Villas in Porto

About Porto

Porto is a city of about 270,000 people on the Douro estuary, and our homes sit in a tight cluster around the centre rather than out in suburbs. Most are small apartments, typically one bedroom for four people, with few pools or gardens. The streets are steep, with stone stairs and a funicular that links Ribeira to Batalha square, so expect to climb. Across the river in Vila Nova de Gaia, port wine is stored and aged in the cellars known as caves. In the evening the Ribeira riverfront is full of bars, and dance clubs do not get going until 1 or 2am. Beaches are on the Atlantic side, and Foz do Douro is better for cycling and sunset walks than for swimming. Winters are mild but humid.

Is Porto right for you?

Best for

City breaks with riverfront evenings and port cellars

Not for you if

You want a pool and beach week, as few homes have pools and the nearby coast is cooler and windier than inland.

Near Porto

• Vila Nova de Gaia

  Directly across the Douro, with its port wine cellars and a cable car from the riverside up to the upper deck of the Dom Luís I Bridge.

• Foz do Douro

  Where the river meets the sea, good for cycling and sunset walks, with tram route 1 running there from Ribeira.

• Matosinhos

  A fishing town on the Atlantic about 8 km from the centre, with many of the area's best restaurants and a fish festival in July.

• Gaia beaches

  The coast south of the river has Blue Flag beaches including Miramar, Aguda and Granja.

Getting to Porto

Fly to Porto's Francisco de Sá Carneiro airport, about 15 km north-west of the centre, where metro line E runs into the city. Trains from Lisbon take two and a half to three hours. You do not need a car in the city, where the centre is a maze of narrow streets; hire one only for day trips.

When to go to Porto

Summers average roughly 16 to 26 degrees, with the odd heatwave pushing higher, and the city's biggest street festival is São João on the night of 23 to 24 June. Most of the rain falls in winter. Winters are mild and humid, with only occasional nights below freezing, so Porto works as a city break outside summer.

Porto villa holidays: questions answered

Nearby towns to Porto

• Algarvia (15)
• Arcos de Valdevez (14)
• Caminha (11)
• All of North/Oporto