There are six magnificent bridges that join the two banks of the Douro River. Have fun on the Six Bridges Cruise and get to know them! Classified as a National Monument the D. Maria Pia Bridge is a railway infrastructure that crosses the Douro River, connecting Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia. Designed by Gustave Eiffel, it was once the largest iron arch bridge in the world and is considered one of his greatest masterpiece.
The Ponte Dom Luís I is a true icon of the city of Porto and a marvel of 19th century engineering. The Dom Luís I Bridge spans the River Douro between Porto on the north bank and Vila Nova de Gaia on the south bank.
The Arrábida Bridge is an arch bridge that crosses the Douro River, connecting Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia. It was built in 1963 as a response to the increasing flow of traffic and the need for alternative connections to the old bridges. At the time of its construction, the bridge had the largest reinforced concrete arch of any bridge in the world.
The São João Bridge was built to replace the D. Maria Pia Bridge, another iconic bridge in Porto. The São João Bridge has become an iconic landmark in the Porto skyline and an important transportation link between Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia. Interestingly, during the construction of the bridge, archaeologists discovered the remains of a Roman road and a medieval shipyard on the site, providing valuable information about the history of the area.
The Freixo Bridge was inaugurated in September 1995 is a road bridge that connects Vila Nova de Gaia to Porto, over the Douro River. Of all the bridges connecting Porto to Vila Nova de Gaia, the Ponte do Freixo is the one that is furthest upstream from the Douro River.
The Infante Dom Henrique Bridge, also known as the Infante Bridge, is a road bridge connecting Vila Nova de Gaia to Porto, over the Douro River, in Portugal. Named in honor of Infante Dom Henrique (He was the main promoter of the Portuguese expansion, the so-called ''Portuguese Discoveries''), he was born in Porto, it is the newest bridge connecting Porto and Gaia.
This was an enjoyable trip and definitely worth the cost. However the English translation was always lagging behind the viewpoint so we were neck craning to see behind us. Having said that we saw all the bridges and some other sites and also we could have downloaded an audio guide. Worth the cost and I’d recommend if you want to spend 50 mins on a boat.
Avoid Douro Acima for a 6 bridge rover cruise. Their agent near the cathedral told us we couldn’t buy tickets at the wharf (totally wrong) and said the boats go off every 30 minutes for an hour cruise. The crew takes a lunch break so there is no 1:00pm boat. The cruise is a scant 40 minutes, no safety instruction, no access to the promised QR code that provides history and context. Despite having tickets, and with no signage nor staff available to answer questions, you are expected to know you must ‘check in’ before lining up to board, which caused several passengers to lose their expected departure time. Staff seem nice enough but are working with super slow technology and only one machine. Once on board, there is a Portuguese and English dialogue but it is hard to hear. There are numerous boats along the dock that offer similar service; go talk to them….or look for more reputable operators online.
The only thing that was disappointing is that we were unaware of the audio about the bridges that could be downloaded. More communication at the check in point would have been. Also the check in point was not easy to find.
A visit to Porto would not be complete without a ride down the Douro River. The views of the area and the six bridges are spectacular. This is a good way to put your feet up, relax and enjoy the city.
River view gives an excellent perspective of Porto and Gaia, local history and the two cities connection to the vineyards up stream and to Gustav Eiffel
Definitely worth doing , the bridges are amazing and they appear to building another one . Would highly
This is not a good way to do this activity. This isn’t actually a ticket so you have to wait in several lines to get on the boat. It’s very disorganized.
Bring a hat and light sweater for this time of year, otherwise the sky was blue and sunny. The water front is lively
Informative and beautiful views of both Porto and Gaia
We took a trip close to sunset so the light was gorgeous. There is very limited commentary on board and the view is partially restricted by others if you are sat in the centre of the uncovered part of the boat.
Great experience, reasonable expense. Boarding point was easy to find despite crowd.. well run tour!
Enjoyable river ride. Got to see a lot.
