Porto on $40, $100 or $300 a day

Sao Bento station (free - just enter to see the 20,000 azulejo tiles, one of the most beautiful interiors in Portugal). Walk to the Ribeira through the Baixa. Bolhao market (€0, or €3-5 for fresh fruit and pastry breakfast). The Dom Luis I bridge for the view over the Douro.

Cross to Vila Nova de Gaia: a port wine cave tour and tasting at Graham's (€15 - 2 wines, good cellar tour) or Ramos Pinto (€12, the most interesting cave for design). Walk the Gaia waterfront back to the bridge.

Ribeira for dinner: a tasca (traditional tavern) for caldo verde, cod, and a glass of vinho verde (€15-18 for a full meal). Francesinha at Cafe Santiago (the original, €10-12 with beer - the sandwich of Porto: layers of meat, bread, and melted cheese in a tomato-beer sauce, a mandatory experience).

Igreja de Santo Ildefonso (free exterior, €3 interior - the blue azulejo tile panels covering the entire facade, 11,000 tiles depicting biblical scenes and mythology). Clerigos Tower (€8 - the baroque bell tower over the city, 225 steps, the best free-standing view in Porto). Lello Bookshop (€5, redeemable).

Historic tram Linha 1 to Foz do Douro (€3.50 - the most beautiful tram journey in Porto, 30 min along the Douro). Foz waterfront walk and a swim at the Piscina das Marés (€3) or the Matosinhos beach (free, the best city beach near Porto).

Return by tram or Uber. Wine bar in Cedofeita (a glass of Douro red for €3.50, olives and bread included). Dinner at a Cedofeita neighborhood restaurant (€12-15 for a full meal). The Jardim da Cordoaria park at night.

Train to Pinhao (2h30, €12 each way - the most beautiful train journey in Portugal, following the Douro River through terraced vineyards. The Pinhao station has azulejo tile panels depicting the grape harvest). The journey itself is the attraction.

Pinhao village: the most scenic point of the Douro Valley wine country. Walk to a quinta (estate) viewpoint above the village - the terraced vineyards stepping down to the river. Lunch at a Pinhao cafe (€10-12 for a full meal).

Return train to Porto (watch the sunset over the vineyards from the window). Final dinner: a bacalhau dish (salt cod - Portugal's national ingredient, 365 recipes, order bacalhau a bras or bacalhau com natas at any tasco, €12-15).

Sao Bento station then the Ribeira walk. The Cathedral Se (€4 - the Romanesque fortress-cathedral, the oldest in Porto, the Gothic cloister with azulejo tiles depicting the Song of Songs, and the view from the terrace over the Douro). Lunch at a Ribeira restaurant (€25-30 for grilled fish).

Vila Nova de Gaia: Taylor's lodge (€18 - the finest cave visit in Gaia, excellent old tawny tastings, and the best view terrace over Porto from the upper lodge). Walk back across the upper level of the Dom Luis I bridge (free, 45m above the Douro).

Dinner at Antiqvvm (1 Michelin star, Quinta da Macieirinha garden above the river, €65-80 for the tasting menu - the finest view restaurant in Porto). Or Cantinho do Avillez (Jose Avillez's Porto outpost, €45-60, modern Portuguese).

Organized wine tour to the Douro (pickup from hotel, €80-120pp including transport, 3 quinta visits, and lunch - the best value experience in the Porto area). The terraced vineyards, the rabelo boats on the river, and a proper winemaker explanation of how port is made differently from table wine.

Lunch at a quinta with Douro DOC wines and regional food (included in tour price). Afternoon quinta visit with a barrel tasting of vintage port.

Return to Porto. Dinner in Foz: a seafood restaurant on the Atlantic (fresh barnacles, percebes, grilled sea bass, €40-55). The Foz promenade at night with the Atlantic horizon.

Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art (€14 - the finest contemporary art museum in Portugal, Alvaro Siza's 1999 building, in an art deco villa park). The Serralves Foundation park and villa (€14 combined). Allow 3 hours.

Matosinhos for lunch: the fish restaurants of Rua Roberto Ivens (the best grilled fish in the Porto area, €20-30 for a full meal with wine). The Matosinhos market in the morning has the freshest fish coming in from the Atlantic.

Farewell dinner at the Flow Restaurant (in the Foz waterfront, Michelin Bib Gourmand, €45-60 for the tasting menu - excellent modern Portuguese at a reasonable price). A final glass of white port (the Porto aperitif, often forgotten) at a Ribeira wine bar.

Private guided tour of Sao Bento station, the Cathedral, and the Ribeira with an architectural historian who specializes in azulejo culture. The blue-and-white tiles covering Porto's buildings are among the most sophisticated decorative traditions in Europe - understanding their meaning transforms the city. Breakfast at the Yeatman Hotel (the finest hotel in Porto, in Vila Nova de Gaia with a full Douro panorama).

Lunch at the Yeatman Restaurant (2 Michelin stars, €120-150pp - the tasting menu uses exclusively Portuguese ingredients; the wine list is the best in the country). Private afternoon port wine tasting with the Yeatman sommelier - vertical tastings of vintage Quinta do Crasto or Quinta do Vesuvio.

Private evening fado dinner (fado originated in Porto's taverns as well as Lisbon's; a private house performance with a fadista and a guitarist, arranged through the hotel) and dinner at a historic tasco in the Ribeira.

Chauffeured day to the Douro Valley: a private quinta (Quinta do Crasto, Quinta do Vale Meao, or Ramos Pinto's Quinta de Ervamoira) for a winemaker-hosted tour of the vineyards, the cellar, and a barrel tasting of unreleased vintages. The terraced vineyards are some of the most dramatic agricultural landscapes in Europe.

Lunch at the quinta (a long table under a pergola, regional food, house wine from the estate, swimming pool optional). Afternoon tour of a second quinta or a boat trip on the Douro.

Return to Porto. Dinner at Antiqvvm (1 Michelin star in the Quinta da Macieirinha garden - the tasting menu with Douro wine pairing, €150-180pp, and the most spectacular setting in Porto). Final vintage port nightcap at the Yeatman bar.

Private tour of the azulejo tile tradition: the Museu Nacional do Azulejo in Lisbon is the definitive collection, but Porto has working studios where tiles are still made. A private visit to an azulejo atelier and a commission for a bespoke panel (the pieces are shipped).

Lunch at Euskalduna Studio (Porto's most avant-garde restaurant, €120-150pp for the 20-course experience - chef Vasco Coelho Santos trained under Andoni Aduriz; reserve months ahead). Shopping in the Baixa: Vista Alegre porcelain (since 1824), Livraria Bertrand (oldest bookshop in the world still operating), fine linen.

Farewell dinner at the Yeatman or a private dinner on the terrace of the hotel villa overlooking the Douro with the lights of Porto reflected in the river. One last glass of 40-year-old tawny port.