I have 4 nights scheduled to stay in Porto and 5 nights in Lisbon next month. I am considering eliminating one of the nights in Porto and cutting my trip short one day. However, I'm also considering just keeping the current plan and maybe spending a day visiting Braga. We enjoy history, culture, shopping. For reference, we were in Strasbourg last year and felt like we had seen what we wanted to after a day. I know different cities, I just don't want to be bored and spend more time than I need to. I tried searching the forums about Braga and am not getting much out of what it's like. Is it worth it to visit Braga?

I'm heading to Porto soon and my research tells me there are so many great day trips from there. Shortening your time would be a pity. Here's one link to info on Braga: https://porto-north-portugal.com/bra...gal-guide.html

Have you considered Guimaraes? https://porto-north-portugal.com/gui...-portugal.html

Also, a day trip to the Douro Valley. Not quite your parameters, but perhaps worth a look at, too, if you haven't already? Although, you can do history there too: https://www.portugalvisitor.com/port...museu-do-douro. (and the culture of wine, if you consider that through vineyard visits!)

Thank you, yes, the Duoro would be our one day trip already. Thank you for the link!

I also like this article on daytrips, including to Braga: https://portoalities.com/en/guide-to...ps-from-porto/.

We based out of Guimaraes a few years back and did a day trip to Braga. While Braga was enjoyable, definitely preferred Guimaraes. Guimaraes fell a little more quaint, and not as city like than Braga. Both cities are very historic, with Guimaraes considered the birthplace of Portugal. To be fair we spent 4 days in Guimaraes as opposed to a day trip to Braga so we were able to “discover” Guimaraes a bit more and enjoy more sites, restaurants, ect. Guimaraes has a great pedestrian only medieval area and a great castle to explore. A plus to Braga is that the incredible Bom Jesus Sanctuary is very close by and is a must visit if visiting Braga.

I did day trips to both Braga and Guimaraes from Porto, and I ended up liking Guimaraes a lot more....which is the opposite of how I thought I'd feel while planning my trip. The Bom Jesus church (and surrounding area) near Braga is really unique and worth seeing, but everything else on my list for Braga was either closed or just left a ho-hum impression on me.

I would either spend the day in Porto (there is plenty to do and see there) or take a day trip to Guimaraes.

We stayed in Guimares, in the heart of town in a former pousada. We loved our time there. History, a castle, and great dining. The Minho region is one of our favorite areas of Portugal.