Pretty city with a pooch - a guide to dog-friendly Porto

Porto is a beautiful city that sits on either side of the Douro River. On one side is the main city, which is compact and hilly in parts, but has many beautiful tiled buildings to explore. On the other side of the river is the municipality of Gaia, where the majority of Porto's famous Port Cellars are located. Porto also has a medieval history which is most evident in the Ribeira (riverside) district, that is full of cobbled streets and old merchant homes.

From the main city, you can also follow the river approx 5ks until you reach the North Atlantic Ocean.

We were really excited to visit Porto with Beatle and had heard mixed reviews about how dog friendly the city was - but we were pleasantly surprised as had no issues finding great accommodation or doing a range of sightseeing and other activities with her.

THINGS TO DO

Explore All the Main Attractions on Foot!

Porto is a stunning city to explore, and we found it to be really different to other European cities in terms of its architecture and beautiful tiled buildings. The town centre has a large shopping district and loads of bars and restaurants that offer outdoor seating and great people watching. The two main streets seemed to be Rua das Flores and parallel to that, Rua de Mouzinho da Silveria. We found that any place with outdoor seating made us feel very welcome, with Beats getting plenty of attention and the odd bowl of water.

While in Porto we spent a lot of time just walking around and seeing as much as we could, but because of the street layout (which is a bit all over the place) and hills, we often took wrong turns and it could be challenging to find the main attractions - so thought it might be useful to provide some options go see the main sights while walking with your dog.

City Walk One (approx 1.8kms)

Starts at the series of large elongated square (Avenida dos Aliados or Liberty Square), from Rua Dos Clerigos (street) and leads you to the impressive Town Hall Building (Camra Municipal do Porto). This is a really nice walk, particularly as the buildings and architecture that surround the square are really beautiful. In front of Town Hall are trees and a decorative water monument, which is the perfect spot to take a break on a warm day.
Walk around the back of Town Hall to the paved plaza and its fountain to see the large neo-classical Church, Igreja da Santissima Trindade. You can also get a nice photo looking back towards Town Hall with the fountain.

Turn right into Rua de Fernandes Tomas (Street) and you'll come across the market, Mercado do Bolhalo. The street / laneway next to the Mercado, Rua de Alexandre Braga has some particularly colourful and pretty buildings and shopfronts to check out.

From the Mercado, if you walk another block, on the corner of Rua de Fernandes Tomas and Rua de Santa Catarina you'll find the famous tiled Church Capela das Almas which is probably the most photographed building in Porto and absolutely stunning.

The famous tiled Church Capela das Almas

After taking lots of photos, head three blocks down Rua de Santa Catarina and you'll find another tiled Church, Igreja de Santo Ilefonso which also has pretty blue tiles and a small plaza out front.

Then cross the road to the Porto San Bento Railway Station, where you'll find more beautiful tiled walls inside.

Here is a map to give you an idea of the different locations and attractions on this walk:

Walking Map One - approx 1.8 kms through the central city

City Walk Two (approx 1.7 kms)

Starts at Porto Cathedral - which sits at one of the highest points of Porto and within a large plaza that you can walk around to see different viewpoints and angles. Within the plaza are other interesting buildings and sculptures, including the Bishop's Palace.

About five minutes walk from Porto Cathedral is the Church of Santa Clara, which is also a national monument.

If you go around the back of Santa Clara you'll come across a large stone town wall / fort that sits in a grassed area. This is also the top entrance to the Funicular dos Guindais.
The Porto Cathedral is also close to the top entrance to the Ponte Luís, a huge metal arched bridge and the main thoroughfare (on foot) between the city of Porto and Gaia. The top level takes you high over the river and offers spectacular views from every angle. It has pedestrian paths on either side and while the walk over is easy it can get very busy at times. The metro also travels over the bridge, so be aware of this when walking with your dog, as it can get quite narrow and there are no barriers between the footpath and trains.
Once you get to the other side, you'll find the large, round Monastery, a lookout area, a small park and entry to the Gaia Cable Car. You can also walk down to Gaia, which we did, and it was a relatively easy and interesting walk through the old streets and Port Cellars.

