A Sunday in Porto: the city from the tower, the river from the boat.

Porto is two hours from Pontevedra along the motorway through Tui and Valença, just right for a Sunday there and back if you set off early. The plan works from the top down: you start at the Clérigos Tower, the highest view in the centre, walk down to the Ribeira, the district of narrow, colourful houses beside the Douro, and see the river from a rabelo boat. You have lunch between São Bento and the Ribeira and finish on the other side, in a cellar in Vila Nova de Gaia, with three ports.

The day, hour by hour

8:00 · Departure. From Pontevedra, take the AP-9 to Vigo, the A-55 to Tui and, in Portugal, the A3 to Porto. Portuguese motorways have electronic tolls: register your number plate or carry a Via-T device. Put your watch back an hour and leave the car in a pay car park in the centre, near the Tower.

9:30 · Clérigos Tower. Nicolau Nasoni's Baroque tower, dating from 1763. You climb a stone spiral staircase that narrows as you gain height, and at the top you have the red rooftops, the cathedral and the Douro with the Luís I Bridge. It is open daily from 9:00 to 19:00. The ticket, €10, includes the church and the museum.

10:45 · The Ribeira and the Luís I Bridge. Walk down from the Sé esplanade through the district's streets and steps to the Cais da Ribeira, past terraces and tiled façades. Cross to Gaia on the lower deck of the bridge, just a few metres above the water.

12:00 · Six Bridges cruise. Fifty minutes by rabelo boat under the city's six bridges, with departures every half hour from Gaia or the Ribeira. From €18 for an adult from Gaia and €20 from the Ribeira; children, €9 and €10.

13:30 · Lunch at Cantinho do Avillez. Go back to the Porto side of the river. Chef José Avillez's informal restaurant is on Rua Mouzinho da Silveira, the street that runs down from São Bento to the Ribeira, and it is open every day from 12:30 to 23:00 with no afternoon break.

15:30 · Taylor's cellars. Cross to Gaia again and climb the hill to the cellar at the top. The visit is self-guided, with an audioguide on your phone in Spanish: bring headphones. You walk through the halls of casks and at the end taste a Chip Dry, an LBV and a 10-year-old tawny. The cellar is open daily from 10:00 to 18:15.

17:30 · Heading back. If you have time, return to Porto along the upper deck of the bridge, next to the metro: it is the view of the day. You are back in Pontevedra around half past eight, Spanish time. If you have been tasting, let someone else drive.

What to order at Cantinho do Avillez

The red duck curry with rice and the marinated scallops with avocado cream and Alentejo bread crumbs. For dessert, the tocino de céu with raspberry sorbet. At midday it has a set menu and an à la carte menu. If you would rather have something quick and cheap, Casa Guedes, on Praça dos Poveiros, serves its roast pork sandwich every day, Sundays too, with no reservations.

With children or in the rain

With children, the boat is what they remember, and under-10s do not pay at the Clérigos Tower. If it rains, the boats still sail and the tower and the cellar are under cover: the only thing you lose is the view of the bridge at sunset. If you want to see the Livraria Lello, the bookshop with the red staircase, buy the timed voucher on its website for first thing.