Porto

Porto is a granite-and-tile city that tumbles down steep hills to the Douro, and it rewards travellers who slow down and climb its staircases. Base yourself in the old centre and you can walk almost everything, though the gradients are relentless, so plan routes downhill towards the river and take the funicular or a taxi back up. Start high at the Clerigos tower and the tiled facades, drift down through the Ribeira to the double-deck Ponte Luis I, then cross to Vila Nova de Gaia where the port lodges line the far bank. Eat like a local: a francesinha drowned in beer sauce, a pork-and-cheese pernil sandwich standing at Casa Guedes, grilled fish in a tiled tavern, and a warm pastel de nata from Manteigaria. Book the Livraria Lello and the best port-lodge tours ahead, remember many churches shut for a long lunch, and end each evening with a glass of tawny watching the rabelo boats and the sunset gild the river. Porto gives most to those who wander its azulejo-lined lanes patiently.