Amazing views from the top of the Ponte Luís

Here is a map to give you an idea of the different locations and attractions on this walk:

Walking Map Two - approx 1.7 kms around the top of the city

City Walk Three (approx 1.2 kms)

Starts at the Clerigos Tower and Church of the Clerics - a large tower that sits in front of the Church. For good views of this structure, head to the Parque dos Clerigos across the road.

There are two parks here to explore with a street in between them, both are well set out with shade, monuments and seating. The larger park is also surrounded by interesting buildings, including the University, Natural History Museum and the Tribunal da Relacao do Porto (Justice) building.

Head back across the smaller park to the famous Livraria Lello. While this attraction isn't dog friendly, I'm including it as I think it’s a must see in Porto. It’s also a relatively quick attraction to visit as it’s a working bookstore. If you want to take turns visiting (the entry fee is five euro) you can easily see it in 10-15 mins. There is a nice park area opposite (Parque dos Clerigos) to wait with your dog. Why is it famous? Because it has the most amazing, grand staircase that was used as inspiration for the Harry Potter book series - and you can definitely see why.

The famous staircase inside Livraria Lello

After visiting Livraria Lello (or skipping it), cross over to the small plaza to see Praca dos Leoes (Fountain of the Lions). From here you'll be able to see Igreja do Carmo, another great tiled church which is located right next to the Baroque themed Igreja das Carmelitas.
After seeing these two Churches, head up the road next to them, Rua de Cedofeita. Along the way you'll come across another small plaza, Praca de Carlos Alberto, before reaching the pretty paved, pedestrian only part of the street. It only takes about 5-10 mins to follow the tiled portion to the end, but it felt like a very authentic part of Porto where we saw few tourists. We did however, see lots of very nice looking cake stores so had to stop for a sweet treat and saw other doggos inside hoping something delicious would fall to the floor!

Here is a map to give you an idea of the different locations and attractions on this walk:

Walking Map Three - approx 1.2 kms around the city

Waterfront Area Walk (approx 1.5 kms)

The waterfront area of Cais de Ribera is a fantastic area to explore with your dog. It's mostly closed off to traffic, so there is lots of safe space to walk and explore the cobbled streets and alleys. You'll also see a lot of old, colourful, historic buildings which offer some great photo ops, especially by the riverfront.
There is also a variety of small stores and lots of restaurants, buskers etc. We didn't eat here as it seemed quite touristy (i.e. pricy), but the restaurants were always busy which is a good sign. They all seemed to have plenty of outdoor seating, with doggos welcome to enjoy the sunny days alongside their people.

A visit to the pretty waterfront area of Cais de Ribera is a must do!

Funicular dos Guindais - this funicular is an alternative way to travel between the riverfront at the Ponte D. Luis bridge to the top. We didn't actually take it, but I've seen some reviews online that say dogs are allowed, so it might just be a case of asking the attendant. The lower entry is on the right hand side of the Ponte Luis.

The Ponte Luís is a huge arched bridge and the main thoroughfare between the city of Porto and Gaia. There are two levels that you can cross it, the first option is to go along the top level which has pedestrian paths on either side. However the bridge also has a lower level that is accessible by foot from the Porto or Gaia sides at the waterfront level. This is a great option if you're wanting to do a quick walk between sides, for anyone that isn't a fan of heights, or for those who've indulged in a few too many ports! But also means you stay on the relative flat and can avoid the hill climbs!
Palácio da Bolsa. This Palace is located close to the waterfront, next to the Jardim do Infante Dom Henrique park. It’s a huge complex that can be viewed from two sides and the park outside is a good spot to take a break with your dog.
Directly in front of Palácio da Bolsa is the large baroque Church, Igreja de Sao Francisco.
And opposite Igreja de Sao Francisco Church, is another smaller, but pretty Parish Church of St Nicholas.

