Tall, narrow houses stacked above the Douro, café tables on the quay, rabelo boats below and an iron arch overhead. Cross the top deck at dusk and come back along the bottom.
The Ribeira is where Porto began: a quay of merchants' houses painted ochre, blue and green, piled up the slope from the river. It is the heart of the World Heritage old town.
The Dom Luís I bridge opened in 1886, designed by Théophile Seyrig, a former partner of Gustave Eiffel. Its upper deck, 45 metres above the water, carries the Metro and pedestrians; the lower deck runs at quay level to Vila Nova de Gaia.
Below, rabelo boats, the flat-bottomed craft that once carried port wine down from the Douro valley, sit moored on both banks. River cruises under the city's six bridges leave from the quay.
The best moment is dusk: walk over the top, watch the old town turn gold, then come back on the lower deck as the port lodges light up.
A loop of about two kilometres, timed for sunset.
Walk the waterfront past café terraces and the arcades of Praça da Ribeira.
Ride the funicular or climb the stairs to the bridge's upper level.
Walk beside the Metro tracks with the whole Ribeira below you.
The monastery terrace at the far end is the classic view of the old town.
Walk down through the Jardim do Morro and cross back as the lodges light up.
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Walk down from São Bento or the Sé; Metro line D crosses the upper deck to Jardim do Morro.
Six-bridges cruises of about 50 minutes leave from both banks; no need to book ahead outside August.
Quay-front restaurants trade on the view; the lanes a block back are better value.
Porto practical notes →Photographs from Wikimedia Commons and Pexels under their licences.
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