Modern underground metro station that is part of the subway system for Porto, 24 de Agosto is part…read moreof the downtown system and serves the A, B, C and E metro lines. The station is very clean with no little trash and no visible graffiti. There are automated ticket machines and scanners so that you can scan in and scan out. It is handicapped accessible with elevators and escalators between the platform level, the ticketing level, and street level. There are some bus connections at street level. 24 de Agosto is between Bolhão (northbound) and Heroísmo (southbound).

Estação Aliados is an underground station on Linha D of the Metro do Porto. It is one of the…read morecleanest metro stations I've seen in a while with no litter and no graffiti. It is well lit and there are visibly mounted security cameras. The station is handicapped accessible with lifts from the platform level to the ticketing concourse and to street level. The station is a split platform with the trains going in between. This means that the doors of the train will open on the right. Automated ticket vending machines are on the ticketing concourse. Serving Linha D since September 2005, the station is between Trindade (towards Hospital S. João) and São Bento (towards Santo Ovídio). [Review 9906 overall, 1484 of 2018.]

This surface level station is located next to the Jardim do Morro and the Mosteiro da Serra do…read morePilar. It is an island platform, so the train doors will open on the left. The station has a few benches for sitting and a visible board with the time until the next train. There is an automated ticket vending machine. And while I did not see any ticket inspectors on board the train, I did see one on the platform. The station serves Linha D of the Metro do Porto, between São Bento (towards Hospital S. João) and General Torres (towards Santo Ovídio). This station is next to the Ponte de D. Luís bridge, which the metro does cross on the top deck. [Review 9904 overall, 1482 of 2018.]

The one star is for the tram's themselves. They work. Actually they work really well and run really…read moreregularly. And they are comfortable. The four stars are lost for what must be the world's worst ticketing system. A system utterly complex and confused. Imagine John Cleese portraying a lost Hungarian asking directions to his hotel using a Hungarian English translation book written by the same person who designed Porto's Metro system. However declaring I will not buy this record it is scratched to strangers in London is far more likely to result in you finding your destination than trying to purchase one of these tickets. For a start it's all divided into a huge number of zones that have both numbers and letters. You have to know which one you start in, which you go through, and which you will end up in. You can't just press the stations name and then the destination. Further, some cards are recharchable but only if they are going to the same place. Working this out results in you getting a discount. There is an English menu but the words don't seem to relate to concepts of transport. Asking the very helpful Portugese people is no use either, as they seemed just as baffled as the tourists. Must be an awful lot of very frustrated inadvertent foreign fare evaders.

At the airport Metro station, there is always a guy who will help you with the ticket ;-) And since…read morerecently, you can recharge all the tickets.

Porto is Portugal's second city but its airport is the best…read more Porto's Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport services both domestic and international flights with one modern well-organized terminal. We arrived in the busy mid-morning and it was a quick exit from the gate to the arrival area and then out of the airport. We were already in the EU Schengen zone from a domestic flight but the security and signage are well-streamlined at this airport. The airport feels modern and large, with connection directly to the historic downtown. You can take the purple metro line via light rail from the airport to Trindade within 30 minutes and then transfer to the yellow line for the more central Aliados, Sao Bento or Jardim do Morro stations. Before exiting the airport, the arrival area has a Tourism Interactive Store where you can pickup the 72h Andante Tour card for about 15 EUR to provide unlimited transit to sightsee. Since the Porto Card now excludes transit, this was a better alternative for us. The side of this store has a huge slanted TV display which you can't miss. Skip it or hit it? There's no need to fret about Porto Airport as it's one of the best in Europe.

This review covers arrival experience…read more Arriving late at 11pm in Porto, our plane from Munich is parked elsewhere, and we are shuttled to the airport itself. Being within the Schengen Area, we are pleasantly dropped off at baggage claim and exited the security area easily, no customs needed. Giant and clear signs marked metro or Uber/Bolt transportation. We booked a car, followed the signs, and were at the dedicated lot in maybe 3 minutes. So easy. Side note: The lot is a bit messy, but that's due to the people, not the airport's fault.

