Porto City Walls Walking Tour

In this tour, I will guide you through the old city of Porto, in search of the surviving parts of the medieval walls; some of them now integrated in houses, cafés, shops and hotels.

Over the centuries, the original Porto wall was destroyed and reconstructed, as Romans, Germanics and Arabs came after one another. By the 12th century, a French bishop rebuilt the walls. Two centuries later, in order to accommodate a growing city, a much larger, taller and stronger wall was erected; a most formidable wall, capable of resisting any siege, imposed by any army. Curiously, the intimidation effect of the walls was such that, in fact, the city was never attacked! By late 18th century, city officials claimed the walls were no longer needed and were, in fact, an obstacle to progress. So, the walls were systematically demolished. Fortunately, some portions of the medieval walls resisted to this day.

Come with me to discover this amazing piece of history.

In this tour, I explain you the original walls in a medieval Porto city model, and guide you around the old perimeter, showing the surviving parts of the wall. This is a walking tour, but we also use the funicular connecting the lower to the upper town, passing by the most well preserved curtain wall in Porto.