Otherwise known as the Castelo do Queijo (Cheese Castle) because of the wedge of rock it stands upon, Forte de São Francisco Xavier looks every inch the archetypal fortress, with its sturdy ramparts, watchtowers and drawbridge. Built in 1661, it harbours a small weaponry exhibition, but more impressive is the view reaching out to sea – sunset is prime time.
Forte de São Francisco Xavier
Foz do Douro
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
4.35 MILES
Igreja de São Francisco looks from the outside to be an austerely Gothic church, but inside it hides one of Portugal’s most dazzling displays of baroque…
1.74 MILES
This fabulous cultural institution combines a museum, a mansion and extensive gardens. Cutting-edge exhibitions, along with a fine permanent collection…
4.5 MILES
From Praça da Ribeira rises a tangle of medieval alleys and stairways that eventually reach the hulking, hilltop fortress of the cathedral. Founded in the…
Museu Nacional Soares dos Reis
3.89 MILES
Porto's best art museum presents a stellar collection ranging from Neolithic carvings to Portugal’s take on modernism, all housed in the formidable…
4.34 MILES
This splendid neoclassical monument (built from 1842 to 1910) honours Porto’s past and present money merchants. Just past the entrance is the glass-domed…
3.67 MILES
Sitting atop a bluff, this gorgeous botanical garden is one of Porto's best-loved escapes, with lawns interwoven with sun-dappled paths and dotted with…
3.18 MILES
At once minimalist, iconic and daringly imaginative, the Casa da Música is the beating heart of Porto's cultural scene and the home of the Porto National…
4.47 MILES
One of the world's most beautiful train stations, beaux arts São Bento wings you back to a more graceful age of rail travel. Completed in 1903, it seems…
Nearby Foz do Douro attractions
0.19 MILES
Some 5000 marine creatures splash in the tanks at Sealife, where kiddie highlights include a shark tunnel and a rock pool for handling crabs, starfish and…
0.32 MILES
Arriving in Matosinhos, you can’t help but stop dead in your tracks as your gaze is drawn upward to this 50m-high sculpture by North American artist Janet…
0.68 MILES
The hum of traffic on the Avenida da Boavista soon fades as you enter the serene, green Parque da Cidade, Portugal's largest urban park. Laced with 10km…
1.66 MILES
One of Foz do Douro's most visible icons, this lighthouse stands on an esplanade, bearing the full brunt of the swells and storms of the Atlantic. Take a…
1.74 MILES
This fabulous cultural institution combines a museum, a mansion and extensive gardens. Cutting-edge exhibitions, along with a fine permanent collection…
1.75 MILES
A joy for the aimless ambler, this 19th-century garden is flanked by graceful old buildings and dotted with willowy palms, sculptures, fountains and a…
2.33 MILES
Nothing blows away the city cobwebs like a wander along this beach, fringed by the protected dunes of the Douro Estuary Nature Reserve. The stiff sea…
2.71 MILES
Run by the Faculty of Sciences of Porto University, this jigsaw of botanical gardens is a cool escape on hot summer days. Dotted with lakes and…