Five days in Porto

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Five days is where planning a trip to Porto turns into a puzzle. There is time for the city, the Douro and two more days out, but the region offers more than two good days, and they do not all work the same way: some are a cheap train ride, some need a booking weeks ahead, and some are hard to reach without a car or a tour.

The order matters. The first two days stay in the city, the third goes up the Douro by train, and the last two are chosen from four day trips: Guimarães and Braga, Aveiro and the striped houses of Costa Nova, the Paiva Walkways with the 516 Arouca bridge, and the riverside town of Amarante. Each comes with the journey, the fare, what to book and who it suits, so the two days out can be picked in a few minutes and put on the right days of the week.

The five days at a glance

The mistake with five days is to fill every one with a trip out. Porto itself needs two days, and a trip taken on the first morning, before you know the city, is a trip taken tired.

Day one: the historic centre and Gaia, starting at the station, dropping to the quay and crossing the bridge for a Port tasting. The one-day plan has it hour by hour.

Day two: the west of the city, with Serralves or the Palácio de Cristal gardens, and Foz by the sea in the evening. The two-day plan has both versions.

Day three: the Douro by train from São Bento, to Régua in 1 h 55 min or Pinhão in 2 h 20 min, or a guided day with a quinta and a boat.

Days four and five: two of the four trips below.

Leave a gap between the Douro and the next long day if you can. Put a city day between them, which means swapping day two and day three, and the week has a rhythm of one long day, one short.

A Monday is best used for a day out, as most of the city's museums close that day. On a Monday in Porto itself, the churches, gardens, viewpoints and lodges are all open, so a centre day still works.

Porto itself needs two days before anything else is booked.

Aveiro and Costa Nova

The mistake is to treat Aveiro and Costa Nova as one easy stop. They are 11 km apart, and the bus between them fills up in summer.

The urban train from São Bento reaches Aveiro in about 1 h 15 min, for 3.95 euros single, with at least two trains an hour on weekdays and one an hour at weekends. From the station, the old centre is 1 km along Avenida Dr. Lourenço Peixinho.

Aveiro itself takes about three hours. Moliceiro boats, once used to harvest seaweed, tour the four main canals in about 45 minutes, for about 14 euros an adult, though operators vary. Before leaving, try ovos moles, the town's sweet of sugared egg yolk in thin wafer casings.

Costa Nova is on the sand spit between the lagoon and the Atlantic. The Transdev bus from the Galitos stop in central Aveiro takes about 40 minutes and costs 2.35 euros, paid to the driver; when a bus is full, it stops taking passengers. The striped houses, the palheiros, were fishermen's storehouses. The beach runs for more than 9 km, and a 6 km boardwalk leads north to Praia da Barra and its lighthouse.

By public transport, doing both in a day is tight, so start early. By car, Aveiro is about 54 minutes from Porto.

Aveiro and Costa Nova are 11 km apart, not one stop.

The Paiva Walkways and the 516 Arouca bridge

The mistake is to drive out and expect to buy tickets at the entrance. Nothing is sold at the gates, and daily numbers are limited.

The walkways follow the Paiva river for 8.7 km between the river beaches of Areinho and Espiunca. One way takes about 2 h 30 min and counts as a hard walk, with stairs and sharp gradients; Areinho to Espiunca is the easier direction. Walking back doubles the distance to about 17 km, and the uphill return takes about twice as long. The route is not adapted for wheelchairs.

The 516 Arouca bridge hangs about 175 m above the river, 516 m long and 1.2 m wide, and opened on 29 April 2021. Its ticket, 12 euros and sold only online, includes the walkways, with crossings at set times.

Summer opening, May to September, runs from 8 in the morning to 8 at night; April and October run from 9 to 7; and the winter months, November to March, from 9 to 5; the last walkers are let in at 17:00, 16:00 and 15:00 respectively. Children under 10 go free with an adult, and there are no group discounts.

Arouca is about 72 km from Porto, 67 minutes by car, and has no practical public transport for a day trip. Without a car, take a guided tour.

Guimarães and Braga, or Amarante

The mistake is to rule these out because they sound similar. Guimarães and Braga are history and churches; Amarante is a small town on a river.

