©vidalgo/Shutterstock
Top choice
At once minimalist, iconic and daringly imaginative, the Casa da Música is the beating heart of Porto's cultural scene and the home of the Porto National Orchestra. Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas rocked the musical world with this crystalline creation – the jewel in the city's European Capital of Culture 2001 crown.
The wonky cuboid conceals a shoebox-style concert hall lauded for some of the world's best acoustics. If your curiosity has been piqued, join one of the daily guided tours.
1.46 MILES
Igreja de São Francisco looks from the outside to be an austerely Gothic church, but inside it hides one of Portugal’s most dazzling displays of baroque…
1.5 MILES
This fabulous cultural institution combines a museum, a mansion and extensive gardens. Cutting-edge exhibitions, along with a fine permanent collection…
1.5 MILES
From Praça da Ribeira rises a tangle of medieval alleys and stairways that eventually reach the hulking, hilltop fortress of the cathedral. Founded in the…
Museu Nacional Soares dos Reis
0.91 MILES
Porto's best art museum presents a stellar collection ranging from Neolithic carvings to Portugal’s take on modernism, all housed in the formidable…
1.44 MILES
This splendid neoclassical monument (built from 1842 to 1910) honours Porto’s past and present money merchants. Just past the entrance is the glass-domed…
0.78 MILES
Sitting atop a bluff, this gorgeous botanical garden is one of Porto's best-loved escapes, with lawns interwoven with sun-dappled paths and dotted with…
1.4 MILES
One of the world's most beautiful train stations, beaux arts São Bento wings you back to a more graceful age of rail travel. Completed in 1903, it seems…
29.01 MILES
Braga’s extraordinary cathedral, the oldest in Portugal, was begun when the archdiocese was restored in 1070 and completed in the following century. It’s…
0.11 MILES
A park at the centre of one of Porto's busiest roundabouts, the Jardim da Boavista provides shade and respite from the hustle and bustle of the city. Its…
0.25 MILES
Opened in 1855 to bury the victims of a cholera epidemic, the Agramonte Cemetery is today one of Porto's most beautiful. The city's wealthiest residents…
0.36 MILES
Sidling up to the Cemitério de Agramonte, the Kadoorie Synagogue is the largest in the Iberian Peninsula and a visible reminder of the importance of the…
0.68 MILES
Run by the Faculty of Sciences of Porto University, this jigsaw of botanical gardens is a cool escape on hot summer days. Dotted with lakes and…
0.75 MILES
Housed in an antiquated switching-house, this museum is a tram-spotter's delight. It displays dozens of beautifully restored old trams – from early 1870s…
0.78 MILES
Nestled on the southern slopes of Jardins do Palácio de Cristal, beneath cathedral oaks and sycamores, is the small but stately home where the exiled king…
7. Jardins do Palácio de Cristal
0.78 MILES
Sitting atop a bluff, this gorgeous botanical garden is one of Porto's best-loved escapes, with lawns interwoven with sun-dappled paths and dotted with…
0.87 MILES
Arcing 270m in a single swoop over the Douro River and linking Porto to Vila Nova de Gaia, this mighty bridge is visible from afar. Designed by prominent…