Luxury things to do in Porto
Antiqvvm, dop and Pedro Lemos for dinner, with Serralves and Lello by day.
This is Porto at full stretch: tasting-menu dinners, a long lunch in a Foz villa, and afternoons in gilded museums and Serralves. It suits anyone who wants the city's best table every single night and has no interest in compromising on where they sleep.
Day 1: Lello, Soares dos Reis and Antiqvvm
A morning in the city's grandest bookshop and its national art museum sets the tone for Vítor Matos's tasting menu at Antiqvvm, with river-garden views to match.
- 9:30 AM
Época Porto
Bright brunch café on Rua do Rosário; seasonal plates, good granola and a properly pulled espresso.
Map - 10:30 AM
Livraria Lello & Irmão
Porto's iconic Neo-Gothic bookshop, one of the most photographed interiors in the city, a true landmark.
Map - 12:30 PM
Almeja
Chef João Cura's contemporary Portuguese cooking near Bolhão; take the lunch tasting menu and the wine pairing.
Map - 2:30 PM
Museu Nacional Soares dos Reis
Portugal's first public art museum, in the Carrancas palace; find Soares dos Reis's marble O Desterrado.
Map - 7:30 PM
Antiqvvm
Vítor Matos's tasting menu in a villa in the Palácio de Cristal gardens, with the Douro below; book weeks ahead.
Map - 9:30 PM
Genuíno - Vinho Natural e Boa Comida
Natural wine bar with good small plates; ask for a Portuguese skin-contact white by the glass.
Map
Day 2: Ribeira, the Sé, and Avillez
The medieval waterfront earns the whole day: cathedral cloisters, a deep dive into Port wine history, José Avillez at lunch and Rui Paula's tasting menu at dop to close the night.
- 9:30 AM
Café Piolho
Students' café since 1909 opposite the old university; order a galão and toast at the counter.
Map - 10:15 AM
Sé do Porto
Porto's great medieval cathedral, sweeping cloisters, azulejo panels and views over the Douro.
Map - 12:30 PM
Cantinho do Avillez - Porto
Cantinho do Avillez is Porto's most talked-about lunch table, José Avillez's take on sharp, modern Portuguese cooking in Ribeira.
Map - 2:30 PM
Museu do Vinho do Porto
Museu do Vinho do Porto sits right on the Douro, the ideal post-lunch deep-dive into Port wine history and culture.
Map - 7:30 PM
dop
Rui Paula's dining room in the Palácio das Artes off Largo de São Domingos; take the tasting menu of northern produce.
Map - 9:30 PM
Café do Cais - Restaurante & Cocktails
Café do Cais is a slick Ribeira cocktail bar steps from dinner, perfect nightcap before midnight.
Map
Day 3: Foz, Serralves, and Pedro Lemos
The Atlantic edge of the city at its most indulgent: a villa lunch in Foz, an afternoon at Serralves, and Pedro Lemos's tasting menu for a fitting finale.
- 9:30 AM
Chalé Suiço
Old Swiss-chalet kiosk café in the Passeio Alegre garden; coffee and a pastel de nata under the palms.
Map - 10:30 AM
Parque da Cidade
Porto's biggest park, lakes and meadows running down to the Atlantic; walk out to the seafront promenade.
Map - 12:30 PM
Vila Foz
Contemporary Portuguese cooking in a 19th-century seafront mansion in Foz; book the lunch menu and a window table.
Map - 2:30 PM
Casa de Serralves
Serralves Foundation's contemporary art museum, Porto's grandest cultural institution, unmissable for a no-limits day.
Map - 7:30 PM
Pedro Lemos
Pedro Lemos's tasting menu in a small granite townhouse in old Foz; say yes to the wine pairing.
Map - 9:30 PM
Restaurante Praia da Luz
Praia da Luz terrace bar, top-rated spot on the waterfront for a nightcap after dinner, well before midnight.
Map
Where to stay
The Yeatman Hotel
The Yeatman is Porto's reference luxury hotel: a wine-focused flagship on the Gaia hillside with one of the city's great views across the Douro.
Infante Sagres Porto
Infante Sagres puts you a short walk from Lello, Antiqvvm, and the Day 1 and Day 2 circuit, in a grand early-20th-century property that fits the no-limits brief.
Make Porto your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
Get Swearby on the App StoreBefore you go
Book ahead
- Graham's Port Lodge: weeks ahead
- Taylor's Port: weeks ahead
- Palácio da Bolsa: a few days ahead
- Torre dos Clérigos: a few days ahead
- Casa da Música: weeks ahead
- Douro Valley: weeks ahead
Skip these
- Livraria Lello: paid timed entry, overrun queues and shoulder to shoulder crowds. Photograph the façade instead.
- Ribeira riverfront restaurants: picture menus and view pricing. Climb one street to Caldeireiros or eat fish in Matosinhos.
- The Six Bridges cruise is a 50 minute city boat ride, not the Douro Valley.
- The food hall inside São Bento station charges market hall markups; Bolhão nearby does the real thing.
The full Porto travel guide: when to go, safety, getting around