Porto is one of the few destinations that gets better in autumn. October and November bring fewer crowds than the summer months, temperatures that make walking a pleasure, and cellars full after the harvest. It asks for good shoes and a rain jacket \u2014 and repays you with the most atmospheric city break on the Iberian peninsula.<\/p>\n
Start at Bolh\u00e3o with a lanche<\/strong> \u2014 a stuffed brioche with ham and cheese, the local breakfast. Then the Capela das Almas<\/strong> with its enormous blue-tiled facade, and next door the renovated Mercado do Bolh\u00e3o<\/strong> for fruit, fish and small plates.<\/p>\n Carry on to Rua de Santa Catarina, past the art nouveau facade of A P\u00e9rola do Bolh\u00e3o<\/strong> and the historic Majestic Caf\u00e9<\/strong>. A little further down, S\u00e3o Bento<\/strong> station holds over 20,000 tiles telling the story of Portugal \u2014 one of the finest station interiors in Europe.<\/p>\n Head down to the river for the Igreja de S\u00e3o Francisco<\/strong>, with its gilded interior, and the Pal\u00e1cio da Bolsa<\/strong>. Sunset from the Jardim das Virtudes<\/strong> closes the day, with dinner at a neighborhood tavern \u2014 and if you’re brave, try the tripas \u00e0 moda do Porto.<\/p>\n Spend the morning in Bombarda<\/strong>, the creative district: galleries, vintage shops, record stores and caf\u00e9s worth lingering in. A couple of steps away are the Jardins do Pal\u00e1cio de Cristal<\/strong>, where peacocks wander freely and the municipal gallery is free to enter.<\/p>\n In the afternoon, two museums that couldn’t be less alike: the Museu Nacional Soares dos Reis<\/strong>, with ceramics, sculpture and painting, and the Centro Portugu\u00eas de Fotografia<\/strong>, housed in a former political prison.<\/p>\n In the evening, the bars around Rua da Galeria de Paris \u2014 or a good cocktail if you prefer things quieter.<\/p>\n Cross the bridge to Vila Nova de Gaia<\/strong> for the port cellars. Take a tour and tasting at one or two \u2014 there are century-old houses and modern ones with terraces over the river. Then climb to Jardim do Morro<\/strong> for sunset over the whole city; you’ll have company, but it’s worth it.<\/p>\n If you have time left, Matosinhos<\/strong> is fifteen minutes by metro: grilled fish, the ocean, and a cannery that runs tours with a sardine tasting.<\/p>\n With an extra day, the Douro valley<\/strong> is the natural continuation: terraced vineyards, a train along the river and estates open to visitors. In autumn the vine leaves turn red and gold \u2014 it’s the best time of year to go.<\/p>\n Porto remains one of Western Europe’s affordable city breaks. As a guide: a bed in a good hostel runs around \u20ac42\u201355, a mid-range room or apartment around \u20ac156\u2013186, and something with a river view from \u20ac373 up.<\/p>\n At Penguin Travels & Tours<\/strong> we put together three- and four-day trips to Porto for October and November, with flights, accommodation in the centre and an optional Douro excursion.<\/p>\n Want an autumn city break that isn’t the same as everyone else’s?<\/strong> Stop by our office in Kalamata (Vasilissis Olgas 4) or call us at +30 27210 80701<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A three-day Porto itinerary with azulejos, port wine and Douro views \u2014 plus the practical details for October and November.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":12791,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_title":"Three Days in Porto: An Autumn City Break","rank_math_description":"A three-day Porto itinerary with azulejos, port wine and Douro views \u2014 plus the practical details for October and November.","rank_math_focus_keyword":"three days in Porto, Porto city break, things to do in Porto","footnotes":""},"categories":[438],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-destinations-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.penguintravels.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12764","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.penguintravels.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.penguintravels.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.penguintravels.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.penguintravels.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12764"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.penguintravels.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12764\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12806,"href":"https:\/\/www.penguintravels.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12764\/revisions\/12806"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.penguintravels.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12791"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.penguintravels.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.penguintravels.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.penguintravels.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Day 2: art, gardens and museums<\/h2>\n
Day 3: wine and sea<\/h2>\n
And one day trip worth taking<\/h2>\n
What accommodation costs<\/h2>\n
Shall we?<\/h2>\n
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