Best hotels in Porto that are perfect for exploring Portugal’s second city

We love a second city: all that underdog energy without the ego – or the crowds – and Porto is no exception. It’s just happy to see you, to pour a glass from an old bottle of port or take you sailing down the river Douro.

Staying here is quite a ride, too. The city fabric makes the best of its dramatic geography, built into steep hillsides and hugging the riverfront. Not only can you take a sightseeing cruise down the river, should you be willing to tackle the 230 stair climb to the top of Clérigos Tower or board the Gaia cable, you can see the city from new heights too.

This vibrant spot in Portugal is sometimes overlooked, thanks to it’s more popular sibling, Lisbon. As such, cosy house hotels far outnumber the grand brands. However, don’t let that put you off, as you’ll still find a swish spa if you need one – some with port wine treatments, no less.

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A fully fledged resort on the city’s southern bank, the Yeatman mingles with the English port wineries hugging the Douro river. Naturally, it’s amassed an excellent cellar, open for tastings and seminars when you’re not swimming or having a Caudalie facial. Book Sunday lunch with a wine flight on the Orangerie’s eighth-floor terrace, or head to your private balcony, where views from king rooms (decorated in Tiffany blues and yellows) are equally stellar.

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Somewhere in between an antique shop and a hotel, the atmospheric guestrooms in this red stucco townhouse are like bijou museums you can run amok in, with marble fireplaces, Baroque mirrors and original wood-coffered ceilings. Wake up and say hello to your ivory bust by the tile mosaic wall. Breakfast on the terrace is a sweaty affair mid-morning – better for your evening aperitif, with the cathedral lit up in the distance.

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The vantage point, looking back on the city from beneath the iron arc of the Luis I bridge, is very Brooklyn-on-the-Douro. Six hip little apartments fit cleverly within a designer concrete shell, furnished with Scandi modernity and wide window banks facing the river. With the port wineries in the hills above and Old Porto a quick stroll across the bridge, Oh!’s location is an unexpected triumph.

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Pestana takes a grand Art Deco landmark and makes it personal with mid-century woodiness, low vintage lighting, sinuous velvet seating and warm – but not obsequious – service. Bedrooms are slightly too cosy for all the space elsewhere; bright space-saving bathrooms fare better. Hit the buzzy A Brasileira brasserie at breakfast whether you’re staying or not – the pastries are as good as any in the finest padaria. Or share the octopus on a light vinaigrette salad for lunch.

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If you got any closer to the river, you’d be on it. Refreshed weathered-stone walls and chipper whitewashed furnishings give the light-filled rooms a country-house feel. The breakfast room serving punchy juice and fresh fruit juts out over the river path. But for dinner, head down there yourself and snag a table outside one of the old fisherman’s cottages, now a string of traditional tabernas.

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Every market, cathedral and monument you’ve marked on your map is close enough to visit in heels. Even if the rooms are just a tiny step up from a Premier Inn, this “river house” provides fringe benefits: coffee and cake in the bar and a sunny rooftop terrace from which to plot your journey. For a homely fried-fish dinner, walk a block to the tremendous Adega Sao Nicolau.

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The wood-panelled Araujo e Sobrinho stationery shop has operated out of this azulejo-tiled mansion block for nearly 200 years. In 2015, Lux Hotels designed AS 1829 to weave in and out of the showroom, setting up 41 rooms in the old offices. Handcrafted tiles replace chipped surfaces; plush velvets, caning and milky glass lighting update Portuguese classics. But the high ceilings, deep French windows and vintage desktop knick-knacks are all original.

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Porto’s best retrofit of a historic home sits on a street stuffed with boutiques, two doors down from the enchanting Claus Porto fragrance flagship – its own amazing renovation. In this former iron warehouse, 200-year-old stone walls butt up against polished concrete, deep iron staircases and a statement armoire around every corner. The light-handed service will please only some. But it does mean you can tinker at the honesty bar and tables full of curios without interruption.

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The scent of dewy grass from the sun-dappled breakfast room may just keep you in for the day – not to mention the still-warm egg tart and blood-orange juice. Unbelievably, considering the tiled facade, this 19th-century townhouse drips with leafy climbers, from lawn to roof. Book a rear-facing room – or the superior king studio, which is as chic as a Notting Hill garden flat. Come 3pm, the garden transforms into a wine bar.

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Not a city person? West of centre, past the twin steeples of the stunning Massarelos church, an Art Deco former fish market now functions as an homage to vintage design, with walnut-panelled rooms furnished for a Mad Men tryst. Lounge in low-slung designer chaises in the marble foyer, with its double-height whalebone roof, then climb to the rooftop bar for vistas over a helipad to Arrábida bridge.

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