Chris Higham

AI visited Lisbon, prompted by the Portuguese capital’s reputation as the best value city break in Western Europe.

Now it’s lost that title to Porto, the country’s second city. Post Office Travel Money’s latest City Costs Barometer shows Porto is also rivalling ‘cheap as chips’ Eastern European capitals too.

And it boasts a wealth of beautiful architecture, as well as being the home of port – and a source of inspiration for Harry Potter’s Hogwarts school.

So I was hooked. I booked a two-hour flight to the ‘capital of the north’ and found myself an historic hotel, Casa dos Loios, in the quaint pedestrianised Rua das Flores.

Lined with traditional blue and green tiled houses with delicate wrought iron balconies, it turned out to be a stone’s throw from the medieval Ribeira district that runs higgledy-piggledy down to the River Douro. The old town is a tortuously steep labyrinth of narrow alleys leading to the restaurants and bars that spill out on to its colourful quayside.

This side of the river is for sightseeing, culture and partying – and there is plenty of that to fill a two-day city break. But cross the river and you’re in for a very different experience. Although the south side of the Douro is called Vila Nova de Gaia, it is very much a part of Porto – the port-producing part. Famous names such as Taylor, Sandeman and Cockburn are among the port lodges to visit for a taste of the country’s most famous export. Some, like House of Sandeman, line the southern river bank, others require a steep climb. At €12 for a tour, I chose Sandeman and was treated to a fascinating trail through the cellars, culminating in a glass of tawny port in the lodge’s state-ofthe-art tasting room.

Being a tourist means catching a cable car wherever you can and, guess what, you can take a scenic ride on one from the Douro waterside up to the famous doubledecker Dom Luis I bridge, with superb views of Porto’s Ribeira along the way (€6). Those with a head for heights can walk across to the Ribeira on the bridge’s 147ft-high upper level for more panoramic views but if, like me, you suffer from vertigo there is a quicker, less energetic option. Yeatman, another of the wine lodges, has started a hop-on, hop-off river taxi across the Douro costing €3. It’s a good example of the low prices for transport INFLUENCE Harry Potter