Aeroporto is the termination station for the "E" line of Porto's Metro and offers service between…read morehere and Estádio do Dragão. The entire line is about 20 stations and runs for about 35 to 40 minutes. Getting from the airport to the station is very easy with good signage. A few stairs or a short ride in the elevator are needed. The station at the airport is completely handicapped accessible with lifts and escalators between the ticketing level and the platform level. There are plenty of automated ticket machines in the ticketing hall but depending on the number of other people, there can be a bit of a queue. It would be nice if there was a single queue for all of the machines instead of one queue per machine, as I managed to get behind someone who had some real trouble working it out. One ticket is €1.20 and gives you over an hour's worth of riding. Plenty to go from one end of the system to the other. Or purchase a 24 hour ticket for (I think) €3.50. Just buy the 24 hour ticket. A quick lesson - the doors require you to activate them to open and they do not appear to have a sensor if someone (or someone's luggage) is in the way. While waiting for the train to depart, this caught two different tourists. Oops.

This is a good way to get a nice aerial view of the bustling Porto tourist area by the river. Keep…read morein mind this ride is VERY short - I'd say it will be 5-7 minutes max before you're already reach the other gondola station at the top of the hill but it's a great way to still take some nice photos and honestly save you a brutal walk up to the top area where the bridge is. There are also some nice little vendors at the top of the hill by the park where the gondola station is especially a great vendor who was serving some insane delicious lemon gelato from a street cart. You also are a short walk away up top from the bridge that you can take some awesome photos of the city and riverside area. Here's the deal, this will cost you a bunch of Euros so unless you're young and hardy and don't mind a long ass walk or aren't averse paying for a taxi to go up to the top, this is probably a good option if you want to save some energy or time or save any older people or kids in your party from a long walk.

Skip the hilly hike with a scenic cable car ride…read more Teleférico de Gaia is a gondola cable car route down along the hillside of Vila Nova de Gaia from the upper terrace by Dom Luis I Bridge. It features a colourful view of historic Porto across the Douro River. We paid €9 pp for a return ticket for efficiency rather than hiking between these viewpoints after landing & touring historic Porto and walking across the famous bridge. After a walk down a tunnel, the gondola ride-on system from the top is efficient like a ski lift. The ride itself is only around five minutes each way, but those five minutes gives you panoramic views of the Dom Luis I Bridge, the Douro River and Porto hillside neighbourhoods. At the bottom, we found a lively waterfront with music, wine patio, street vendors and Mercado Beira Rio. The ride back from the lower cable car station took much longer due to the lineup heading back in the late afternoon. As we ate dinner, we noticed a few cable cars still operating at sunset past the posted 6pm closing time for the perfect golden hour view across the Douro River. Skip it or hit it? It's worth the view & quick journey but be prepared to lineup at peak rush.

The funicular is a great way to see the city of Porto, particularly on a warm, sunny day. After…read morewalking to the top to see the Monastery, we took the funicular back to the bottom before walking back across the bridge. We were thankfully able to take our dogs in a stroller and as you can see from the photo, they enjoyed the view quite a bit!

We stayed in town for five nights. We did stay on top near the Miradouro de Fontainhas. We walked…read moredown once to the river, but with our Bulldog and pet stroller it was pretty rough to walk up/down the steep streets. So we were happy to find this Funicular not far from our holiday rental. One way is 4 Euros, a two-way ticket is 6 Euros. Our pet stroller did fit perfectly. Our Bulldog was very welcome on the Funicular (one of the staff even was also a Bulldog-owner). Dogs ride for free even. On weekends the Funicalar is in service until late night even. It's steep and quick ride. And offers some nice views on the way. Even on weekends we only needed to wait a few minutes. Mostly no wait even. A very convenient way to travel to the top or bottom of lovely Porto. Prices are fair and the staff very friendly and helpful.