Porto

Porto's heart is the Douro riverfront, and the Ribeira district is its most beautiful corner — a UNESCO-listed tangle of steep, narrow lanes and squares where tall, brightly painted houses, their façades faded and weathered, climb above the quay. The riverside Cais da Ribeira is lined with restaurants and cafés and moored with the traditional flat-bottomed rabelo boats that once ferried Port barrels down from the valley. Above it soars the city's iconic landmark, the Dom Luís I Bridge — a magnificent double-deck iron arch built in the 1880s by Théophile Seyrig, a partner of Gustave Eiffel — whose upper level (carrying the metro and a walkway) gives spectacular views over the river, the Ribeira and the Port lodges opposite. Crossing the bridge on foot, or taking a six-bridges river cruise on a rabelo, is an essential Porto experience, especially at sunset when the riverfront glows. The dramatic relationship between the city, its gorge and its river is the defining image of Porto.

Porto gave Port wine its name, and tasting it at the source is the city's signature pleasure. Across the river in Vila Nova de Gaia, the great Port wine lodges (caves) — historic houses like Sandeman, Graham's, Taylor's, Cálem, Ferreira and many more — line the waterfront and the hillside, ageing the fortified wine in vast cellars of oak barrels. Most offer tours that explain how Port is made and matured, ending in a tasting that walks you through the styles — the ruby and tawny, the rich vintage and the chilled white Port — often with stunning views back across the river to Porto. The riverside of Gaia, reached over the Dom Luís Bridge or by the historic tram, has become a lively quarter of wine bars and restaurants, crowned by the modern WOW (World of Wine) cultural district and the Teleférico cable car. Whether you take a single cellar tour or hop between lodges, immersing yourself in the world of Port — and learning the difference between Port and the table wines of the Douro — is unmissable in Porto.

Porto rewards the wanderer with extraordinary details. The city is famous for its azulejos — the blue-and-white painted ceramic tiles that cover whole walls and façades — and the finest display is in the São Bento railway station, whose entrance hall is lined with vast tile panels depicting scenes of Portuguese history, one of the most beautiful station interiors in the world; the Capela das Almas, the Igreja do Carmo and the cathedral cloister add more. The soaring baroque Clérigos Tower, climbable for a panoramic view, is a landmark; the São Francisco church hides one of the most lavishly gilded baroque interiors in the country behind its plain exterior; and the cathedral (Sé) crowns the upper town. The city's most famous shop is the Livraria Lello, an exquisite 1906 bookshop with a sinuous red staircase, carved wood and stained glass, often cited as an inspiration for Harry Potter (now ticketed and busy). Together with the markets, the Crystal Palace gardens and the riverside trams, these details make exploring Porto on foot a constant delight.

Porto's food is hearty, traditional and delicious. The city's signature dish is the francesinha — a substantial layered sandwich of meats and sausage, covered in melted cheese and a rich beer-and-tomato sauce, often topped with an egg — best washed down with a cold beer. Fresh seafood and the ubiquitous bacalhau (salt cod), grilled sardines, and the tripe dishes (tripas à moda do Porto) that earned locals the affectionate nickname tripeiros fill the tascas and markets, alongside crisp vinho verde and the wines of the Douro. The Atlantic is close: the rivermouth district of Foz do Douro and the beach-and-seafood town of Matosinhos, reached by tram or metro, offer sand, surf and superb fish restaurants. And the city is the gateway to the Douro Valley — the world's oldest demarcated wine region and a UNESCO World Heritage cultural landscape of dizzyingly steep terraced vineyards along the winding river, where Port and table wines are made. A day trip up the Douro by the scenic railway, by road, or by river cruise to the quintas (wine estates) for tastings and lunch among the vines is one of the most rewarding excursions in Portugal.