Free Things to Do in Porto
Places with no entry charge
Many of Porto's squares, viewpoints, gardens and churches have no entry charge. These places are free on a normal day. Where a church or museum charges for a part of the visit, its own page says so.
46 places
All year When
The places
Landmark · Ribeira Praça da Ribeira A riverside square with medieval origins, remodelled in the 18th century. A fountain on the north side carries a statue of St John the Baptist by João Cutileiro, and the Cube of the Ribeira sculpture by José Rodrigues stands nearby.
Church · Ribeira Igreja da Misericórdia The church of the Santa Casa da Misericórdia, begun around 1550 in Renaissance style. Its baroque façade on Rua das Flores was redesigned by Nicolau Nasoni after 1740.
Church · Ribeira Igreja de São Nicolau A late 17th-century church with a retable of St Eligius, patron of metalworkers. It mixes mannerist structure with some baroque influence.
Landmark · Ribeira Rua das Flores A pedestrian street laid out in 1521 by order of King Manuel, lined with civil architecture from the 17th to 19th centuries. The Misericórdia church façade by Nicolau Nasoni sits on it.
Viewpoint · Sé and Vitória Terreiro da Sé and Pelourinho The open square in front of the cathedral, framed by the Chapter House and the Bishop's Palace, with a view over the Barredo, the Douro and Vila Nova de Gaia. A stone pillory built in 1945 stands on the terrace.
Museum · Sé and Vitória Centro Português de Fotografia A free public photography centre in the former Court of Appeal building. It holds temporary exhibitions, a permanent display of rare cameras, a specialised library and a shop.
Viewpoint · Sé and Vitória Miradouro da Vitória The square beside the Church of Nossa Senhora da Vitória, with a view of the cathedral and the Bishop's Palace over the Vitória rooftops, then the Douro, the Dom Luís I Bridge and the Gaia riverside.
Church · Sé and Vitória Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Vitória A church built between 1755 and 1769, with rococo carved altars and pulpits. The Virgin on the main altar was sculpted by Soares dos Reis.
Landmark · Sé and Vitória Muralha Fernandina Two surviving stretches of the city wall rebuilt between 1368 and 1437, one beside Rua Arnaldo Gama in the Guindais and the other beside the Caminho Novo steps.
Church · Sé and Vitória Igreja dos Grilos A church begun in the 16th century with a monumental baroque-Jesuit mannerist façade. Inside is a baroque altar of Nossa Senhora da Purificação.
Church · Miragaia Igreja de São Pedro de Miragaia One of the city's oldest churches, reworked in the 1830s. The chancel is covered in carved wood from several periods, and a Flemish triptych shows the Pentecost.
Landmark · Miragaia Alfândega Nova do Porto A 19th-century neoclassical customs house on the Douro, with one façade to the river and one to the city. Eduardo Souto Moura adapted it, and it now holds the Alfândega Porto Congress Centre.
Church · Miragaia Igreja do Convento de São João Novo A 17th-century church whose façade resembles that of São Lourenço. It has a rococo altarpiece and tiles showing the life of Santa Rita of Cascia.
Park · Massarelos Jardins do Palácio de Cristal Landscaped gardens above the Douro with several small viewpoints. The views take in the river, the Serra do Pilar, the Gaia riverside and the Arrábida Bridge.
Landmark · Massarelos Biblioteca Municipal Almeida Garrett The municipal library inside the Palácio de Cristal gardens, opened in 2001 in a building by architect José Manuel Soares. It has children's, general reading and multimedia sections over two floors.
Neighbourhood · Cedofeita Rua de Miguel Bombarda A street about 650 metres long with art galleries, bookshops, design and furniture shops and restaurants. New exhibitions often open on the same afternoon.
Church · Cedofeita Igreja de Cedofeita A Romanesque church whose chancel dates from the 11th century. The north portal tympanum shows the Agnus Dei.
Park · Cedofeita Jardim da Cordoaria A garden laid out in 1865 and 1866 by landscaper Emile David, named for the rope makers who worked here for about 200 years. It holds statues of Ramalho Ortigão and António Nobre and sculptures by Juan Muñoz from 2001.
Church · Cedofeita Igreja dos Carmelitas A 17th-century church with a classical façade from the 1850s attributed to Nicolau Nasoni. The altarpiece is a rococo piece in the Porto style.
Park · Cedofeita Jardim de São Lázaro The first public garden in Porto, inaugurated in 1834. It's the only city garden still enclosed by railings, with four gates, a lake and a marble fountain from the former Convento de São Domingos.
Shopping · Cedofeita Rua de Cedofeita One of the city's main shopping streets, opened in 1784 to extend an older road. The buildings along it date from the 17th to the 20th centuries.
Landmark · Cedofeita Praça de Carlos Alberto A square once called Praça dos Ferradores for the blacksmiths' workshops there. The Balsemão palace stands on its east side and a monument to the Portuguese dead of the Great War is in the garden at its centre.
