Porto · Portugal
Sé do Porto
A practical guide to the Sé do Porto: hours, why to pay the €3 for the cloister, what to see in order, the free view from the Terreiro da Sé and the fake photographer and guide traps.
Yes, it's worth it, but with the cloister ticket. The nave alone is austere and takes ten minutes; the best parts are the cloister, the silver altar and the terrace.
The Sé do Porto is the city’s cathedral and its oldest building: a granite fortress-church begun around 1110, with walls up to two meters thick, defensive towers and real battlements. Every century added something, and that mix is what you come to see.
Our experience
We arrived at 11:40 on Friday, after Santa Clara. Since the cloister closes with the midday break, while the nave is free and reopens in the afternoon, we did the cloister first and then the church. At 12:25 we left and walked to the river and crossed the Luís I bridge to the Cais de Gaia. The full day is in our day 6.
A bit of history
In 1108 Count Henry of Burgundy and his wife Teresa endowed a chapel at the top of the walled city, and around 1110, under Bishop Hugo, work on the cathedral began. It was the time of the Reconquista and Porto was a frontier, so it was built as both a church and a fortress, in the Romanesque style.
Around 1333 work began on the Gothic cloister. On February 14, 1387, King João I and Philippa of Lancaster were married here, a wedding that sealed the alliance between Portugal and England, the oldest diplomatic alliance still in force. Their son Henry the Navigator was baptized here in 1394.
In the 18th century the Italian Nicolau Nasoni, the architect of the Clérigos Tower, added the Baroque gallery on the north facade and frescoes inside, and the cloister tiles were commissioned from Valentim de Almeida. In 1772 the Romanesque main door was replaced with a Baroque one. In 1809, when Marshal Soult’s troops took Porto and sacked the cathedral, the silver altar survived because a sacristan had covered it in plaster.
What to expect
The interior is dark and sober, nothing like the gold of Santa Clara or São Francisco. If you know that going in, you’ll enjoy it more: here what impresses is the cloister, the silver and the view.
What to see, in order
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The cloister tiles
Blue-and-white panels by Valentim de Almeida, painted in Lisbon between 1729 and 1731. They tell the Song of Songs and the life of the Virgin.
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The João Gordo chapel
Next to the cloister, the chapel of Saint John the Evangelist with the Gothic tomb of a 14th-century Knight Hospitaller.
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The Casa do Cabido
Included in the €3 ticket and hardly anyone goes up. Religious sculpture and silverwork from the 14th to the 18th century, and a ceiling of fourteen painted panels.
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The silver altar
In the Capela do Santíssimo Sacramento, about 800 kg of worked silver begun in 1632. In 1809 a sacristan covered it in plaster and the French troops walked right past it.
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The Romanesque columns
Thick and squat, defensive architecture. Compare them with the Gothic ones you'll see in the rest of Porto.
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The baptismal font
At the back of the nave, a plaque recalls that Henry the Navigator was baptized here in 1394.
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The Terreiro da Sé
The esplanade outside: the Ribeira, the Douro, the Luís I bridge and Gaia in front of you, with the granite pillory in the foreground. Free and always open.
Tips we wish we’d known
Tips
- Pay the €3: without the cloister, the visit falls short.
- There's Mass every day at 11:00 and visits are restricted during it. If you arrive before it ends, wait on the esplanade.
- The free brochure at the ticket desk, available in English, is enough; there's no need to rent an audio guide.
- The way down to the Ribeira is through alleys of polished granite. Careful if your shoes have smooth soles.
Do
- Shoulders and knees covered for the nave.
- Go up to the Casa do Cabido; it's what most people skip.
- Keep your phone in a front pocket on the esplanade: it's a tour-bus stop.
Don’t
- Don't let the "official photographer" on the terrace take your phone: he doesn't work for the cathedral and then asks for a tip, sometimes insistently.
- Don't pay the "guides" with laminated badges offering the full history for €10.
- Don't buy souvenirs at the shops around it; at the Bolhão or on Santa Catarina they're cheaper.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to enter Porto Cathedral?
The nave is free. The cloister, the Casa do Cabido, the treasury and the terrace cost €3 together.
What are the hours?
From April to October it's open 9:00 to 12:30 and 14:30 to 18:00. The cloister stops admitting visitors before the midday break.
How much time do you need?
About 40 minutes for the nave, the cloister, the silver altar, the Casa do Cabido and the terrace.
Is the view from the Sé free?
Yes. The Terreiro da Sé is a public square and has one of the best views of the Ribeira and the Douro without paying anything.
Do you need to buy tickets online?
No. You buy them at the ticket desk; they're cheap and the line is usually short.