41.14° N · 8.61° W · Porto and the Douro
Fifty minutes by boat on the Douro, from the Ribeira or the Gaia quay to the river mouth and back, passing under the city's six bridges. It leaves every half hour all year round and is the calmest way to see Porto if you are with children.
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Who offers it
Independent companies: you book with them, on their terms. Prices are as they publish them and may change.
Step by step
Online purchases carry no time: at the quay you swap the voucher for the next departure with space.
The boat passes under the Luís I, the Infante and the old iron Maria Pia bridge up to the Freixo.
Back towards the Ribeira and the Arrábida, with the Gaia cellars on one side and the hanging houses of the Ribeira on the other.
The six bridges cruise is a 50-minute trip on the Douro aboard a rabelo, the flat-bottomed square-sailed boat that once brought barrels of port down from the valley to the Gaia cellars. It leaves from the Vila Nova de Gaia quay or the Ribeira quay, goes upriver as far as the Freixo bridge and comes down towards the Arrábida bridge, near the river mouth, before returning to the same quay. On the way you pass under the city's six bridges: Luís I, Infante, Maria Pia, São João, Freixo and Arrábida.
Several companies run it from both quays. Among them is Cruzeiros Douro, which leaves from both and publishes its prices and times on its website.
With Cruzeiros Douro, at the ticket office:
If you buy on its website, you get 10% off: €16.20 per adult from Gaia and €18 from the Ribeira. The same company sells a combined ticket with a visit to a port wine cellar and tasting for €29.
It runs daily, every half hour, from 10:00. From April to September the last departure is at 18:00; from October to March, at 16:00. Its website is not entirely consistent about whether October follows the summer or the winter timetable: if you go that month, confirm it. Departures depend on there being a minimum number of passengers and space on the boat at the time.
You do not need to book: you buy at the quay or online and board the next free departure. The commentary, with a guide or audio guide, is in Portuguese, English, Spanish and French.
From Gaia it is €2 cheaper and, when you get off, the cellars are a step away: you can link it with a visit to Taylor's cellars. From the Ribeira you leave straight from the old town, at the foot of the hanging houses. The two quays face each other, linked by the lower deck of the Luís I Bridge, which you can walk across in five minutes.
It is one of the calmest ways to see Porto with children: they sit down, the journey is short and under-3s do not pay. There is little shade on deck: in summer bring a hat and water.
You reach the Ribeira quay on foot from the centre, going down from the cathedral or from São Bento in about ten minutes. You reach the Gaia one by crossing the Luís I Bridge on the lower deck or on metro line D to Jardim do Morro and then going down by cable car or on foot. Better without a car: the Ribeira is an old town with narrow streets.
Who it's for
You are with children or short of time and want to understand the city at a glance, sitting down.
You want to see the Douro valley. For the terraced vineyards you need to go upriver, to Régua or Pinhão.
What to bring
Map
What you have around the starting point.
More to do
Itineraries
Tips
It is €2 cheaper than from the Ribeira and you can link it with a cellar visit.
You save 10% and the voucher has no time: you swap it for the next departure.
The last departure, at 18:00 in summer, catches the low light on the façades.
Questions
€18 per adult from Gaia and €20 from the Ribeira, 10% less if you buy on its website. Children aged 4 to 12 pay half and under-3s do not pay.
No. It leaves every half hour while there is space. Buying online only secures the price.
There is a guide or audio guide in Portuguese, English, Spanish and French.
Yes, daily. From October to March the last departure is at 16:00.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/portugal/porto-and-douro/things-to-do/six-bridges-cruise
