We are planning a trip to Porto in June, thanks to new nonstop route between Boston and OPO. We visited Lisbon in 2019 for a week; really enjoyed our time there but didn't make it to Porto, so we are jumping at the chance for low'ish airfares to this new-to-us city. My son will be 12.5 then. He is a good walker and traveler, but not a big fan of art museums / religious places. I don't drink so we will pass on visiting the Port wine cellars/ wine-tasting

I've gotten out 5 portugal guidebooks from the library and have come up with a preliminary plan. Please take a look and let me know your thoughts, and I have several Qs as wellay 1 (Tue) - 10:30am arrival to OPO. We will take public transit into the city. I am guessing we should arrive by 1pm? Is that realistic? Our Airbnb is on Rue de S�o Jo�o, close to the riverfront. Plan is to get lunch, then take a 6 Bridges boat cruise. Walk along Cais de Ribeira and Walk across Luis I bridge over to Gaia, cable car to Jardim do Morro, then over to World of Wine for dinner and shopping? (mostly want to do outdoor things to keep us awake)

Day 2 (Wed) - day trip to Guimar�es for the castle and Ducal palace. Debating if we should attempt to take the cable car up to Penha? What i read is up on top of Penha is the church, and a few grottos? We are not religious and my son has very little interests in visiting churches

Day 3 (Thu) - morning visit to Bolhao market, then join the Free Porto walking tour at 10:45am for their 2.5-hr walking tour. Afternoon visit to Bolsa, and St Francis church

Day 4 (Fri) - day trip to Aveiro. Art nouveau walk, Arte Nova museum, Aveiro city museum, Moliceiro boat tour, get a bike from Buga and bike out to Ecomuseu Marinha da Troncalhada and further afield?

Day 5 (Sat) - World of Discoveries museum, tram # 1 to Tramway museum, tram # 18 to Carmo, climb Clerigoss tower, shopping, maybe Livraria Lello, Miradouro da Vit�ria before retiring back to our Airbnb

Day 6 (Sun) - maybe breakfast at Majestic cafe, then rest of the morning through lunchtime to catch whatever we missed(maybe Jardins do Pal�cio de Cristal?_ before 6pm flight home

Questions:
1. Andante card - since we will walk most of the time, save for a couple tram rides and funicular/cable car (I don't think any of those are covered by the card). So I think this means we will only need the Andante card for getting from/to Airport?

2. Siga card - another card that we will need for our CP train trips to Guimaraes and Aveiro, correct? For both Andante cards and Saga cards, I understand we have to validate the ticket prior to boarding, but do we need to "tap out" at our destinations?

3. Opinions on visiting Penha via cable car in Guimaraes?

4. Has anyone rented bikes/ biked around Aveiro?

5. Livraria Lello... I'm sure my son would love to visit it, but he also is practical in terms of not willing to stand in a long line to visit. Wondering if anyone have tips on visiting it?

I think that's all I have at this time. Thanks in advance for your input.

For your time in Guimaraes – I found the castle less than impressive, barely worth the few minutes I gave it. There is NOTHING inside, save for a few scaffolds. Honestly, it's a nothing burger. (In contrast, the castle in Himeji is utterly awesome. It seems I have no sense of your priorities.)

For me, the Ducal Palace was OK, not more. Are you and your family into tapestries, period furniture, and ceramics? If so, you'll be delighted. If not, you might not be pleased with the time it took to see this place.



In contrast, I loved the town (Guimaraes) itself and was glad to spend the better part of 2 days there. That said, I think we’ve established that my interests and yours have, at best, a partial overlap.

The Pal�cio da Bolsa can have long lines and you'll have to wait for a tour in your language. if you want to see it -- and IMO, it is well worth seeing! -- consider making it your first stop of one day.

I thought Aveiro pleasant, but not great. It’s small; even the Art Nouveau walk and museum shouldn’t take long. I would have been bored to tears taking one of the overly touristed boat tours, but since I didn’t take it, maybe I just don’t know what I’m missing. If the Museum of Aveiro that you plan to visit is the one located in the convent in which Saint Princess Joana lived, well, it’s glorious – but it is an old and very wealthy convent and much of what one sees is “religious.” Seriously over-the-top ornate Baroque. SERIOUSLY lavish.



The Livraria Lello is interesting. Whether it’s worth the wait and the crowds is a matter of debate. If you do decide to go, be sure to reserve a time and be prepared for lines even so.

hi kja ha sometimes I don't really know what *our* priorities are! I love art museums but my son abhors them, so it's always a bit of a compromise. Having said that, we do like visiting old castles and palaces. The Guimaraes castle have ramparts one can climb? My son loves that. When we visited Lisbon and Sintra a few years ago, he had such a blast at the Moorish Castle, as well as climbing every single ramparts at the Lisbon castle.

Yes, i read about waiting for the tours at Bolsa, and good idea to move it to start of the day (probably saturday). It's interesting that their website allows you to book tickets in advance, however there is no time scheduled (nor language), so even if one has tickets, one still needs to show up to get into a tour? What if I buy a ticket in advance but don't show up until later in the afternoon, and all the tours are full? It just seems a rather confusing system? (I guess I'm trying to see if there's any way we can get the visit and tour done in the AM before going on the 10:45am walking tour.
https://booking.visitportoandnorth.t...acio-da-bolsa/

As for the Aveiro city museum, the one I am thinking of is NOT the one in the convent, but the small "Museu Cidade de Aveiro." I read that it has history of the city. But the photo of the convent you posted now makes me want to visit that one too, if not for the over-the-top decorations.