Beats loved sniffing her way along the river

Here is a map to give you an idea of the different locations and attractions on this walk:

Waterfront area walking map - approx 1.5 kms

Gaia Area

Crossing the Ponte Luis bridge you'll reach the Gaia area which is full of Port Cellars. While you might not be able to go through these with your best bud, they are still quite interesting to look at from the outside and offer some good photo ops. You'll find them along the waterfront and dotted on the hillside. If you do have a dog who is comfortable to be left alone in your accommodation, I definitely recommend visiting one to do a tour and tasting.
The Serra do Pilar Monastery is at the top of the hill on the Gaia side of the river and is a large round structure you can't miss. At the base of it is a large lookout point that offers fantastic views over the river, Gaia and Porto any time of the day. However, one of the best times to visit is during dusk. As the sun sets over the Atlantic, the sky turns brilliant shades of orange and the city looks stunning. You can either walk over the top of the Ponte Luís bridge, trek up the hill from Gaia, or take the Gaia Cable Car - which is dog friendly (see next tip).

View over the Ponte Luís to the Monastery

Gaia Cable Car

Even though the Cable Car is located in the Gaia Area, its gets it own mention as its not often you find an attraction like this that is dog friendly! There are signs at the entrance that outline the regulations about travelling with a dog and that it is preferable they travel during non-peak times. When we rode it there was a large queue of people as we were heading to the Monastery to see the sunset, but Beatle was still welcome to go (and rode for free). If you are planning on taking the cable car up for sunset - get in line early as large crowds start to form about an hour before dusk. For more info click here

Boat Tour along the Duoro River (to see the Six Bridges)

There are a number of boat tours that take you on a tour to see the 'six bridges' along the Duoro River and you can catch these from both the Porto and Gaia side of the river. There were a number of people selling the tours and we just asked if Beatle could join us and they said yes….While there was no charge for her, when it came time to board we did have to climb some stairs between boats, so just something to consider depending on the size and agility of your dog. It was a lovely sunny day so we sat outside and the narrated tour took around an hour. Beats enjoyed sitting on my knee with a breeze in her face, but I don't think she really listened to the commentary, which was actually pretty interesting. I think the company we went with was Porto Cruz, but I can't find anything official on a website about their pet policy. So it might just be best to ask on the day - and it might also be dependent on the season (as we weren’t travelling during peak times, they may have been more flexible).

Boat tours run regularly from both sides of the river

GETTING AROUND

We had a rental car for this portion of the journey as could not find a train that travelled between Spain and Portugal. However once we were in Porto, we were able to walk everywhere from our accommodation. here is a tourist tram (tram no 1) that takes you along the river from the Waterfront out to the beachside area of Cantareira - but I’m unsure if this is dog friendly as couldn't find any information to clarify.

EAT AND SLEEP

We stayed at the amazing ICON Duplo Ribera, which was in a fantastic location that was near both the waterfront and city. A five min walk away was the good sized park, Jardim do Infante Dom Henrique which was great for bed time pee breaks. The Hotel seemed to be brand new and the staff went above and beyond to make us all feel incredibly welcome (and had put treats, bowls and a dog bed in the room). Once Beatle clicked that they had even more treats at reception, she made a beeline to say 'hi' every time we went past…. She also got lots of attention and pats which she was a big fan of. The rooms were also really luxurious and the breakfast was one of the best we've ever had - so we highly recommend this hotel if you are looking for great dog friendly accommodation. To see their dog policy click here

We visited Porto in the shoulder season, so had a mix of weather, but it was mostly fine so we didn't try to take Beatle inside any restaurants, but found that those with outdoor seating were very welcoming. While dogs aren't allowed in the Port Cellars, we visited some small Port bars in the city to try different ports and found she was welcome to join us at the outdoor tables.

IN SUMMARY

These are just some highlights from our time in Porto, but you'll love getting lost in all of the pretty streets here. While the city can feel a bit gritty at times, there lots of beautiful buildings, plazas and parks to explore with your dog. The riverfront areas on both the Porto and Gaia sides are fantastic areas to walk around and stop for a bite to eat or a drink while enjoying some great views. While your dog can't visit any Port Cellars, you won't have to miss out on taste testing a few as there are lots of cute port bars dotted around town (and the Port is both delicious and cheap!).

We also found Porto to be really good value for money and the locals to be incredibly friendly and were pleasantly surprised at how many people spoke really good English. We chatted with a few different people working at bars and restaurants who mentioned that Porto is only just starting to take off as a tourist destination and that a lot of work has gone into making the city more welcoming and attractive for tourists. So that’s my number one tip, go now before it gets too busy!

Pretty city with a pooch - a guide to dog-friendly Porto

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