Portugal
Where to stay in Porto
Porto is a city in Portugal, home to about 273,000 people. This guide covers 4 aparthotels in Porto, with about 90 rooms between them.
- Places to stay in this guide
- 4
- Best months
- June to September
- Nearest airport
- OPO12 km · Francisco de Sá Carneiro Airport
- Currency
- EUReuro
- Time zone
- Europe/Lisbon
- Language
- Portuguese
About
About Porto
Porto, also known in English as Oporto, is the second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas.
Porto (POHR-too, /ˈpoɾ.tu/) was named by the Romans Portus Calle (the origin of the entire country's present name), the city is nowadays officially styled A muito nobre, sempre leal e invicta cidade do Porto (the very noble, always loyal, and undefeated city of The Harbor). This is usually shortened to "a Cidade Invicta" (the undefeated city) a title won because of Porto's unparalleled resistance against hostile troops during the 1820s.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Porto
See
Porto is a mysterious city that reveals its charm to the visitor through time. Take your time, wander through the mazes and alleys of the city. Take in the old, bohemian spirit of the city. Hike through the Ribeira and Foz do Douro regions (the latter, at sunset). Porto may not be in every tourist's Iberian Peninsula itinerary, but it's well worth a visit if you want to see a city that has changed economically, but that has kept its old traditions. If you want to visit several museums, consider the Porto Card which provides free access to several museums and further discounts, optionally also free public transport access.
- Palácio da Bolsa
- Sé do Porto
- Port Wine Institute
- City Hall
- Igreja de São Francisco
- Mercado do Bolhão
- Livraria Lello
- Torre dos Clérigos
- National Museum Soares dos Reis
- Centro Português de Fotografia
- Ribeira
- Museum of Sacred Art and Archaeology of The Higher Seminary of Porto
Do
- Douro river cruise
- Fado Bars
- Teatro Nacional São João (TNSJ)
- FC Porto
- Boavista FC
- Porto Exit Games
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Places to stay in Porto
4 places to stay from the chains this guide covers, each linked to its own website.
| Place to stay | Rooms |
|---|---|
| Porto Rua 31 De Janeiro aparthotel | 21 |
| Porto Rua Da Conceição aparthotel | 21 |
| Porto Rua Das Oliveiras aparthotel | 24 |
| Porto Rua De Dom Manuel aparthotel | 24 |
Schematic: the city centre in orange, each place to stay as a dot, distance rings in kilometres.
Where to stay
Which part of Porto to stay in
There are residential homes all around the city. There are also lots of 3-star hotels with very affordable prices. In the city there's only one camping site (Prelada), but it's a bit far from the centre. There aren't many family houses to rent in Porto, so they'll be difficult to find.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
When to go
The best time to visit Porto
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Porto are June to September. August is the warmest month, with average highs of 26 °C; October is the wettest, with about 182 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Porto: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Francisco de Sá Carneiro Airport (OPO), about 12 km from the city centre in a straight line; Vila Real Airport (VRL, 76 km) and Aerodromo Goncalves Lobato (Viseu Airport) (VSE, 77 km) are also within reach.
Getting around
Porto, like most Portuguese cities, is a nightmare to drive in. Roads vary in conditions - from fully paved to cobbled lanes that can make even the most shortest of distance seem like a go-kart rally. With that said, keep in mind that the tourist parts of the city (the Ribeira and Baixa) are a never ending maze of narrow streets, short tempered drivers and snakelike alleys. Better to walk (despite the fact that it's very hilly).
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
OPO · Francisco de Sá Carneiro Airport
VRL · Vila Real Airport
VSE · Aerodromo Goncalves Lobato (Viseu Airport)
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Porto
Eat
Porto has some of the finest restaurants in Portugal. It is said that if you like to eat, you should go to Porto because it's a place where you eat well in terms of quality and amount (even Lisbon citizens say that in Porto is where they eat the best food).
Drink
Porto is home to port wine of course, and there are many wineries around the city where port wine is brewed. Strictly speaking, port wine can only be called port wine if the grapes are grown in the Douro valley, and the wine is produced and bottled in Porto. Port wines come in many styles, with vintage port being the most expensive. The main areas for bars are Praça de Ceuta to the north, through the station surrounds to Ribeira further south.
Stay safe
There may be pickpockets in heavily crowded areas and on public buses and trains; however, pickpocketing is not common in Porto. Travelling by bus or metro is generally safe and one of the best ways to go from a place to another. Porto is generally a safe place to be if you take normal precautions like walking in well-illuminated streets at night. One part of Porto, near the Tourist Information Office between the cathedral and the steps to the small church, often has drunk people that could cause you trouble. There's no reason for alarm because many of them are inoffensive, but it is best to use some caution, as you would elsewhere.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Good to know
Accessibility, parking and families in Porto
How many places to stay in this guide offer each, in their operators' own words.
of 4 places
of 4 places
of 4 places
Questions
Porto: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Porto?
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Porto are June to September. August is the warmest month, with average highs of 26 °C; October is the wettest, with about 182 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Porto?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Francisco de Sá Carneiro Airport (OPO), about 12 km from the city centre in a straight line; Vila Real Airport (VRL, 76 km) and Aerodromo Goncalves Lobato (Viseu Airport) (VSE, 77 km) are also within reach.
What currency is used in Porto?
euro (EUR).
Nearby
Destinations near Porto
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.