I don't believe there are ramparts that one can climb at the Guimaraes castle. There weren't when I was there (last spring). It's nothing like the Moorish Castle or the Castelo de So Jorge in Lisbon.

When I went to Porto, one could not get tickets for the Bolsa on line. Now that you can, I don't know how it works. At least English is a popular tour language, so if you can't book a tour per se, my guess is that you wouldn't have to wait long. Your call, but I would think earlier would be better than later and I would pay attention to the lunch break.

Guimaraes was 5 years ago, and yes we walked all around the ramparts of the castle walls, with great views. I thought the castle was magnificent, all dressed up with the colorful flags. I think your son would enjoy it. It’s not extravagant as others have said, but very formidable in look and I think it was only a few euros in cost. Can be seen in less than an hour. Guimaraes is loaded with history, (the birthplace of Portugal according to some historians) has a wonderful medieval old town and some great cafes and restaurants.

I think the Guemaraes castle ramparts were closed when I was there because of renovation. I don't see anything indicating whether they have opened again.

Ramparts will be reopened by April 2025. Enjoy the castle. It’s a very historical site

@ mike1728: yk and her son are fortunate that you shared your experience and knowledge!

I don't recall the ramparts at Guimares specifically so perhaps they were not available when we were there. I really enjoyed our visit there. It was overcast and misty when we were there but lovely to walk around and see the historic architecture.

As or Aveiro, we were there en route from Coimbra to Porto and drove there. As it was a really hot day, the boat ride was really refreshing and also very interesting to see the new small scale residential architecture being built along the canal waterway. It was the start of the World Cup so very festive atmosphere. Also great gelato place not far from where we boarded the boat.

YK. I admire your trip reports. I loved Porto last month! I will post a longer reply later! But I did post a three part trip report on TripAdvisor you might find useful! Let me just add: side trip to Coimbra!

PS YK. If you and your son have not been to Richmond, VA. Do add that for 3-4 full days. So much history. So many junior ranger badges. And one fantastic art museum.

1.Andante cards make it easier if you want to
jump on a bus. We went for them.
2. Palacio Bolsa stop by one day and ask when English tours are offered the next day and nab those tickets. 30 minute tour.
3. Sat.street performers are fun to watch on pedestrianized streets.
4. Pingo Doces supermarket is great.
5. Six bridge cruise is 3 euros less if you buy on the Gaia side.
6. the Cork Planet museum at WorldofWine May be fun for both of you.
7. visiting the sardine factory is a great thing to do. 90 minutes.
8. Bolt are very inexpensive uber-like taxis. You can download the app in US.
9. Livraria Lello I could have skipped but am much older than your son.
10. loved the food at Conga, Gazela, CasaGuedes.
11. you only need to glance at cafe Majestic and the fancy McDonald�s, not eat at them.
12. Nonstop flight were great.
13. We also did Lisbon on a prior trip.
14. Guimaraes allowed you to walk on city walls. Liked that city.
15. Loved day trip to Coimbra. Recommend.
16. Yes, the 10:45 free tour is great.
what other questions might I be able to help with? Enjoy. Great trip.

I recall more.
1 the photo museum is in a former jail. Great exhibit on the top floor on cameras throughout time. Might be great for your son.
2 you might enjoy a performance at Casa da Musica.
3 you will use the train station but look at its tiles and consider a meal at the adjacent Time Out market
4 your son might enjoy the narrowest house, built between two churches.

I believe it's between the Carmo Church and the Carmelite Church.

I really only got to spend one day in Porto and it was very rainy. The highlight though was going to this bookstorehttps://www.livrarialello.pt/en/home. it is a very beautiful bookstore and has some history with the Harry Potter books. You do need tickets to go in and I suggest going in very early so you don’t have to deal with the crowds cause it can be very, very busy.

We were also able to go to this markethttps://mercadobolhao.pt/which I really enjoyed. You are able to buy food there and drinks.

Also the Sao Bento train station has amazing tile. It’s fun just to walk in there and look around.

Be sure to try a francesinha (aka Heart Attack On A plate). If you can get into Cervejaria Bras�o Aliados (Rua de Ramalho Ortig�o 28), they have the a good one! Remember it is a BYOD restaurant (Bring Your Own Defibrillator) "Born in Porto, the traditional francesinha sandwich manages to stuff two types of homemade sausage, ham, steak, bologna, and cheese between two thick layers of bread; that’s then topped with a fried egg and beer gravy and served surrounded by fries intended for dipping.”

I had to take a look-but-don't-touch approach to the francesinha. There is another local sandwich specialty, the cachorrinho ("little hot dog"), which we did try.

I enjoyed the Hop On, Hop Off bus in Porto, I got to see a lot while RIDING, which was a godsend in hilly Porto.

"I had to take a look-but-don't-touch approach to the francesinha."

As I said in my trip report, "After we saw the sandwich delivered to a nearby table, Tracy and I wisely decided to share one (10,000 calories is usually my limit at a meal). It was very good, and not keeling over during dinner was an added bonus."