Porto is a beautiful city and you could easily spend half an eternity there, but its surroundings also have a lot to offer. If you need a break from the city and are looking into day trips from Porto, take inspiration from this article and follow in our footsteps. In this article, we’ll present our top 5 picks for the best day trips from Porto, but we are sure there are many more 😉 Scroll down to see a map!
Tips for Doing Day Trips from Porto
We were fortunate because we were touring the country by car, which made reaching those places fairly easy. Please note that Portugues roads are subject to toll. If you are renting a car you can opt for a car with a vignette which records your toll electronically. Your rental car company will then charge you for the toll after you return the car. This is your best option as cash booths are not available on all roads.
You could also opt for public transport, but a rental car is most likely the better option. If you are planning on taking the train, consult the official website of the Portuguese Railway Service for timetables and prices.
1. Braga
Braga was one of the places we knew we wanted to visit before we even booked our flights. As the biggest city in Northern Portugal, Braga makes an excellent destination for a day trip. It is only a short 55 km drive from Porto and easily accessible by car with a few garages in the city center. However, we started out by visiting the famous sanctuary Bom Jesus de Monte and its imposing Baroque staircase. You get fantastic views of the city from here!
After visiting the church we decided to drive into town and grab some lunch which turned out to be a great decision. Braga’s city center is quite lively and inviting, albeit small. You can easily just stroll around or sit in a cafe and indulge in some people watching!
How to Get to Braga from Porto
By car: Follow the A20 in Northern direction before merging onto A3/E1. The final leg to Braga will be on A11. Exit A11 at N103 towards Braga Oeste/Barcelos and simply follow the signs into the city.
By train: Trains run from both, Porto-Campanha and Porto-Sao Bento, several times a day. Your journey on the Urbano line will take approximately one hour and costs around 3.5€ for a one-way ticket.
2. Guimarães
Also only 55 km from Porto is the small town of Guimarães which is generally regarded the birthplace of modern Portugal. It is a truly historic town and best explored on foot. The sight which you will want to have a close-up of is the 12th-century castle. The first king of Portugal, Afonso Henriques, called it his home and together with the historic center of the town, it is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The entrance fee is only about 1.5€ so if you are not short on time, we suggest you pop in and take a look 🙂
How to Get to Guimaraes from Porto
By car: To exit Porto, get on A20/IC23 and then on A3/E1 in Northern direction. This highway merges into A7 towards Guimaraes. Exit the highway at N101 and follow the signs into town.
By train: Several trains run from Porto to Guimaraes every day. The journey on the Urbano line will take you approximately 1:15 hours and costs about 3.5€ for a one-way ticket.
3. Marche de Barcelos
Should you be in the Braga area on a Thursday morning, we recommend you make a stop-over at the market in Barcelos and sample some of the local produce. You can park your car only a few hundred meters away and dive right into the craziness. The market is huge and offers anything from socks to picture frames, but we were most intrigued by the produce section. It is definitely a great place to grab some breakfast!
How to Get to Barcelos from Porto
By car: Exit Porto via A28 which merges into A11 close to Barcelos. Exit A11 at exit 3. You then have to follow a series of small roads and exits into the small town of Barcelos. A GPS would be best in this case. Note that parking can be difficult on market days. There are some parking lots with “attendants” close by. After parking, you should pay them about 1-2€.
By train: Depending on which train you are going to take, your travel time may vary between 45 minutes and 1:30 hours. The quickest option in the InterRegional train which runs about 5 times per day and costs about 5.5€ one-way. Another option is to take the Urbano line to Nine and then change to a Regional train. The journey takes around an hour and tickets cost 4.5€ one-way.
4. Viana do Castelo
Approximately 75 km from Porto lies the sleepy town of Viana do Castelo. Take your car up the hill to the Basilica of Santa Luzia and marvel at its sublime facade. Then turn around and enjoy the wind in your hair as you enjoy the view over the town, its beaches and the deep blue sea. If you are here in the summer, you may even want to pack your swimsuit as the beach here is rather popular and worth checking out!
How to Get to Viana do Castelo from Porto
By car: Leave Porto via A28. From there it’s a relatively straight shot. Take exit 23 and follow the signs into the city.
