In short
Porto is built as an amphitheatre on the north bank of the Douro, and almost everything here is done going up or down. The Ribeira, at the waterside, is the World Heritage listed old quarter. The Clérigos and Aliados form the upper centre. Bolhão and Cedofeita are the everyday districts.
One detail many discover on arrival: the port cellars are not in Porto. They are in Vila Nova de Gaia, on the other bank, which is a separate municipality.
Arriving and getting around
The metro links the airport directly to the centre in half an hour, on the purple line. That is the obvious answer.
The Dom Luís I bridge is crossed on two levels: the upper deck carries the metro and pedestrians, with the view; the lower carries cars and pedestrians at water level. Take the right one for what you want to see.
The funiculars and the old tram 1, along the river to Foz, complete the picture. The gradients are serious.
What it really costs
Porto is still cheaper than Lisbon, but the gap has narrowed. The historic centre has largely moved to short-term letting.
Cellar visits in Gaia are paid and the rate varies a great deal with the number of wines tasted. Compare before choosing.
When to come
May–June and September–October. Porto is markedly wetter than Lisbon, including outside winter.
Saint John's night, 23 to 24 June, is the great popular festival: the whole city takes to the streets and hits each other on the head with plastic hammers. It is disconcerting and entirely serious.
What nobody tells you
Livraria Lello charges admission, an amount usually deductible against a book purchase. The queue is long and the shop tiny: go at opening or not at all.
São Bento station is free and lined with twenty thousand azulejos. It is in service: you walk in as you would into any station.
The francesinha is the local dish — a hot sandwich under beer sauce, covered in melted cheese. It is not a light meal and locals claim it as such.
Foz do Douro, where the river meets the Atlantic, is reached by tram from the centre and gives the beaches and the sunset.