Clérigos Tower

The Torre dos Clérigos was built between 1754 and 1763 to the design of Nicolau Nasoni, an Italian painter and architect who settled in Porto and shaped much of its baroque, and at about seventy-five metres it was for two centuries the tallest structure in the city and a landmark for ships coming up the Douro. It stands beside his church of the Clérigos, an unusual oval-plan building for a brotherhood of priests, with a curved granite front. The climb is 240 steps up a narrow spiral, and the gallery at the top gives Porto in full: the river, the bridges, Gaia's port lodges across the water, the cathedral, the sea to the west. Nasoni is buried in the church. The ticket includes the church, a museum of the brotherhood's collection, and timed entry to the tower, which is capped because the stair is too narrow for two-way traffic.

What you actually see

• The tower - seventy-five metres of Nasoni's baroque, long the city's tallest.
• The gallery view - the Douro, the bridges, Gaia and the sea from the top.
• The oval church - an unusual plan with a curved granite front.
• The 240 steps - a narrow spiral with capped, timed entry.

When to go

Year-round. One hour. Book a timed slot - the tower caps numbers and sells out in season. Evening opening gives the city lit up.

Honest expectations

The stair is narrow, steep and one-way in stretches - not for anyone with mobility problems or claustrophobia. The gallery is small and gets congested. Timed tickets sell out. There is no lift.

Nearby

Livraria Lello is a minute away; Avenida dos Aliados and São Bento are east.