By train: Your best option to get here by train is to take the InterRegional train which runs 5 times a day and costs approximately 8€ one-way. The journey is about 1:30 hours.
5. The Douro Valley
Well, no list of day trips from Porto could be complete without mentioning a day trip to the Douro Valley. As one of the most famous wine growing regions in the world it’s an absolute must-do when you are in Porto! In fact, why don’t you read our in-depth guide to visiting the Douro Valley on a day trip from Porto?
Day Trips from Porto Map
Now, what do you think? Is there anything we have missed? Do you have tips on what else to see or do around Porto? What was your favorite sight? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below! Let’s stay in touch!
Hello there, fellow globetrotters! I’m Jacky, a passionate travel blogger with an insatiable wanderlust. With several years of experience in online marketing, I leverage my expertise to ensure that you get the best travel advice, tailored for the digital age. My travels have taken me to over 30 countries, and I love sharing those experiences with readers like you. Besides traveling, my other loves are my beloved cats, architecture, art, science fiction, coffee, and all things cute. My travel tips have been featured on lonelyplanet.com and in the EasyJet Traveller magazine.
Hi, my husband and I have only one day in Porto (*sigh*). We’re taking the train from Lisbon. Would you recommend visiting the Duoro Valley OR the town of Aveiro which is billed as Portugal’s Venice??
We’re so torn because we love wine as well as anything Venice!
Kay
Hi Kay!
I would 100% recommend that you visit the Douro valley. Aveiro is pretty, but you’d be through with it in about an hour or two. And the Douro valley is just so pretty!
Hope you have a great trip 🙂
Jacky
Fantastic writing. Though it would be better for the new ones if you would inform the train name and schedule. But it’s ok as you have presented the trip tricks so well. The map you have included is something i am bookmarking this site. happy writing.
Hey!
Thanks for your kind words! We will be updating this post with more details shortly so hopefully all information will be in one place then 🙂
Jacky
Shout out to one of only about 10 people on the whole internet who seems to have also been to Guimarães! Haha. It’s definitely underrated. What a beautiful castle. We loved the whole town and how pretty it was. We will go back to Porto one day and maybe try Braga next time – that also looks good!
Haha thank you Caroline 🙂 It is really underrated. Hopefully we’ll inspire more people to visit!
Jacky ?
Some great suggestions here! I like the look of Braga 🙂 We booked a tour into the Douro Valley from Porto but it got cancelled due to bad weather (read: thunderstorms) so we ended up going on an off-road adventure through the nearby mountains instead, which was great fun!
Hi Kiara and thanks so much for your comment! It’s too bad your tour to the Douro got cancelled, because it is so beautiful there! But still glad to hear that you had a great time. But I do wonder how one can drive in the mountains during a thunderstorm? We had a hard time in sunshine 😀
Jacky
I hadn’t heard of any of these places. Can you get to them by train as well? I prefer to take trains as it is less to worry about 🙂
Hi Jessica! Yes, they are very small places and often get overlooked, but we find them very charming 🙂 I believe Braga is very easy to get into from Porto by train, but the other locations not so much. Trains don’t run very often and many of the sights are a bit out of the way. That’s why we would recommend the car 🙂
Jacky
Guimarães is easy by train. We don’t drive and did it – a lovely journey too!
Great trips! Next time you go, I can definitely recommend the Douro Valley. It’s about 100km but we still did it in a day trip. There’s the best wineries, it’s where the port wine and Douro wines are coming from. It’s also really beautiful, so definitely worth the trip.
Hi Natalie and thanks so much for your comment! What a great day trip suggestion the Douro valley is! Thanks for your input, we absolutely agree 🙂
Jacky
Fantastic, definitely noting these for my planned trip to Porto! How absolutely stunning Portugal is!
Hi Natasha and thanks for your comment! Indeed Portugal has so much more to offer than just beaches 🙂
Jacky
What a great selection of day trips from Porto. I love the look of Guimarães because the castle is very cool and I do enjoy ticking a world heritage site off the list! But Basilica of Santa Luzia looks pretty stunning too, overlooking the bay. Beautiful.
Hi Amanda and thanks so much for your comment! Mihir has an obsession with ticking off UNESCO sites, haha, that was the main reason we visited 😉
Jacky