Fortified wine and sun-kissed plazas
Porto is a tightly clustered assortment of colourful houses, soaring bell towers and stately Baroque buildings clinging to the steep banks of the River Douro. Its sun-kissed plazas are connected by a rabbit warren of narrow streets and staircases, which add an element of magic to all our Porto holidays.
The city has undergone renovation of late, with an efficient new metro system and innovative shopping centres adding a modern touch. We highly recommend the Contemporary Art Museum and the cubist cool of Casa da Musica but Porto's traditional design still captures the imagination too. In the ancient, UNESCO-listed Ribeira, Roman ruins lie beneath the city's foundations and locals mingle with tourists outside waterfront shops and restaurants.
No Porto tour is complete without a river cruise along the magnificent Douro, a wide waterway flowing under two instantly recognisable iron bridges, Dom Luis and Maria Pia. Our expert guides will introduce you to some Porto’s other treasures too. Places like Livraria Lello, a beautiful bookshop with Art Nouveau façade and floating staircase and Igreja do Carma convent with its walls decorated with delicate blue and white tiles. And of course, you have to sample the wine. We can arrange private tastings in some of the most famous old-port cellars.