In true Portuguese style, the city of Porto is full of old stone buildings, beautiful blue tiles, delicious wine, and countless baby Jesus statues, my two-year-old’s favorite. The city of Porto is located about three hours north of Lisbon, and is known for the sweet Port wine made in this very city. It was the perfect stop on our two-week trip in Portugal with our toddler and preschooler.
We spent two days exploring the city by foot in the winter. Below are our recommendations for activities you must do with two kids under five years of age, even if you only have two days in Porto. (Traveling to Porto with older kids? Check out our other family-friendly Porto recs, here!)
Trip Purpose
Spend two days in Porto, Portugal with our young kids. We tried not to overextend ourselves and to follow our kids' energy levels and temperaments!
DESTINATION: Porto, Portugal
AGE OF OUR KIDS: 2 years; 5 years
LENGTH OF STAY: 2 Days
TIME OF YEAR: November
Getting Around
Everything in this guide is within walking distance of the historic center of Porto. We spent one day in Porto, and the second day in Vila Nova de Gaia, the city just south of Porto along the Douro River. For other recommendations just outside of Porto, check out this blog post.
If you stay in the historic center of the city, like we did, you must cross the Douro River to reach Vila Nova de Gaia, the port cellar district. There are a few ways to reach this district with kids:
Catch a taxi or an uber and cross the Dom Luis I bridge
Take the train or a bus across the Dom Luis I bridge
Walk across the Dom Luis I bridge
Take a water taxi across the river
We chose to take a water taxi across the river and walk back to our Airbnb in the afternoon. See below for more details.
What we packed
- Standard diaper bag essentials
- Comfortable shoes, clothes, and sunscreen
- Baby carrier
- Camera
- E-sim
BASE COST
- Entrance to Livraria Lello €5 per person over five years of age. Cost can be credited towards a book purchase
- Clérigos Tower tickets are €8 per person over 10 years of age
- Tickets to enter the cathedral are €3 per person over 10 years of age
- One-way river taxi ride €1 for kids ages 4-10 or €3,5 for an adult. Kids under four are free
- Port wine tasting ranges €30-40
- Cable car tickets are free for kids under five, €3,50 for children ages 5-12, and €7 for adults
Add-ons
- Food and snacks
How to spend two days with your family in Porto
Climb the Clérigos Tower
Great for sweeping views and a cardio session
~1 hour; €8/person over age 10
The Clérigos Tower was built in the 18th century and has some of the best views of the city. Buy your tickets in advance online for a specific entry date and time for €8 for all visitors over 10 years of age. Then be prepared to climb (and possibly carry) your kiddo up the 225 steps to the top of the tower.
When you enter, the self-guided tour takes you through the cathedral before you begin your climb. Our five-year-old was able to climb all 225 steps to the top of the tower with some encouragement, while our toddler needed to be carried. Once you arrive at the top of the tower you can see the entire city.
We climbed early in the morning and marveled at the fog in the hills, and the sun shining on the river.
It was a good idea to do this activity on one of our first days in Porto because our kids enjoyed spotting the tower from wherever we were in the city after this climb, shouting “Hey, we climbed that!”
The Clérigos Tower was one of our preschooler’s favorite parts of this trip. Pro tip: remember your baby carrier so you’re not carrying your kiddos up the stairs without it, like I did!
Visit the Livraria Lello
Great for bibliophiles and architecture-lovers
~30 minutes; €5/person age 5+
Known as one of the prettiest bookstores in the world, Livaria Lello has been selling books at this location since 1906. Just a few blocks away from the Clerigos Tower, Livaria Lello claims to have inspired the work of Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling—it does have a feel of Hogwarts in the architecture and design of the ornate wood bookshelves and mystical, flowing staircase!
Due to its popularity, the bookstore requires that you purchase a ticket to enter. Every visitor five years and older must purchase a €5 ticket that can be put towards the purchase of a book. Buy your ticket in advance with a timeslot so you do not end up waiting in a long line to buy a ticket at the door.
By limiting the number of visitors at a time, they are able to control the flow of visitors and the crowds of people trying to take that perfect picture in front of the iconic staircase, and ensure that they are still making money off those that just come by for the perfect photo.
Even so, the bookstore was crowded when we entered with our kids. My kids loved looking at the books in the children’s section near the back of the bookstore. We put our ticket cost towards three English translated children’s books that we got to read throughout our trip.
See the Sé Cathedral
Great for lovers of old churches
~2 hours; €3/person over 10 years old
The walk from Lirvaria Lello to the Sé Cathedral is less than a half of a mile and takes about ten minutes, depending on your kiddo’s pace up the hilly path.
