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Porto (Portugal) – the most detailed information about the city with photos. The main attractions of Porto with a description, guides and cards.

Contents

1 Porto City (Portugal)
2 Geography and climate
3 Practical information
4 Story
5 How to get there
6 Shopping and shopping
7 sights
8 Video
9 Maps and guides
10 Porto on a map of Portugal

Porto City (Portugal)

Porto is the second largest city in Portugal, which impresses with a rich collection of cultural attractions. It is a lively industrial and commercial. center, which is considered the capital of the Portuguese north. Porto – picturesque town built along the hills overlooking the mouth of the river Douro, which is famous for its baroque architecture, majestic neoclassical buildings and magnificent museums. Its historical heart (Ribeira) included in the World Heritage List UNESCO, is a maze of atmospheric narrow streets and stunning architectural treasures.

Geography and climate
Practical information
Story
How to get there
Shopping and shopping
sights
Video
Maps and guides
Comments and reviews

Geography and climate

Porto is located in the north-west of Portugal at the mouth of the Douro River, which flows into the Atlantic Ocean. The city occupies the right bank river valley and built on the hills. Distance from Lisbon make up 300 km. Porto’s climate is subtropical (Mediterranean). The weather here is significantly influenced by the Atlantic, therefore, summer is usually not as hot as in neighboring Spain. Winter in Porto is warm and rather windy. Temperature even in the coldest winter nights rarely fall below zero.

Porto

Practical information

The population is over 230 thousand people.
The area is 41.66 km².
The language is Portuguese.
Currency – Euro.
Visa – Schengen.
Time – UTC 0, in the summer +1
Porto is famous for its gastronomy. It is believed that here one of the best restaurants in Portugal, most of which concentrated in Matosinhos (between the beach and the port). Also porto famous for its pastries (bakeries are called Pão Quente) and traditional Francesinha dishes (something like a sandwich) and Bacalhau (salted cod).
From traditional products and souvenirs from Porto the most popular is port wine (fortified wine).
Porto is usually a safe place if normal precautionary measures.

Story

Porto – one of the oldest and most significant historical cities Portugal It was founded in the 3rd – 4th century BC. Celtic tribes. In 136 BC the settlement was captured by the Roman an empire. The Romans called the city of Portus Cale, from which came the modern name of the city, medieval county and the whole country.

After the collapse of the Roman Empire in 540, Porto was conquered Visigoths. At the beginning of the 8th century, the city was captured by the Moors. In 848 Porto was recaptured by the founder of the county of Portugal, Vimar Pires, but in the period from 997 to 1050 it was again Moorish. City was finally released in 1092 in the era of the Reconquista and entered into the composition of the kingdom of Leon.

Panorama of Porto

In 1096, the city becomes part of the county of Portugal, which It was later declared an independent state. In 1123 Porto gets city status. In 1370 during the reign of Fernando I have expanded the city fortifications. The heyday of Porto comes in 18 century when the city establishes close trade relations with England. The main product in this trade is port.

In 1809, Porto was occupied by Napoleon. Freed up The city of British troops commanded by the Duke of Wellington. AT Further, Porto passed fierce military conflicts. Also the city (like the whole of Portugal) was actually aloof from world wars, which allowed to preserve its historic architecture and the atmosphere.

How to get there

Porto is one of the most important transportation hubs of Portugal. Him the airport, located 15 km from the city center, is the third by workload in the country and is considered one of the best in Europe. An air port with the city center connects the metro line, providing quick and easy ride.

The airline Ryanair offers low-cost flights to Porto from the following cities: London, Liverpool, Dublin, Marseille, Milan (Bergamo), Paris, Bologna, Rome, Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia, Basel, Geneva, Lyon, Toulouse, Nantes.

Porto has a rail connection with most major cities of Portugal, as well as with Paris and Madrid. Also city served by five major motorways that allow fast enough to get here by car or bus from Lisbon, Aveiro and Spain.

Streets Porto

Shopping and shopping

For shopping, we recommend heading to the Mercado do Bolhão (the food market is located here) and Santa Catarina. AT In the suburbs of Porto there are large shopping centers: Norte Shopping, Arrábida Shopping, Parque Nascente, Gaia Shopping and Mar Shopping

Streets Porto

sights

Ribeira

The coastal quarter of Porto or Ribeira – a labyrinth of narrow winding streets and lanes with bright houses of yellow, blue and brown shades soaked in flavors of baking and filled with hundreds votes. This is the most popular area of Porto, which is famous lively and friendly atmosphere with many restaurants and grocery stores. The heart of this quarter is the eponymous an area that attracts thousands of people every day. Ribeira is fascinating history and striking medieval relics, built directly on the ancient Roman foundations.

The coastal quarter of Porto is included in the list of World UNESCO heritage.

Clerigos Tower in urban building

Clerigos – a symbol of Porto and one of the most visible attractions of the city. This is a stunning granite tower in Baroque style, built in the 18th century. To climb its summit need to overcome 240 steps. These efforts will be rewarded. breathtaking panorama of the old city and the Douro Valley. Tower is part of the neighboring church built between 1732 and 1750 for years. This baroque structure is one of the first churches. Portugal, which has an elliptical layout.

Bolsa palace

Bolsa Palace – a historic building of the former stock exchange, built in the 19th century on the site of the Franciscan monastery. Is famous for luxurious interior with moorish motifs.

Port bridge “Climbing”

Port Bridge “Ascent” – a vivid example of engineering The 20th century, opened in 1963. The bridge is built over the Douro River and has a height of 65 meters (at the highest point). Interesting feature of this building is that it can to rise.

San Francisco

San Francisco is a beautiful 18th century baroque church, which has simply stunning interior decorated dazzling gilded elements. Under the church building there are ancient catacombs that can be visited within tours.

Church of sv. Ildefonso

Church of sv. Ildefonso – the magnificent baroque church of the 18th century with a colorful facade. This religious building is built on the site of a 13th century medieval chapel that was demolished in 18 century due to the threat of destruction.

Bridge louis i

The bridge of Louis I – a grand engineering structure of the 19th century, which is one of the most iconic civilian objects Portugal The bridge is built of metal and connects Porto with the city of Vila Nova de Gaia on the opposite bank of the Douro.

Cathedral (Se)

The Cathedral (Se) is an imposing 12th century church, which is one of the most important Romanesque structures in Portugal. The cathedral began to build in 1110 and completed only through 627 years old.

Carmo Church