Porto is the rare city that looks expensive and is not. Its tiled churches, the cellars across the river, the bridges over the Douro gorge and the steep lanes of tiled houses give it a richness that the prices do not match. With a little planning you can have a thoroughly good weekend here for less than a night out in many capitals.
Where the value is
The best things in Porto are cheap or free. Walking the riverside Ribeira, crossing the upper deck of the Dom Luis bridge on foot for the view, and wandering the old streets cost nothing. Port tastings are far cheaper than the drink's reputation suggests; the lodges across the river in Vila Nova de Gaia run tours that end in a glass or two for a few euros.
Eating and getting about
- Eat where the workers eat at lunchtime, when many places do a cheap set menu, the prato do dia, with a drink included.
- Try the francesinha, the city's gloriously excessive sandwich, once; it is a meal that replaces two others.
- Buy an Andante card for the metro and buses, and ride the historic tram once for the novelty rather than the transport.
When to go
Spring and autumn are kindest, with warm days and lower prices than the summer peak. Winter is wet but cheap and rarely cold, and the city keeps its charm under grey skies. Avoid August if you can, when prices climb and the crowds thicken along the river.
Flights from the UK are frequent and often very cheap if you book ahead and travel light. The airport metro into the centre costs a couple of euros and takes around half an hour, so you can skip the taxis entirely. Porto rewards the careful traveller: spend wisely and it feels like one of the great-value city breaks in Europe, because it is.