Landmark · Baixa and Aliados São Bento Station A working railway station built in the early 20th century on the site of a former convent. The entrance hall is covered with 20,000 azulejo tiles by Jorge Colaço showing the history of transport and scenes of Portuguese life, under a glass and cast-iron roof by Marques da Silva.
Landmark · Baixa and Aliados Avenida dos Aliados and Praça da Liberdade The avenue and square at the centre of the Baixa, lined with buildings from the 1920s to 1940s and ending at the city hall. A statue of King D. Pedro IV, unveiled in 1866, stands in the middle of the square, and the avenue has a central water mirror.
Church · Baixa and Aliados Church of Santo Ildefonso A church built between 1709 and 1739 on Praça da Batalha. The facade is covered in azulejo panels by Jorge Colaço showing scenes from the life of Saint Ildefonso, and inside is a carved altarpiece with a design by Nicolau Nasoni.
Church · Baixa and Aliados Congregados Church An early 18th-century church next to São Bento station, with a Baroque facade. Exterior tiles and interior wall paintings show scenes from the life of Saint Anthony.
Nightlife · Baixa and Aliados Rua Galeria de Paris A street of buildings from 1903, with an Art Nouveau facade at number 28. Cloth warehouses once filled it, and bars arrived after 2007, followed by jazz concerts and more venues.
Church · Bolhão and Santa Catarina Chapel of Souls An early 18th-century chapel whose exterior was covered in azulejos in 1929, with scenes from the lives of Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Catherine. It was restored in 1982.
Shopping · Bolhão and Santa Catarina Rua de Santa Catarina The main shopping street of the Baixa, about 1,500 metres long, with a partly pedestrian stretch. Its layout dates to the second half of the 18th century and some facades are Art Nouveau.
Church · Bonfim Bonfim Church A church built between 1874 and 1894 with a facade flanked by two 42-metre bell towers. Inside, a neoclassical altarpiece includes a panel of the Calvary.
Landmark · Bonfim Prado do Repouso Cemetery Porto's first public cemetery, inaugurated in 1839, with neo-Gothic funerary art in granite. It holds a chapel, the charnel house of the nuns of the old São Bento de Avé-Maria convent and an iron Christ on the cemetery cross.
Park · Bonfim Parque Oriental A park of about 10 hectares in the east of the city, opened in June 2010.
Park · Bonfim Quinta de Bonjóia A park and garden estate of about 40,000 square metres with an 18th-century house attributed to Nicolau Nasoni. The formal garden has camellias, and terraced gardens look toward the Campanhã valley and the Douro.
Park · Bonfim São Roque Park A 5.2-hectare park bought by the city from the Calém family in 1979, with a boxwood labyrinth, sculptures and a chapel moved from Largo Actor Dias.
Park · Bonfim São Lázaro Garden The city's oldest public garden, opened in 1834 and still enclosed by railings with four gates. It has a central lake ringed by twelve classified magnolias, a small bandstand and fountains.
Park · Bonfim Parque das Águas A wooded park on the former Quinta de Vilar das Oliveiras, holding old fountains and water spouts moved there from public spaces between the 1930s and 1960s. The mansion on the grounds houses Águas do Porto.
Park · Boavista Porto Botanical Garden Garden created in 1951 on three tiers, with formal gardens divided by camellia hedges, a cactus garden and greenhouses, and an arboretum around a lake.
Viewpoint · Foz do Douro Santa Catarina Viewpoint Lookout by the chapel of Santa Catarina and Senhora dos Anjos, on one of the highest points of Lordelo do Ouro, with a view over the Douro estuary and the Cálem garden out to the sea.
Museum · Boavista Paper Money Museum Museum run by a private foundation across from the Parque da Cidade, with a collection of Portuguese banknotes and more than 5,000 miniature cars, plus boats, trains and planes.
Day trip · Braga Sameiro Sanctuary A hilltop Marian sanctuary east of Braga, with a large staircase and wide views over the city.
Day trip · Douro Valley Pinhão Railway Station The railway station of Pinhão on the Douro line, in the middle of the vineyard region.
Day trip · Viana do Castelo Santa Luzia Sanctuary A late 19th-century sanctuary on Santa Luzia hill, also called the Temple of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, with views over the Lima estuary, the Atlantic and the town.
Day trip · Amarante São Gonçalo Church The church and convent of São Gonçalo beside the bridge over the Tâmega in Amarante, reopened after a 16-month restoration.
Day trip · Vila do Conde Santa Clara Monastery A national monument on the hill above Vila do Conde. The church holds the founders' tombs and a carved wooden choir.
Day trip · Lamego Nossa Senhora dos Remédios Sanctuary A hilltop pilgrimage sanctuary above Lamego, reached by a long baroque stairway.
Day trip · Peneda-Gerês Peneda-Gerês National Park A mountain national park in the far north of Portugal, on the border with Spain, with walking routes, rivers and villages.
