – Carmo. It reaches the beaches of Foz de Douro. It runs every day from 8:15 a.m. to 7:45 p.m.
- Line 22: Passes through the most important streets in the center of Porto. It runs every day from 9:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
The single ticket costs €3 and the 2-day ticket costs €10 for adults and €5 for children from 4 to 12 years old.
Subway
- Line A (blue): Estádio do Dragão – Senhor de Matosinhos.
- Line B (red): Estádio do Dragão – Póvoa de Varzim.
- Line C (green): Estádio do Dragão – ISMAI.
- Line D (yellow): São Joã Hospital – Santo Ovídio.
- Line E (purple): Estádio do Dragão – Aeroporto.
- Line F (orange): Fânzeres – Senhora da Hora.
The Porto metro’s operating hours are from 6:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. The single ticket costs €1.20 but you can travel without paying for the ticket if you have the Porto Card.
Recommendations for lunch, dinner and drinks (especially wine) in Porto
- Café Santiago: The best Francesinhas in Porto. Located in a central area.
- Bolhao Market: Tapas, lots of wine and stalls with sweets.
- Mercado da Beira Rio: Many stalls with all kinds of food. This is the ideal place to try Port wine. You have to go to position number 12, where you can try 5 glasses of sweet Port wine for €5.
- Da Terra Baixa: All-you-can-eat vegetarian and organic buffet. Very close to the historic center.

Fly drones in Porto
Porto is a spectacular place to fly drones but you have to follow a series of rules. I leave you here the link to the drone map so you can see first-hand what you have to do to fly drones in Portugal: Mapa de drones.
For me, an incredible place to fly drones in Porto is a viewpoint called La Roca de los Gatos. It is between the Luis I Bridge and the Infante Dom Henrique Bridge. You must request authorization to fly the drone in this area, so that you take this into account.