Guimarães and Braga are each about an hour on the urban train from São Bento, at 3.60 euros single. Guimarães's historic centre is a UNESCO site, and its palace and castle open daily from 10:00. In Braga, the Bom Jesus do Monte sanctuary above the city has a water-powered funicular in service since 1882. The two towns are on separate lines, which makes a guided tour the simplest way to see both in a day, and the three-day plan sets out the train version.

Amarante is 60.6 km from Porto, about 44 minutes by car along the A4. The town lines the banks of the Tâmega, the Douro's longest tributary, around the bridge credited to its patron, São Gonçalo, a 13th-century monk. In 1809 its defenders held the bridge against Marshal Soult's French troops for about two weeks. Since 1947, a museum named after Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso has filled a cloister of the São Gonçalo monastery with work by that modernist painter, who was born near the town. The convent sweets are the other reason to go: papos de anjo, toucinho do céu and the bolos de São Gonçalo.

Choosing the two days out

The mistake is to choose by photographs. Choose by what the day asks of you.

For travellers without a car who want an easy day, Aveiro is the one: frequent trains, a flat town and a boat ride. Add Costa Nova if the day is long and the bus is not full.

For walkers, the Paiva Walkways and the 516 bridge are the most physical day on offer, and they need a booking and a car or a tour.

For history, Guimarães and Braga. Guimarães alone works well by train; both together are easier with a guide.

For food and a slow pace, Amarante, by car, possibly combined with a drive on towards the Douro.

For nature on a larger scale, Peneda-Gerês, Portugal's only national park, created in 1971, about 90 minutes by road. It has no train and thin bus service, so it is a car or a tour, and it is a long day.

With a car for the last two days, a good pairing is Amarante with the Douro one day and the Paiva Walkways another. Without one, Aveiro and Guimarães, both by urban train, make a pair that needs no bookings at all.

The day trips from Porto guide compares every destination in more detail.

Ordering the week

The mistake is to plan the days in the order you thought of them. The calendar decides.

Put the Paiva Walkways on a weekday if you can, and book as soon as the date is fixed. They close only for safety, in bad weather or for maintenance, and closures are posted on the official site; have a city day ready to swap in.

Put the Douro on a Saturday or Sunday between June and October if you want the historic train from Régua, which runs only on those days.

Use Mondays for a trip out. In Porto, Monday is closing day for the national art museum, the tram collection in Massarelos and the Infante's house by the quay, and so do most museums in Viana do Castelo.

Keep Sunday away from the Mercado do Bolhão, which is closed that day.

On 24 June, the São João holiday, Porto's state museums and Livraria Lello close; a day out that morning and the festival at night work well together.

End the week in the city. A last day in Porto, with no train to catch, leaves room for a lodge you missed or a return to a favourite viewpoint.

Practical notes for a five-day base

Stay near São Bento or in the Baixa. The Douro line and the urban trains to Guimarães, Braga and Aveiro all leave from São Bento, so an early start is a short walk.

Carry two cards: the Andante for the metro and buses in Porto, and a Siga card for the urban trains. Fares on the urban lines load onto the Siga card, and there are no return tickets.

Check the trains back before you set out, on CP. Afternoon returns from Guimarães can be far apart.

Book the walkways at the official Arouca site and nowhere else; leftovers sold at the Arouca tourism store cost more and are cash only.

If you hire a car for the last days only, pick it up on the morning you need it rather than paying for it on the city days.

For five nights, the tourist tax comes to 15 euros for each guest aged 13 or over, added by the hotel or apartment. The Porto municipality sets it.

The three-day plan is the shorter version; seven days add the Minho coast and Coimbra.

Common questions

Is five days too long for Porto?

No. Two days cover the city, and the other three suit day trips: the Douro by train and two of Aveiro, Guimarães and Braga, the Paiva Walkways or Amarante.

Which day trips from Porto work without a car?

The Douro, Aveiro, Guimarães and Braga are all reached by train from São Bento. The Paiva Walkways, Amarante and Peneda-Gerês need a car or a tour.

Do I need to book the Paiva Walkways?

Yes. Tickets are sold online with a daily limit and nothing is sold at the entrances. The 12-euro 516 Arouca bridge ticket includes the walkways.

How do I get from Aveiro to Costa Nova?

A Transdev bus from the Galitos stop in central Aveiro takes about 40 minutes for 2.35 euros, paid to the driver. Full buses stop taking passengers in summer.