Fabulous tour guide, Diane. I Highly recommend her because she has a good depth of historical…read moreknowledge, sense of humor, and a witty delivery make your time on the tour enjoyable and entertaining. She was able to deliver historical points in concise, easy to understand verbiage with a kick of lightheartedness when appropriate and sincerity where it belongs. Loved it. Make sure to bring your tip money as it is their way to earn a living. They are independent contractors who pay Sandemans for the leads.

Get ready for a really long walk, up and down the hills, with this tour. We were so tired at the…read moreend of the tour! However, the guy Andre did a wonderful job showing you the major sites, and giving tips on places to explore more on your own, restaurants and food to try. He even sent us an email listing all the things he mentioned and suggested. How awesome is that? The tour is a bit heavy on history, I'd prefer more focus about the culture, and the food, but then it's just personal, and you can see that Andre is really proud of his country and his city. We just showed up at the meeting point at the start time, though you can make reservation online. There is a break at a cafe half way through so you can get a coffee or use the restroom, or just sit and rest your legs.

What a delicious place! Plan to spend a ton of time, between the museum, the house, the garden, the…read moretree walks, the full garden paths you can easily spend half a day, and that would be rushing. My favorite, and I wish I spent more time, was the garden and the outdoor paths. Plan to get lost, explore, be inspired, think, question, and just be purely in love with this experience. I can't recommend enough.

Serralves Park is a gorgeous spot in Porto that is a wonderful way to spend a few hours…read moredecompressing and strolling around. The Casa de Serralves looks honestly looks like a Barbie house, in its simple Art Deco design. There are a series of large garden fountains that connect down the middle of the front courtyard. The grounds around the Casa are also very architectural and designed in maze patterns, structural elements, and completely matching the flow and feel of the house. A forest of trees and paths also surround the park, so you can do a lot of walking and marveling at things as you pass. The interior museum (no photos, unfortunately) features exhibits focused on contemporary art. It houses works from well known International artists as well as local Portuguese artists. There are several art pieces scattered around the park and grounds as well. My favorite was "Plantoir" by Claes Oldenburg. It's a giant red trowel that stands almost 25 feet tall and weighs over 2,000 pounds. It just makes you feel so small when you're standing there next to it! No matter if you're a fan of art, nature, or history - Serralves fits the ticket.

The Felgueiras Lighthouse is situated where the Douro River finds the Atlantic. Although no longer…read morein operation, the mariners' beacon continues to command respect more than 200 years after its construction. Giant ocean waves are known to slam the lighthouse's jetty, making it a (careful!) must-see for photographers. The lighthouse's historic neighborhood, Foz do Douro, one of Portugal's most affluent enclaves, is well worth exploring: wave-washed granite at Ourigo Beach and the weathered walls of the Fort São João de Foz contextualize the lighthouse's genesis.

It does feel a little bit silly to be reviewing a free public park, but you know what, it was on my…read moreitinerary specifically, so why not? Unfortunately, I got here just slightly too late to properly enjoy the gardens themselves, as there were a *lot* of great art galleries to stop at on the way nearby (intentionally), so as it was already starting to get dark when we got here. But that is also a great time to enjoy the view back over the river and the heart of Porto from above on the hill. It was also a great time, until it got fully dark and they all went to sleep, to see, basically right when we walked in, a bunch of ducks, a handful of large geese (cool, but we gave them a wide space; geese have an attitude and you could tell they knew they could walk wherever they liked!), even a couple peacocks (though I would later learn, the best place in Portugal to see peacocks by far would be the castle in Lisbon, which has a whole huge flock of them.) Would I pay to get in? Probably not. But I also didn't have to; it's a free public park. :D

A gem of a park for everyone! A gem for the watchers, the walkers, the water lovers, the scenery…read moresoakers, the park sleepers, the picnic partiers, the everyones! Get lost by your curiosity. Walk and walk, bring your creative photo eye since some of the best views of the river can be found here. Public restrooms, often food vendors. A Porto staple to visit.

I thought I'd have to bribe Jamie W to climb this historic tower, but he surprised me by not…read morewhining about it. I knew from more youthful vloggers on YouTube that the panoramic views were spectacular from the top. At 246 feet, the tower is the highest point in Porto's historic center. However, before we climbed the inevitable 240 steps, the museum beckoned. It was formerly the private quarters of the clerics who founded the church. The space now houses religious artifacts and related art exhibits and extends into the High Church Gallery, a balcony promenade that provides an elevated view of the church's ornate nave (Photo 5). Before entering the stairwell, we had our photos taken in front of a green screen for souvenirs they pitched to us later. The climb wasn't that bad, just a bit claustrophobic in some sections, specially when we had to squeeze by perspiring tourists. They were more spritzing than sprinting. There are two observation floors. The first is about 2/3 of the way up, while the narrower space at the summit provides the ultimate payoff with panoramic cityscape and river views (Video). As usual, the climb down was easier since we knew how long it should take. And yes, there were photos of us standing at the summit in comic poses. I usually bypass them, but for 8€, I couldn't help myself (Photo 7). RELATED - Exploring Porto? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://yelp.to/CzAl-vBlP0

