Itinerary in Porto Alegre – For 1, 2 or 3 days of travel

Porto Alegre is one of my favorite cities in Brazil. Rich in cultural attractions, gastronomy and nightlife, it is perfect for a weekend trip. In addition to having great value for money.

In this itinerary in Porto Alegre, see what to do in 1, 2 or 3 days of travel in the capital of Rio Grande do Sul. Includes basic tours, restaurants and other activities to do in this period of up to three days.

This is the time I consider ideal to stay in the city. In just one full day, you can visit the main sights of Porto Alegre. In two or three days, you can do different tours or even escape to Serra Gaúcha.

Itinerary in Porto Alegre – Summary of each day

Itinerary on the first day

• Cultural Circuit of the Historic Center
• Sunset at Usina do Gasômetro
• Gastronomy and nightlife in Cidade Baixa

Itinerary on the second day

• most beautiful street in the world
• Farroupilha Park
• windmills

Itinerary on the third day

• Round trip to Gramado, or
• Boat trip on Lake Guaíba
• Dinner at a Gaucho steakhouse

Itinerary for 1 day in Porto Alegre

It’s easy and cheap to sightsee in Porto Alegre, even if it’s only a day trip away. The tip is to go straight to Historic center of the city, where the most interesting places are. Especially for those who like cultural attractions.

If you don’t have breakfast at the hotel, take the opportunity to start your tour at Porto Alegre Public Market. It opens early, at 7:30 am, and has dozens of stalls where you can eat well without spending a lot. It’s right in front of the metro station, so it’s really easy to get there. It has a beautiful architecture and has been in operation since 1869.

Walk a few meters to the Santander Lighthouse. The building, which once belonged to some banks, now hosts art shows and events. And there’s a bar that works inside the old vault.

On the other side of the street, in Praça da Alfândega, there are two similar buildings, where the Rio Grande do Sul Memorial and the MARGS (Art Museum of Rio Grande do Sul). Both museums are free and well worth a visit. Particularly, I find MARGS much more interesting, in addition to having a much larger collection, with works by regional and national artists.

Less than 500 meters away, explore the Mario Quintana House of Culture, which occupies the building of the former Hotel Majestic. Today it is one of the largest cultural centers in Brazil. On 7 floors, there are libraries, cinemas, creative spaces and a café, from where you have one of the best views of the Guaíba River.

If you also visit the beautiful churches in the Historic Center and spend a lot of time in the museums, this cultural tour will take up your entire day.

To enjoy the end of the afternoon in the gaucho fashion, the tip is to go to the brand new boardwalk of Lago Guaíba, in the region of Gasometer Plant. This part of the waterfront was revitalized, including a bike path, a jogging track and viewpoints for observing the lake. The chimarrão is the ideal company to watch the sunset show.

At night, you can explore the bars of the Lower Town, neighborhood glued to the Historic Center. It is also a good place to eat, as it concentrates a large number of bars, XIS snack bars, like Cavanhas and cool restaurants.

Itinerary for 2 days in Porto Alegre

Important: to make your itinerary easier, it’s important to choose where to stay in Porto Alegre.

On the second day of the itinerary in Porto Alegre, start with a visit to Rua Gonçalo de Carvalho. What’s on that street? Trees and more trees, which form a kind of natural tunnel. That is why it was declared Historic, Cultural, Ecological and Environmental Heritage of Porto Alegre and gained fame as The Most Beautiful Street in Brazil.

In a 1 km walk, downhill, reach the Farroupilha Park. The park is friendly and can be included in your itinerary any day of the week. But without a doubt it gets much more interesting on Sundays, when it hosts the famous Brique da Redenção fair.

To have lunch and drink in a café, go to the richest part of the city, the neighborhood windmills. There is Rua Padre Chegas, which concentrates highlights of Porto Alegre gastronomy.

You can even fix the night in this region too. In addition to good restaurants, Moinhos de Vento also has the most luxurious shopping center in Porto Alegre and many bars to try craft beers, such as the Malt Store and the free dog.

Itinerary for 3 days in Porto Alegre

If you chose to stay one more day in Porto Alegre, there are many tips to complement your itinerary.

The first one is to get out of the capital a little. Less than a two-hour drive from Porto Alegre, Gramado has some of the main attractions of the Serra Gaúcha. Here in this one-day Gramado itinerary, I explain what to do in the city in a short time.

The other option is to stay in Porto Alegre and do the Boat trip on Lake Guaíba. I took the tour and really enjoyed it. It is carried out by the company Cisne Branco. Boarding near the Central Market. The tour goes through some islands in the lake, such as the famous Ilha das Flores, from the documentary by Jorge Furtado.

To close this day, the tip is to look for a good steakhouse. One that I always recommend is the Costela no Roletchê, a well-served ribs carvery with great value for money.

Keep planning your trip to Porto Alegre

You are on the blog that is a reference in travel days to Porto Alegre and Serra Gaúcha. So take the opportunity to check out more tips to complement your itinerary and organize other details of the trip.

For example, I explained how to get from Porto Alegre to Gramado using different roads and means of transport.

Here you can also find out which are the main tourist attractions in Porto Alegre, which can help a lot to put together this itinerary.

We also have tips for restaurants, transportation and other relevant information for your trip. So, see everything we’ve already talked about Porto Alegre.