Casa da Musica, Porto: Tours, Concerts and Tips

Casa da Música is Porto’s concert hall, a white, faceted block by Rem Koolhaas on the Boavista roundabout. Here’s how tours and tickets work in 2026 and how to fit a visit into a day in Boavista.

Quick answer: take the one-hour guided tour (€12; English tours are booked online, usually at 11am or 4:30pm) or the self-guided open visit (€10). Better still, come for a concert: the resident orchestra costs about €26 to €30, half price if you’re 30 or under. The metro stop is Casa da Música (lines A, B, C, E and F).

The building

Porto shared the title of European Capital of Culture with Rotterdam in 2001, and Casa da Música was its flagship project. Rem Koolhaas and his firm OMA won the 1999 competition by scaling up an earlier design for a house. The hall missed the big year and opened on 15 April 2005, on the site of an old tram depot. Outside it’s white concrete cut into sharp facets; inside, foyers and staircases wrap around the main hall.

• Sala Suggia: the 1,238-seat main hall, named after the Porto cellist Guilhermina Suggia. It’s a shoebox shape, but both end walls are corrugated glass, so concerts can be played in daylight. The plywood walls carry a giant wood-grain pattern in gold leaf, and the seats slide so you can pass along a row without anyone standing up.
• Sala 2: the second hall, lined with plywood dipped in red paint.
• VIP Room: on floor 6, covered in tile panels mixing Portuguese and Dutch traditions, with views from the Clérigos Tower to the Atlantic.
• VIP Terrace: on floor 7, a covered plaza under a skylight that opens.

Tours and open visits in 2026

• Guided tour: about an hour, up to 35 people. English tours are sold online and usually run at 11am and 4:30pm on most days, though not at both times every day. Tours in Portuguese, Spanish, French and Italian start at 11am and 3pm and are sold only at the ticket office.
• Open visit: daily from 10am to 5:30pm, subject to availability. You explore with QR codes and audio guides, so bring headphones.
• Rooms: what you see depends on that day’s rehearsals and events.

Ticket	Price (2026)
Guided tour, adults	€12
Guided tour, ages 13 to 18	€5
Under 12s with a paying adult	Free
Open visit	€10
Tour plus Serralves	€28.80

The Serralves combo includes the museum, villa, park and Treetop Walk (about €24 alone), so it saves about €7. See the Serralves guide. Ignore the official Porto Card rate: that pass was reported suspended in July 2026.

Concerts and cheap tickets

The Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto Casa da Música, with 94 musicians, plays around 50 concerts a year here. The Remix Ensemble focuses on new music and the Orquestra Barroca plays Baroque works in period style. Two choirs, plus jazz, fado and pop, fill the rest of the calendar. Prices in the autumn 2026 programme:

• Orchestra: about €26 to €30, with some special concerts more.
• Remix Ensemble and Orquestra Barroca: about €22 to €26.
• Sala 2 gigs and recitals: about €12 to €25.
• Free: Concerts in the Café, often on Thursdays from about 9:30pm.

The big saving is 50% off for anyone 30 or under, and 20% off for over-65s, on concerts priced €12 or more (outside promoters’ shows may not qualify). Bring ID. Tickets can’t be exchanged or refunded, and the official site lists no last-minute scheme, so book popular nights early. Doors open 30 minutes before; latecomers wait for a break.

Restaurant and café

The restaurant is on the top floor. The official site lists lunch (12:30pm to 3pm) and dinner (from 7:30pm) Monday to Saturday, closed Sundays; book by phone. The ground-floor café is open daily from 9am to 10pm, later on concert nights.

Getting there

• Metro: Casa da Música station is three stops from Trindade, and line E runs direct from the airport. From São Bento, take line D to Trindade and change. A Z2 Andante trip is about €1.40; the Andante Tour costs €7.75 for 24 hours. The new Rosa line from São Bento is due by about March 2027. See Porto public transport.
• Bus: STCP routes including the 201, 204, 502 and 504 stop here, and the hydrogen Metrobus runs along Avenida da Boavista to Serralves.
• Hop-on hop-off: the City Sightseeing red line stops here on its way to Serralves. See Porto’s hop-on hop-off buses.
• Car: the 24-hour underground car park has a €3 ticket for Sala Suggia concert evenings.

Combine it with Boavista and Serralves

The hall stands on the Rotunda da Boavista, a roundabout park with a 45-metre column topped by a lion crushing the French eagle. Mercado Bom Sucesso, a few minutes’ walk away, is the easy lunch. Take an 11am tour, eat at the market, then ride the Metrobus to Serralves for the afternoon and finish at the sea in Foz. See the Boavista guide.

It’s a good stop for a rainy day in Porto, and a concert with dinner upstairs makes an easy date night. See romantic Porto.

Stay nearby: Boavista has larger modern hotels and quick metro links to the airport. See places to stay in Boavista.

FAQ

Can you visit Casa da Música without a concert ticket?

Yes. Take the one-hour guided tour (€12) or the self-guided open visit (€10). The café and shop open daily.

Are there Casa da Música tours in English?

Yes, usually at 11am and 4:30pm, though not at both times every day. Book online.

How do you get cheap concert tickets at Casa da Música?

If you’re 30 or under, you get 50% off concerts priced €12 or more. The Concerts in the Café are free.

Which metro stop is Casa da Música?

Casa da Música station, on lines A, B, C, E and F, three stops from Trindade.

More: the best museums in Porto and things to do in Porto.

See also: Porto in one day, where to stay in Porto and Porto with kids.

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