A historic climb for a view of Porto's skyline…read more The Clérigos Tower is a baroque landmark easily spotted from vantage points across historic Porto, and therefore one that's worth climbing for that panoramic view from above. The 75m bell tower monument is connected to a church that was built for the Clergy brotherhood in the 18th century. The ornate church and relic exhibit are also worth sightseeing to gain appreciation of its history. We pre-booked our visit (€10) and were serenaded with a concert taking place in front of the brilliantly lit church altar. From there we were able to head above the nave for a full vantage of the church and dome in its pink & white marble tones. At our exact booking time, we were able to queue in line before taking the steps up the actual tower. The queue was slow-moving because the staircase is narrow and the steps themselves were quite steep making it challenging particularly for those with knee pains. Once we made it to the top, we were rewarded with the 360 panoramic views including the famous bridges connecting to Gaia, and the historical city centre with orange rooftops underneath. It can be a workout getting up and down as the tight staircase has to accommodate the constant two-way flow of visitors. Skip it or hit it? This is one of the prominent sites in Porto but be ready for the stairs.

Fonte dos Leões (Fountain of the Lions) is a 19th century fountain in the Praça de Parada Leitão…read morenear the famous Igreja dos Clérigos. According to sources, it is a copy of the fountain in the Town Hall Square of Leicester, England. The central fountain has a cruciform layout with the group of sculptures of winged lions at the base. The water flows from each of their mounts into the fountain. It's a great meeting spot!

This 'Fountain of the Lions' located in the downtown of Porto, is a gorgeous centerpiece for the…read morecity with interesting stories surrounding it. For instance, JK Rowling lived here for awhile after writing the first Harry Potter and it's said that she based the Gryffindor icon off of the fierce lions in this fountain. There is a gorgeous book store (Livraria Lello) close by this fountain that she took inspiration from for the Diagon Alley bookstore with the crazy staircase. It's also been named one of the most beautiful bookstores in the country. Definitely come explore this area, as EVERYTHING around it is gorgeous. This fountain is also in front of of a university where the students literally do where capes around as if Harry Potter has come to life. It's awesome!

Joao Chagas Garden, also called the Cordoaria Garden, was founded in the 1800s, and today it is a…read morepublic green space. My husband and I spent time in this park while we were on vacation. As we walked around, we saw a lake, trees, walking paths, several sculptures, benches, a children's playground, etcetera. We felt interested in the trees that had wide trunks and thin branches. I read online that the trees have that shape because of frequent pruning. The sculpture that most caught our attention was "Thirteen Laughing at Each Other" (2001) by the artist Juan Muñoz.

The original name Jardim da Cordoaria translates as "the garden of the cord warners." This is where…read moreropes were made for some 200 years. In 1865, it was transformed into a garden following a design by the German landscape gardener Emil David. It became a very popular meeting place until the beginning of the 20th Century. Today, it is a shady benched spot in front of the photography museum. You might find an ice cream vendor and the trolley runs through the park too. [Review 9842 overall, 1420 of 2018.]

Not worth the price even if you're on a corporate account. You can find much better stays with the…read moresame access to central Porto. First, there is massive construction in front of the hotel that should have been finished last year but the new completion date is TBD. Thankfully, our room faced the back of the hotel, looking out into an interior apartment complex, so we didn't have to deal with the early-hour jackhammering. But if I had shelled out some serious money for the Intercontinental brand and a pretty view of Praça da Liberdade, Porto's main square, and was just looking out at a construction lot covered in tarp, I'd be pretty disappointed. Service here was iffy. When we got to the hotel, the bellboy took our bags and, since the concierge was busy, pointed us to some empty seats nearby; I assumed we'd then be next. Then a line starts forming for people waiting to check in as we're sitting there before we finally realize we need to be standing in the line. We never got much of a "Good morning" or "Have a nice day" from the bellboys, only a very diffident nod. We had a hotel credit and used it at the bar; food was exceptionally mediocre and, par for the course, extremely expensive. Two redeeming points for the hotel: 1. The breakfast buffet was pretty good, with several options and fresh fruit. Still doesn't hold a candle to the legendary hotel buffets in Asia. 2. The location was stellar, easy walking distance to most tourist attractions and the bridges in Porto. That's probably what drives the price up. Wouldn't stay here again.

# of nights: 3 Room (booked): Classic King, Quiet Zone…read moreRoom (upgrade): Junior Suite #210 (Plat AMB) Room (rate): avg €665/night Check-in (early): ~1pm (abrigado!) Location: Superb (100 TA walk score) Welcome amenity: (2) drinks (wine, beer, soda) @ lobby bar In-room water: Vitalis 75cl (comp, daily replenish) Check-out (late): 4pm guaranteed (AMB) Suite: so at this particular property, the jr suite is more expensive than the 1BR suite bc it's larger and has a much nicer view; whereas, the 1BR suite has little to no view. View: Praça da Liberdade (semi-obstructed, construction) Balcony: Juliette (x2) Shower (water pressure): mediocre, 3/5 Soaking Tub: medium size, adequate Bathroom Products: Byredo Bal D'Afrique 5/5 Wellness Center (-1): Gym, Sauna, Bathroom, Shower Wi-Fi (speedtest): ~28 down, ~28 up TV: semi-articulating mount, allows input selection (firestick, etc.) * Additional city tax (3€ per person, per night) * Ambassador CR works on F&B (not gratuity) * Be aware of ongoing construction (starts ~7am on select days) that makes your entire room vibrate...