We took the Living Tours Six Bridges Panoramic Cruise on the Douro River. While you are waiting to board, you will see a lot of boats, some of which have seats with backs and an indoor area. Our boat had none of those so thank goodness it was a nice day. We opted for a no frills ride - no wine, no cheese, etc. The boat ride was pleasant and lasted about an hour with a prerecorded voice explaining all the bridges. Interesting and an hour of relaxation from all the running around tourists do. After the boat ride the pier area has a lot of restaurants and cafes and many souvenir tents.
Easy to get to. The noise on the river and surrounds exceed the decibels of the canned talk that you can’t hear. The waterways were pleasant but because of the ambient noise, we did not really hear or learn anything about the bridges we were sailing under.
Great way to see all 6 bridges! Line up early to get a seat outside! Great explanation of all the bridges .
A nice short hour on the river seeing Porto Riverside and the bridges. Partially covered boat which is a nice option. Purchased a flexible ticket which was nice as you could show up and sign up for whenever worked for you
Like most tourists we wanted a boat trip on the Douro to see Porto and Gaia from the river. We chose a boat from Gaia as its much quieter than the Porto side. I wasn't blown away by the cruise, there was no guide and you had to scan a QR code for information on your phone if you wanted to know what bridges you were going under. Looking at your phone means your not looking at scenery and although there was audio all I could here was comentary in languages I didnt understand. Honestly I found it very boring and there were so many people on, if you weren't at the front or sides, you couldn't really see the sights or take photographs. At €20 each it wasnt cheap and there was no option for concession as there was in most other trips and museums in Porto. They are making a lot of money as the trips are going all day and up to sunset, I think that the experience for tourists could definitely be improved. I dont recommend this trip.
the ride did not show much of Porto..it was relaxing for 50 minutes so you don't have to walk the hills of Porto. I'm not even sure we actually saw six Bridges.
Very good view and it was value for money. We really see what we want to see and audio gulid is great.
An overall enjoyable experience. The boat gave us a different view of Porto that was worth it. I would have enjoyed a bit more information in the audio that was a general explanation of the bridges and not enough about the surrounding landscape. Some times it seemed the audio didn’t match what we were seeing. I enjoyed the trip I. General because it gave us an idea of the importance and significance of this river to the lifeblood of Porto.
Great boat trip. Learned historical information about each bridge. Suggest this trip to learn more about Porto.
Great trip on the Duoro river with an informative commentary. Explanation on all the bridges and also the history of numerous buildings along the river.
It’s a great way to learn about the bridges and their history. There are some very interesting facts about them. The views of the city are wonderful from the water. Get off the boat on the opposite side from which you board and walk across the river on the bridge.
All descriptions of what you are seeing is in portugese so if that matters be prepared with a translator otherwise you will not know what u r seeing.
The views were beautiful but the boat was overcrowded and we couldn’t hear the speaker at all with all the talking.
The boat tour was nice to see the river and bridges. Was very confusing to convert voucher to a ticket. In the end, after some messages back and forth and going to the redemption point, we did not need To get a ticket. Also, hard to hear the narration on the outside deck.
Very fun, scenic and quiet ride with occasional automated information via French, English, Spanish and Portuguese. My only gripe is they honk occasionally and it's loud as fudge LOL.
The boat ride was very nice and pleasant! We had a great time. The boat manager also took pictures of our group so it was a fun little trip all in all.
I took many walks and a single tram ride by the Douro River, but I wanted to actually experience being in it. As I took a walk on the promenade, I decided to inquire about a boat ride from a woman who was selling them at a stand. I paid eighteen euros (€18,00) from Vila Nova de Gaia instead of twenty euros (€20,00) from Porto to take a cruise on the Douro River with the six (6) huge bridges. The person in charge was not able to give me a receipt. It was somewhat confusing to find the meeting spot, but I ultimately did find it in time. A recording did a narration in a few languages, but I thought that it was not very loud. There were indoor and outdoor seats, and although I was told that this trip would last fifty (50) minutes, in reality, it lasted about forty (40) minutes. I took the final trip of the night at 18:30, so my boat was quite empty. It may be wise to wear sunscreen and to bring a hat and a pair of sunglasses.