As we coaxed our preschooler to keep walking up the last hill, we entered a giant square with the cathedral on one side, the Bishop’s Palace on another, and an amazing view of the city all around.
Sé Cathedral is big. First, buy tickets online or at the entrance, then follow a self-guided walking tour through the many church rooms filled with historic furniture and artwork. The walking tour leads you to the cloister, which includes a sunny courtyard with beautiful blue tile and stone pillars. Walk around the courtyard to find the door to the cathedral.
I let the kids run and play in the courtyard, but asked them to walk and be quiet once we entered the cathedral. Being quiet proved to be quite challenging for my toddler who shouted “I found baby Jesus” every time she saw a statue or a painting of a baby.
After you walk through the cathedral, you can take a staircase up to the second floor to see more beautiful blue tiles and a view into the courtyard from above. We didn’t make it to the Bishop’s Palace, but our guest bloggers Evaly and Krista and their family did. Check it out their review here.
Tickets to enter the cathedral are €3 per person over 10 years of age.
Go Port Wine Tasting in Vila Nova de Gaia
Great for wine-enthusiasts and history buffs
~6 hours; ~€30+ for wine-tasting
You can’t miss the giant signs illuminating the port wine cellars along the riverfront of Vila Nova de Gaia, just south of Porto and the Douro River. We stopped at Calém for delicious wine tasting inside a wine cellar, and sipped our wine right next to giant wine barrels while our kids played with sticker books. Check out our blog post about port wine tasting with kids.
In addition to wine tasting, the riverfront area of Vila Nova de Gaia offers quite a few fun and family-friendly activities, such as:
- Riding the Douro River Water Taxi round trip from Porto
- Strolling along the Avenida de Diogo Leite
- Enjoying lunch on a rooftop restaurant
- Riding a cable car
- Walking along the Dom Luis I Bridge
Check out our blog post about visiting Gaia with your kids for more details.
Stroll along the Cais da Ribeira
Great for a morning or late-afternoon stroll
~1 hour; free
Our kids enjoyed chasing the birds along the river walkway, shopping at local booths, and dancing to the sounds of the troubadours playing acoustic tunes with the most gorgeous backdrop of the Dom Luis I bridge.
Take your time and soak this magic in.
Where to Eat in Porto with Kids
Porto Cruz 360 Terrace Bar Lounge
The 360 Terrace Bar Lounge at Porto Cruz in Vila Nova de Gaia offered delicious food, opportunities for port tasting for the grown-ups, and spectacular views of Porto, the river, and bridge.
We enjoyed the octopus and codfish (€11,5 each), while our kiddos slurped soup (€4) and a smoothie. It was a great way to relax before our trip back to the city center.
Nosola Italia
Located between the Clérigos Tower and Livaria Bookstore, Nosola Italia was an unassuming Italian restaurant with a giant ice cream cone at the entrance.
We were instantly greeted by the most kind and friendly staff, who played with our kids and served us decent Italian food that all of our family enjoyed. Check out their kids menu and don’t forget to grab gelato for dessert.
Fábrica da Nata
Fábrica da Nata is a traditional bakery making only one thing—pastel de nata, a cream-filled pastry that tastes like a crème brulée pie.
We ordered a six-pack in a tiny box, with a packet of cinnamon, and devoured almost all of them on our walk home. Eat them warm and fresh for the best taste.
Our daughter loved this pastry so much she asked to go back to Portugal on her birthday (six months later) to have another.
Where to Stay
Porto offers no shortage of accommodation options. We decided to stay in a private residence in the historic district of Porto so we would not need a car while we were visiting the city and could walk everywhere we wanted to go.
We stayed in the Victoria Project House 1 during our trip. The house is a nicely updated historic stone home that is typical of this area of Porto. The owners of the Victoria Project were also very responsive to my many questions.
Porto felt like the perfect balance between historic city and family-friendly accessibility because most things were within walking distance, were accepting of families with young children, and had staff that were excited to see little ones traveling about.
I would highly recommend anyone traveling to Portugal with kids to spend at least two days wandering the picturesque streets of this beautiful city.
Have you been to Porto? Anything we missed? Share in the comments below.
This post is part of a series of posts about visiting Portugal with kids. Continue the adventure with us here:
Puerto Rican & Indigenous mama of two. Bay Area native. Salsa dancer. Backpacker. Doula. Angel (she/her/hers) is a co-founding member of the Beautiful Brown Adventures team. She has traveled to over 30 countries and loves to explore the world with her two daughters & partner - one ice cream shop at a time.
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