Tourist information for Porto Portugal

Porto - The world heritage site in Portugal

Portugal's second-largest city is a vibrant contrast to Lisbon: while the capital revels in its elegance, Porto is brawny and hard working, its people down-to-earth and wel- coming. Proud Portoenses recite an old say- ing: 'Coimbra sings, Braga prays, Lisbon shows off and Porto works.

Traditionally mocked by Lisboetas as tripeiros, they refer to the southerners in turn as alfacinhas. Porto -only foreigners call it Oporto (The Port) -is the country's most important manufacturing and commercial centre, but its sleeves-up reputation belies its considerable charm.

Built on granite bluffs above the Douro River, its heart is a 19th century tangle of lanes tumbling down to the river. The riverside is a beguiling blend of fishing
quarter and tourist trap. Straddling the river are six dramatic bridges to Porto's 'other half', Vila Nova de Gaia, historic home of the port-wine lodges and the city's biggest tourist draw.

Perhaps to Porto's own surprise, its grimy old centre was in 1996 designated a Unesco World Heritage site, and the area has bristled with gantries ever since. An underground railway system is under construction too, adding to the maddening chaos in the city's narrow streets. Porto has build a new stadium and renovate another for the 2004 European Football Championships.

You'll need a minimum of two days to soak up the atmosphere and the port wine.
This is also a natural place from which to explore not only the beautiful Douro valley but a host of attractive towns in the Minho, all easIly accessIble by train or bus.