How to Spend a Day in Porto, Portugal (From Leixoes Cruise Port)

Portugal is one hot destination.. and not just in temperature. It seems like it's THE country on people's lips in 2025 and everyone is either going or knows someone who just got back.

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Luckily we had the chance to check out the hype on our recent European cruise when we found Porto, Portugal as a port of call. We had from 8am-2pm to explore.

Once you disembark from the ship, you are required to take a free shuttle to the port gate, which takes less than 5 minutes. Then you have a choice of taxi, metro, or uber to get from Leixoes to the Porto city center. We took one of the many taxis lined up, which cost us 15 euro (as of July 2025) and took 15 minutes, but as always, confirm the cost before getting in.

Our taxi driver dropped us off right by the Porto city hall, which was a great central location to all we wanted to see and do in Porto. Here is everything we did:

Chapel of Souls (9 min walk from Porto City Hall)

This tiny chapel was a great first introduction to the gorgeous blue tiles (called azulejos) that are located all over Porto. Free to enter.

Church of Saint Ildefonso (6 min walk)

Another gorgous church worth checking out! When looking at the church go to the left side for beautiful hydrangeas. You can enter for 1 euro (as of July 2025).

Sao Bento Station (6 min walk)

You're probably thinking "a train station? Really? What's so special about that?" Well let me tell you. The tilework in this train station belongs in a museum. It is truly amazing how the pops of blue tiles elevate what would be a rather boring building into a work of art.

Once we left the train station, we spotted an outdoor market across the street which we popped into. It had local artwork, jewlery, and even cheap port wine tastings, which of course, we had to do. When in Porto...

Livaria Lello (8 min walk)

This bookshop draws tons of Harry Potter fans (Potter heads?.. or is that something I just made up?) every year due to it's architecture that resembles the interior of Hogwarts, specifically the moving staircases. Note: you do need a pre-booked ticket to enter, which you can purchase here. We unfortunately didnt know this at the time, so we didn't go in. Forewarning the lines are LONG

Igreja do Carmo (2 min walk)

Can't get enough of those blue tiled churches *heart eye emoji

Lunch at Conga (12 min walk)

Known as the best place in Porto (or so I was told by a local) to eat a Bifana, which is a traditional portuguese sandwich full of sliced marinated pork and piri piri sauce on a roll. All I can say is YUUUMMM. You can either dine in or take out, but I recommend sitting down and relaxing for a second with all the walking you're doing. They're very fast with the service too, which is perfect for a cruise day in port with limited time.

We also had the 'francesinha a conga' here, which is a combo of meats, cheese, and an egg topped with a flavorful sauce served in a sizzling dish. Move over KFC, cause this was finger licking good.

Imperial McDonalds (7 min walk)

Have you ever seen a McDonalds with chandeliers? After being in Porto, I can officially say I have. It might just be the fanciest McDonald's in the world and it deserves a quick pop in to check it out

Miradouro da Vitoria (10 min walk)

Who doesn't love a beautiful panoramic view of the city from up above? What makes it even better is it's completely free

Porto Cathedral (11 min walk)

There's a reason the Porto Cathedral is one of the main attractions in Porto. Not only is the architecture something to write home about, but the river views are top notch. Entrance to the cathedral is free, but you have to pay about 3 euro to see the cloister.

Ponte Luis I Bridge (5 min walk)

We didn't walk the whole bridge, only part, but if you have extra time it would be a nice stroll. It is 100% worth checking out no matter what for the stunning views of the Duoro River

After this, we were approaching about 1pm, so we called an uber and headed back to the ship.