Art and Architecture: 26 Cities Every Creative Soul Must Visit

17. Porto – A City Built on Tiles and Textures

Porto is a visual feast for creatives, where azulejo-covered buildings and hand-painted facades transform every street into an open-air museum. The city’s Ribeira district is lined with vibrant, narrow houses stacked like colorful brushstrokes along the Douro River. The Livraria Lello, often cited as one of the world’s most beautiful bookstores, looks like something out of a dream, with its intricate woodwork and stained-glass skylight. Even the contemporary architecture here is striking—don’t miss the Casa da Música, a modernist masterpiece by Rem Koolhaas. Add in Porto’s experimental art galleries and its booming design scene, and you have a city that blends tradition and innovation in a way that fuels the creative mind.