Porto travel guide

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Porto, or Oporto, is Portugal's second largest city and capital of Portugal's beguiling north. Porto was selected the 2001 European Capital of Culture which bestows upon the city money for lots of cultual improvements. Expect to see construction projects if you go.

The numerous restaurants, cafés, pastelarias, bars and cervejarias provide excellent freshly prepared food for all budgets. Try the traditional pastry of the region, the Viriato, for sale in good pastelarias. Portugal, by virtue of its position on Europe's Western edge, gets fewer travelers than other Mediterranean places. But visitors are rewarded with uncrowded cities and moderate tarifs for food and hotels. This is a place where you can splurge on a stay at a fine manor house and live in luxury for around 100 Euros a night.

For the year 2001 Porto shared the title of the "European Capital of Culture" with Rotterdam in the Netherlands. Porto is a fascinating city with lots of unknown treasures to discover by just strolling around. Here, at the delta of the Douro River, the second heart of Port wine beats. The wines, that are produced in several "quintas" up the river on step hills, are here bottled and shipped to all over the world. Vila Nova de Gaia, the city opposite of Porto on the left bank of the River, is the home to all the famous Port wine companies like Taylors, Dows, Offleys, Calem etc.

Porto, or Oporto, is Portugal's second largest city and capital of Portugal's beguiling north. Porto was selected the 2001 European Capital of Culture which bestows upon the city money for lots of cultual improvements. Expect to see construction

The city is officially styled "a muito nobre, sempre leal e invicta cidade do Porto" (the very noble, always faithful, and invincible city of Porto). This is usually shortened to "a Cidade Invicta" (the invincible city) a title won because of Porto's unparalleled resistance against Napoleonic troops during the Peninsular war.
The city is quite variegated architecturally, with medieval as well as modern living side by side. Porto's geography is hard on the feet, but pleasant to the eye. The city is extremely hilly, with many buildings built into a cliff face that overlooks the river. Stairs cut into the stone run up and down the cliff face and offer a laborious but rewarding walking tour. Across the river from Porto proper, in the suburb of Gaia, are located the warehouses of notable companies dealing with Port Wine, such as Cálem, Fonseca, Sandemans, Kopke, and others.

Blossoming of almond, apples, pears, cherries, oranges and figs is particularly striking in February. Summer is pleasant, with maritime winds moderating the climate. But expect some rain in summer in the northern region.

12th century cathedral or se. ---- Huge cathedral founded in the 12th century but extensively altered in the 18th. Open from 9am to 12:30 and 2:30 to 7.

Igreja de Sao Francisco ---- Gothic church with a plain facade but tons of gold-leaf gilding inside. There is also a museum and catacombs below, which we found more fascinating than many guidebooks did.

Ponte de D.---- Luis, the city's emblematic iron bridge, built by a disciple of the famous Eiffel.

Don't miss the Ribeira do Porto, ---- the cluster of buildings, smoky bars and seafood restaurants along the waterfront.

Lively and cosy eating places can be found down on the waterfronts, but be aware of the fact that these places can be more expensive than the restaurants in the upper city near Praca dos Poveiros and Praca da Batalha or Rua do Almada. The citie's culinary specialty is Tripas a moda do Porto (tripes), but there is always plenty of choice on the menu. Many local spots offer wine on the tab and a day's menu.

By car
Porto, like most Portuguese cities, is a nightmare to drive in. Roads vary in conditions - from fully paved to cobbled lanes that can make even the most shortest of distance seem like a go-kart rally. With that said, keep in mind that the touristic part of the city (the Ribeira and Baixa) are a never ending maze of narrow streets, short tempered drivers and snakelike alleys. Better to walk.

By metro
The Porto Metro is an incredibly advanced, state of the art light rail / subway system. Developed in 2001. the metro is still under construction. It has 5 lines, that run across the center of Porto, and down to some suburban areas. It is quick, and probably the most efficient way to get around Porto. Some major areas of the city,


By Bus
Porto has many lines and buses, which are modern and comfortable. However, they are not very reliable in terms of timetable, and the bus drivers tend to go on strike from time to time, which can leave you waiting for a bus up to an hour!. However, the lines serve every alley in the city, so you can be sure that wherever you are, there is a bus stop.

By taxi
It's fast way of getting around the city, although traffic congestions near the city center might be a problem. However, be expected to pay a high price for these services, especially compared to the other public transportations such as bus and subway.

Oporto is famous for it very much indoors but excited nightlife. You may start by going to samo glamorous bars at the Ribeira or in the old-center of the city. If you're into the gay scene, notice first that Oporto is considerable more homofobic than Lisbon,

Temperatures in Porto range from 4.75 to 27.9 (Celcius).

41.3 km2 (15.9 sq mi)

40.000(est.2008)

Porto lies just to the north of a coastal Mediterranean climate zone that encompasses most of central and southern Portugal. Summers are typically sunny with average temperatures between 15°C and 25°C but can rise to as high as 40°C during occasional heat waves. Winter temperatures typically range between 5°C during morning and 14°C during afternoon, but can rarely drop below 0°C at night.[12] The weather is often rainy for long stretches, although prolonged sunny periods do occur.