How to spend an active weekend in Porto, Portugal's riverside city

29.08.2023 - 10:31 / nationalgeographic.com / Ria Formosa

Straddling the mouth of the Douro River with elegant bridges and painted houses tripping up gentle hillsides, Porto has soared in popularity with travellers in recent years. Many come to sip and slurp at the city’s historic port wine houses, climb the narrow streets lined with baroque churches and 19^th-century merchants’ houses, and bounce between cafe terraces in the labyrinthine Ribeira district. But equally appealing is the call of the outdoors – Porto’s riverside views and coastal position encourage all manner of active pursuits, from paddleboarding and kayaking to bridge climbing and e-biking. Here’s the perfect itinerary for an active weekend break.

7am: Rise with the sun for a six-mile run with Porto Running Tours. At daybreak, you’ll see the historic centre’s alleyways and miradouros (viewpoints) at their silent best. The 1.5-hour runs give real insight into Porto, and you’ll have earned that pastel de nata (custard tart) for breakfast. 

12pm: Grab a gourmet sandwich to go from A Sandeira do Porto near São Bento station and weave up through the lanes of the Miragaia neighbourhood to Jardins do Palácio de Cristal. Here camellia-filled gardens, wooded groves and terraced, fountain-splashed lawns stagger down to the great blue arm of the Douro River. 

3pm: That arched bridge you spotted earlier from the gardens? That’s Ponte da Arrábida, leaping 1,600ft across the Douro River to Vila Nova de Gaia. For a thrill and sensational views of old Porto in one direction and the rumbling Atlantic in the other, pop on a harness to climb the bridge on a 40-minute guided tour.  

7pm: For sunset magic, take a kayak for a two-hour paddle at Afurada marina on the other side of the bridge. As darkness falls, swing over to nearby Armazém do Peixe to scoff boat-fresh seafood in a stylishly refurbished fishing warehouse. 

10am: Stand-up paddleboarding gives you a morning workout with knockout views of Porto’s soaring bridges and Ribeira district, rising above the river in a helter-skelter of pastel-painted houses. The Paddling Center in Douro Marina runs hour-long intro sessions and longer tours. 

1pm: Stop by the Graham’s Port Lodge for a three-port tasting and lunch with dazzling river views on the terrace of Vinum. The slick, glass-fronted restaurant is an extension of the original 17th-century cellars, and pairs Douro wines with stunners like Ria Formosa oysters and Trás-os-Montes beef.   

3pm: To feel Porto’s creative pulse, hop on an e-bike with Blue Dragon Tours for a spin of the city’s most exciting street art. The hills will be no sweat as you cruise past attention-grabbers like Bordalo II’s ‘Coelho’, a giant rabbit made from recycled rubbish. 

6.30pm: Take a tram ride to Foz do Douro, where Porto embraces