Once we got to the cruise it was nice. We got the neat weather, sunny but refreshing. However, to get there it was very confusing. First we walked around 1km to the other side of Luis Bridge realizing that was wrong. We eventually made it to the address it said where we had to exchange our TripAdvisor ticket, it being closed and directed to the pier and we never found the correct place. Eventually we just went to one of the stand and they said it was there but we are not sure of we got what we reserved. Very confusing and we walked half an hour more than needed. Pickup address should be clear and not send you from one place to another. After that everything went smooth.
Great with kids. Nice point of view. A nice way to discover the bridges and enjoy the city any times
good Cruise, good value, worth to spend 1hr by a sunny day to see Porto from another angle. to combiné with à trip to Gaia and à Porto degustation.
A great use of 50 minutes to see Porto from the river and learn about the 6 bridges. Well worth the time and cost!
Lovely scenic trip- boat was well maintained and the commentary was informative.
This was so easy to find and a beautiful way to see Porto! The bridges are gorgeous and being on the river looking up at the sights along the banks was relaxing and lovely! It was a perfect, quick way to prepare for a spritz!
We were not able to redeem the booking voucher for tickets because the tour office closed early. The booking stated that the voucher could be redeemed for any cruise on our booking date. It also stated that the last cruise on the river was at 8:30 pm. We attempted to redeem the voucher at 6 pm, and the tour office was closed. We should receive a full refund because it was not disclosed that vouchers must be redeemed before 6 pm. We are very disappointed and would not recommend Viatour with this tour company.
Booked a couple of hours before using the ticket through Viator. Instructions to make our way to Ribeira. and a choice of two operators to take our ticket to, either Douro Acima or Tomaz do Douro. We chose the first but it was just the first one we came to. Showed our ticket and were told to come back in half an hour and where to wait and we were booked on the next sailing cruise. No hassle, simple to use. Boat was great, no need for headphones, six bridge info was narrated over the speaker in two languages. Clear info on the bridges but not too much to overwhelm. All in all a great boat ride. It is also cheaper to book in advance rather than at the quay side.
Great experience and nice cruise. Please remember to check in and pre select time before boarding the boat
The boat itself was pleasant but finding check in was remarkably difficult. The address given via Tripadvisor led randomly to a locked gate on a back street with a QR code that led to a spam website. There was thankfully a map that directed to the correct location on the quay. When we finally found the booth on the quay we were given a paper ticket but still had to produce our electronic one as well. Overall unnecessarily complicated. Whilst we saw the bridges and the view of Porto was delightful the actual tour was not good as the (pre-recorded) audio could barely be heard. Disappointing.
Enjoy views of Porto from the river. You can see all the bridges with their diverse structures from this vantage point. A quick but worth it ride.
A great 50 minute trip up and down the river Douro. To see the Bridges and the history. Interesting and enjoyable.
A lovely, simple way to see Porto and its six iconic bridges from the water. Great value for money, especially if you’re looking for a shorter cruise rather than spending hours on a boat. Think of it more like a ferry experience shared with other passengers than a luxury cruise. That said, everyone gets a seat with a good view, making it a relaxing and enjoyable way to experience the city from the river. I would say this trip is kid friendly and appears to be suitable for people with accessibility issues.
Beautiful river cruise! Nothing extra about it except for the amazing views of both sides of the river. Nice perspective to see the wine companies but also the amazing landscape of Porto!
Interesting brief commentary - recorded in several languages. Cheaper on Viator than in person and once I found the correct boat very straight forward. As everyone said not a long boat ride - 50 minutes but the time was prefect for me as I was short of time and sat in the full sun. Would recommend.
Terrible boat that is rammed full to capacity meaning half the passengers are in the back and therefore under a plastic roof that has not been cleaned, cannot therefore by consequence see anything. No audio guide as you have to scan a QR code and use own headphones.
1 hour trip,good value,audio was good
This river boat cruise was worth the time and money. It was a leisurely ride with interesting information. To learn about the history of the bridges was interesting. The view of Porto from the river was amazing.
A lovely way to see all the bridges and other parts of Porto. I would recommend it.
Quick ride up and down the duoro. Fun to see the city from the river. Wish it was longer. But we still had a good time
This was a pleasurable experience and an informative tour to learn about the different bridges and their context in Porto’s history. Recommend for a light activity! Staff was friendly as well.
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