Porto is Portugal's second largest city, and a very busy industrial and commercial center. The city itself isn't very populous (about 240,000 inhabitants), but the Porto metropolitan (Big Porto) area ranks some 1,500,000 inhabitants in a 50 km radius, with cities like Gaia, Matosinhos, Maia, Gondomar and Espinho.
The city was built along the hills overlooking the Douro river estuary, and its historical center was awarded World Heritage status by UNESCO in 1996. It has been continuously inhabited since at least the 4th Century, when the Romans referred to it as Portus Calle
Porto has a semi-Mediterranean climate, although it's strongly affected by the Atlantic ocean, which makes it cooler than other Mediterranean cities. However, temperatures can rise as high as 40ºC in August during occasional heat waves. Winters are mild and humid, with occasional cold nights where temperatures can drop below 0ºC.
Porto has always been a mercantile city, and this is evident in the style of buildings that front onto the Avenida dos Aliados, the core of the downtown area. The center of town, unlike other major Portuguese cities, which tend towards the baroque, is granite and monumental. Residents of Porto are known as Tripeiros (tripe eaters) allegedly due to the fact that the city went without meat in order to provision the the fleet that left to conquer Ceuta in North Africa in 1415 (which left from Porto) and had to subsist on tripe soup, still a specialty of the city.
Citizens of Porto, while definitely Portuguese, hold themselves apart culturally from the rest of the country, as is expressed in the often heard phrase "o Porto é uma nação" (Porto is a nation). Outsiders often consider Porto to be more crass and mercantile than the rest of the country, and less lacking in social graces. This is likely due to the fact that the city has historically been dominated by Portuguese bourgeoisie and English trading factions rather than the nobility. Tripeiros of course, disagree, regarding themselves (with some justification) as being the economic heart of the nation. As the saying goes, "Porto works, Braga Prays, Coimbra studies, and Lisbon gets the money."
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.
Whilst the local attitude is friendly, to outsiders it is worth noting that locals can respond literally to questions, which may seem slightly off-putting to the uninitiated. An example of this would be to ask in a bar if they have a menu (for food) and to receive a straight 'no' as a response; it's after further questions that one can find out that the establishment doesn't sell food - such a response is not considered rude, it is merely direct and literal.
If you speak in Spanish to a local, you will be largely understood and as a rule they will freely converse with you, but from time to time, more so with the older generation, you may be politely reminded that you are in Portugal and the native language is Portuguese.
PLACE TO VISIT
The first place to begin with is the Ribeira, the part of the city near the river, which is also a good place to start visiting the World Heritage area; to the other side of the river you will see the Ribeira de Gaia, a similar area from the city of Vila Nova de Gaia (the two are only separated by the river) and where you could find the Port Wine Cellars. Next go up to the São Francisco church and the Stock Exchange palace nearby, where you can visit the most impressive Arab room in the country. The world known Modern Art museum at Serralves and the Casa da Música (House of Music) concert hall live in the area known as Boavista. From there you can reach the amazing ocean front drive, known as "Foz". Go back to the center of the city and visit Mercado do Bolhão, a traditional market of fruits, vegetables, fish and meat. Next the Aliados and the City Hall and finally the 6 bridges connecting Porto to Gaia over the Douro river, many of them providing an excellent view to the river.
Pavilhão Rosa Mota, A multi purpose pavilion with nice gardens to rest which is calledalso known as "Palácio de Cristal". Nearby there is the Museu Romantico, a house where the king of Italy stayed while on exile. Also don't forget to see the views to the sea.
Livraria Lello,", near Praça dos Leões. It's an old Bookshop, with an amazing interior, where you can also have a coffee. Voted as one of the most beautiful bookshops in Europe
Soares dos Reis, for Art.
Photography Museum, .
Fundação de Serralves, . A contemporary Art Gallery, with a huge garden.
Porto is a mysterious city that reveals it's charm to the visitor through time. Take your time, wonder through the mazes and alleys of the city. Take in the old, bohemian spirit of the city. Hike through the Ribeira and Foz do Douro regions (the latter, at sunset). Porto may not be in every tourist's Iberian Peninsula itinerary, but it's well worth a visit if you want to see a city that has changed economically, but that has kept it's old traditions, something that is being forgotten in Europe today.
WHAT TO DO
Take a cruise upriver. Go at least as far as Pinhão - the landscape is absolutely stunning. If you choose to do this in the summer, don't forget your factor 50 sun screen! Cruises on the Douro River.
\You might also want to visit the Dragão Stadium, home of FC Porto. The team has a rich history, having won the World Club Championship or Intercontinental Cup twice, Champions League twice, UEFA Cup once and UEFA Supercup once - and the stadium is worth a visit on the architecture alone. If you are lucky you might get to see a game of the Champions League... also, just across from the stadium you have a large shopping center, according to a joke built to block the wind from affecting the stadium.
HOW TO REACH
By plane - Sá Carneiro Airport, (IATA: OPO), Also known as Aeroporto do Porto or Aeroporto de Pedras Rubras this is the third busiest airport in the country and is about 15 km from the city centre, and there are regular flights from and to almost all major worldwide cities. Just outside of the airport is the AeroBus which for 4 Euro - 2005 - takes you to Praça da Liberdade (city center) or will drop you off at the Pousada da Juventude. A similar taxi trip will cost 20 Euro. the Metro line connects the Airport to the city centre, offering a fast and peaceful ride into the heart of the city, for 1,35 Euro.
Ryanair run the cheapest flights from London Stanstead and Liverpool as well as other European hubs such as Marseille or Girona. TAP flies from most European airports but tends to be more expensive.
By train - The city is served by two major train stations, the "São Bento" (Saint Benedict) station, and the "Campanhã" station. Trains from and to Madrid and Paris are regular, other non-domestic destinations vary according to demand and time of year. Domestic trains are very frequent and usually on time. Be careful on the train from Madrid. On at least one route, the computer systems will say you need to change trains at Guillarei in northern Spain. However, Guillarei has stopped trains through Portugal since 2004. Instead, you will need to transfer to a station named Tui which is a few miles from Guillarei. The computer system hasn't been updated even though this change occurred in 2004 for some reason. You can go into Guillarei but you will need to take a taxi (cost me €5) to Tui to connect.Sao Bento station is right in the city center.
By car - The city is served by five major highways: A1, which connects Porto to Lisbon, A29 which connects Porto to Aveiro, A3 connects Porto to Braga, A28 connects Porto to Viana do Castelo and the northern Portuguese border, and A4, which goes eastwards from the city towards Vila Real. The IC29 connects Porto to the neighboring city of Gondomar. The city is also served by 2 ring highways, the A41 (still incomplete) which is the outer ring, and VCI/IC23 or A20 which connects all the main places inside the city. The A20/VCI, A28, A29 and A41 are all free highways at the moment, but there are plans to install tolls in the the latter three, sometime in the future. Generally speaking, the traffic is usually chaotic and very intense, especially during rush hours.
By bus - There are many companies providing direct bus trips from major European countries and also for most of the northern cities of the country. Try Rodonorte for timetables. Visit also Porto Bus Service.
By boat - There is a cargo and recreational harbor called Leixões in the neighboring city of Matosinhos. There is also a very small recreational harbor in the river Douro. As far as a major method of getting to the city, however, sea transport is not really feasible. You can use the boat however to go up the Douro River, one of the most fantastic trips you'll ever make.
