Best Areas to Stay in Porto | Portugal

Porto is a wonderful and, most importantly, walkable city, so there are several great areas to base yourself in.

In this guide, I will share with you the best areas to stay in Porto and also the best hotels in each of those areas. I will also comment on a few specific areas that I found not ideal to stay in.

Now, you will see a lot of guides dividing Porto city into the official districts and referring to each. Like in many of my blogs, I will show the exact streets, locations, good or not good for staying, rather than general areas.

The Old Town of Porto

Now, about the Porto Old Town, the main thing you have to know is that it is very hilly and what seems close on the map will take 2 times longer because of going up and down.

Please see this map below:

So, Porto Old Town is built on 2 hills. The purple ovals indicate the two hills, and the pink square shows where the valley is. All the main sites are scattered throughout the old town, so you will have to walk up the hills at some point, but if you want to be conveniently located between the two hills to make your life a little bit easier, try to aim for and find a hotel within that pink square.

Either way, the whole Porto Old Town is charming, full of many lovely boutique hotels and apartments to stay at, so no matter where in Old Town you pick, you will be within walking distance to everything and a beautiful ambiance around you.

Find out all the amazing places you can't miss out on when in Porto and fun things to do there in my Porto Travel Guide!

The only area in the Porto Old Town I would avoid is the waterfront. See the specific area in the map below. It does seem great from the first point of you - extremely convenient location and beautiful views of the river from most windows. BUT it is an extremely busy area. Firstly, getting in and out of the hotel will not be great as you will need to maneuver through a lot of people at all times of the day. And also loads of waterfront restaurants there, so quite a loud area that might bother your sleep.

Now, everything around the Porto Old Town is still fine. I would say this radius is still walkable and fine:

I, for example, stayed in Gallery Hostel (which is not like a hostel at all) and still enjoyed the location. It is literally on the edge of the old town and did require for me to walk 10 - 30 minutes to all main sites, but it was a bit quieter and not so busy. I do recommend this hotel a lot as their breakfast is fantastic! Made-to-order eggs, bowls, and pancakes.

Vila Nova de Gaia

Now, a really good alternative I want to offer to all those on a budget is Vila Nova de Gaia. It is the city on the other side of the Douro River. As you cross the iconic Luís I Bridge from Porto Old Town, you will enter it. Of course, the city is quite big, but I have highlighted the 2 areas I think are the best on the other side ⬇️

One of them is around Jardim do Morro, which is a fantastic spot for watching the sunset. You will get amazing views from that park, so being located near it will allow you to be close to a great evening spot, and also, by just crossing the Luís I Bridge, you are in Porto Old Town.

The other area is the waterfront of Vila Nova de Gaia. Firstly, if you book a hotel overlooking the river, you will get fantastic views of Porto city. Also, around there, the area has been converted into this new cool cultural district, mostly focusing on the Port wine. You will find museums, bars, and restaurants there telling the story of Port wine in Porto.

If I return to Porto, I most probably will base myself on the Vila Nova de Gaia side, as it is not so busy but still full of amazing food places and culture. And also cheaper accommodation options, but it is really not that far from the Porto Old Town.