Istas Garden

With public transport being so handy here, it makes sense to spread your Porto jaunts over a few days so you can delve a little deeper than a day trip would allow (and sample the offerings of multiple port cellars too, of course). Start your explores at the famed Luis I bridge, then stroll around the pretty Cais de Ribeira area, visit a collection of elaborate old churches, ride on the funicular, peruse the museums, poke in the shops, take in a gig at the Casa de Música, board boats out into the wine-producing Douro Valley… For a change of scenery, you might also like to consider day trips to Braga, Guimarães, or the Venice-esque colourful canals of Aveiro – all are around 50 minutes away by car. And of course, there are those beaches: set out on foot for your local sands (Praia da Madalena, 20 minutes’ walk), scramble among the dunes at Praia da Dunas (45 minutes’ walk) or keep ambling to Senhor da Pedra Chapel (an hour), built right on the beach and surrounded by water at high tide.