The 13 best street art murals in Porto

This mural appeared at the end of 2013 and was the first legal, non-commissioned mural in Porto, at a time when urban art was beginning to gain ground in the city. The initiative was coordinated by Circus Network, a gallery, creative agency and coworking space dedicated to illustration and urban art, and brought together Mesk, Fedor and Mots on the side of a 130 square metre building. The three artists immortalised Cervantes' classic characters in shades of brown and with a contemporary twist – just look at Rocinante, Don Quixote's horse, who looks like he's straight out of a science fiction film.

You simply cannot miss this imposing mural when you walk past Trindade car park. Painted by Hazul Luzah and Mr Dheo, this mural was inaugurated in 2014 as part of the municipal First Free Wall programme. It was the first of several murals commissioned by Porto City Council and marked a turning point in city council policy, which didn't distinguish tags from urban art. The 250 m2 wall features one of Hazul's faceless, round-eyed figures on one side and the hyper-realistic line of Mr Dheo, who drew his father with Porto in his hand, on the other.

Daniel Eime is one of the most talented stencil artists working in Portugal, and this mural in Miragaia (depicting one of its residents) is proof.

Vhils is Portugal’s best-known creator of urban art, and already well known internationally. This is one of his two works in Porto and it’s easy to find. It features his signature style, with a giant face sculpted out of a building’s façade.

This work is made up of 3,000 azulejos (ceramic tiles) contributed by dozens of participants, each of whom were assigned four tiles with which to answer the question ‘Who are you, Porto?’. The idea came from ±maismenos±, one of Portugal’s most socially and politically active artists. A little further up the same street is a stencilled mural by the Italian duo Sten + Lex.

Hospitality is part of Porto's essence and is well represented in this work by Frederico Draw. The visual artist, who works the human figure with mastery, decided to portray his grandfather holding out his hand almost as a welcome to those entering the city via the Luís I Bridge. Despite the highly personal nature of the work, it is one of the most successful among Porto residents and foreigners alike, who can't resist pointing their lenses at it.

Avenida Vímara Peres (next to the upper deck of the Luís I Bridge)

‘This is probably the saddest mural I've ever done. While I was painting it, Elza Uskas and her son came up to me and said the word “thank you”. They arrived in Portugal a fortnight ago. She told me that they'd packed their bags and ran away from the bombs,’ said the graffiti artist MrKas, in April 2022, in a show of grief, sadness and solidarity with the Ukrainian people at war. ‘I used the boy with the tear because children suffer the most from wars. He's peering through a wall shaped like Ukraine. And I made sure to include Crimea, so that people don't forget what Ukraine was like before.’ The work is seven metres long, three metres high and is called ‘Slava Ukraini’.

Next to the Lapa metro, in Cedofeita, on Alameda Capitães de Abril

The large animals created by Bordalo II from tonnes of waste are all over the world. In 2017, as part of the Gaia Todo Um Mundo festival, the Lisbon artist left his mark on the façade of a building on Gaia Quay. As usual, he collected rubbish from the surrounding area and sculpted a rabbit, half coloured and half grey, to show the original colours of the materials and raise awareness of issues such as sustainability, consumerism and pollution.

Rua Guilherme Gomes Fernandes, 42 (Cais de Gaia)

Contrary to the stigma and negativity associated with social housing estates, and in an attempt to add diversity to the city's culture, Porto's local authority left the paintings on two buildings in the hands of Mr Dheo and Hazul. Mr Dheo painted this mural, called Modern Religion, in the Francos neighbourhood, and Hazul did his in the Carvalhido neighbourhood.

Bairros de Francos e Carvalhido

‘Freedom fighter’, by MrDheo, in Matosinhos, depicts the war in Ukraine. On a wall in Rua Roberto Ivens, you can see a figure in the colours of the Ukrainian flag and a symbol alluding to peace, surrounded by the destruction of war. ‘This is my tribute to all those who lost their lives, to those who had to flee their country and above all to those who continue to defy fate on the ground. To the unity of a people, to the defence of their honour and their resilience for the sake of the flag. A call for human values to speak louder and for peace to prevail.’