Rivoli Cinema Hostel

Rivoli Cinema Hostel occupies a 1930s Art Deco building on Rua Dr. Magalhães Lemos, two blocks off Avenida dos Aliados (Porto's central civic boulevard). The theme isn't a gimmick: every room is individually designed around a film — Hitchcock in one, Wes Anderson in another, Almodóvar in the female dorm — and the communal spaces have vintage projectors, movie posters, and a small lending library of DVDs.

The location is the reason 3,400 reviewers give it a 9.0. You're 3 minutes from São Bento train station, 5 from Torre dos Clérigos, 10 from Ribeira. The metro (line D, yellow) is on your doorstep, the Linha do Douro to Régua leaves from São Bento, and the airport metro terminates at Trindade (one stop north).

The buffet breakfast is legitimately good: fresh pastries from the bakery next door, eggs cooked on request, Portuguese cheeses, charcuterie, a jug of freshly-squeezed orange juice. It's included in the rate. The rooftop has outdoor furniture, a sun deck, BBQ facilities, landmark views over the Torre dos Clérigos, and a projector screen that plays films from 21:30 most nights in summer.

Dorms have shared bathrooms (no en-suite here), but the bunks have privacy curtains and reading lights, lockers are generous, and the double-glazed windows keep Aliados noise out.