Porto

Porto, the country's second largest city, which was the European capital of culture in 2001 (along with Rotterdam, in the Netherlands), is in itself full of interest, but the district it heads, though largely industrialised, offers the visitor plenty to see.
Along the coast, holiday resorts like the cosmopolitan beach of Espinho, busy ports like Matosinhos, with splendid seafood, or traditional fishing towns like Póvoa de Varzim, but where there is also an excellent casino.
Inland, for example, the quaint charm of Amarante, with 17th century mansions overlooking the river and famous for a kind of sweet egg pastries called "papos de anjo" (angel bellies).

Right next to Porto in Vila Nova de Gaia, you can visit the lodges where Port wine is blended and aged and where you can taste the different varieties, or you may choose to take a river cruise along the Douro.
The whole district is filled with prosperous towns, as commerce and industry thrive there, but you can drive along many calm roads with wonderful views over the river or enjoy a rugged and still unspoilt coastline.

The historic centre of Porto was designated an UNESCO World Heritage site in 1996. Porto's cathedral and the Torre dos Clérigos are some of the outstanding monuments that you can see in this northern city.
The mild and moist climate, make Porto a good place to visit in summertime, unlike the winter, when temperatures can go below 0 (zero) degrees.

Places to see

Old Relação Prison (Porto)
The Old Relação Prison is located on the Mártires da Pátria Field and was rebuilt under the classical style in 1765. Famous Portuguese personalities passed through this prison’s cells. It’s the case of Camilo Castelo Branco that wrote on a cell his famous romance "Amor de Perdição".

Comercial Restaurant (Porto)
This is one of the city’s ex-libris and it was founded in 1849. Its magnificent interior atmospheres, composed by stained glass windows, mirrors and artistic furniture, used to invite the clients to have there their business or social meetings.
By the final sixties it was turned into a teahouse and cake shop, but it still maintains the original façade.

Porto Wine Institute Building (Porto)
On the building that works as the headquarters of the Porto Wine Institute the highlights are the marble memorial stones that evoke determinant dates and facts of this wine’s history, the images related to the wine, the Noble Saloon and the library.

S. Lázaro’s Garden (Porto)
The S. Lázaro’s Garden is the most ancient municipal garden in all Porto. The idea of creating the garden was born in 1833, as a result of ending a fair that took place there.
Undergoing several changes, it managed to maintain some aspects considered a distinctive mark. It’s the case of the marble fountain, in times gone by belonging to the S. Domingos convent, of the railing and the four gates that surround it, the romantic bandstand and some of the oldest trees of this city.

Passeio Alegre Garden (Porto)
This real masterpiece, that took 20 years to built, was carefully designed by Emílio David.
The palm trees lane, where sometimes the wind takes a walk, is one of the places blessed by natural beauty.
The Passeio Alegre Garden has its own personality. Plane trees cohabit peacefully with the disorder of the palm trees that wave with the sensual sea breeze. The araucarias all "dressed up" celebrate daily a festival of undeniable beauty.
At the eternal remain promises made by the ocean, in a garden of extreme splendour and beauty.

Sanfins Citânia (Paços de Ferreira)
The Sanfins Citânia (ruins of a Roman or Pre-Roman settlement in Portugal) remounts to the 2nd century BC, representing one of the most important archaeological stations in the Peninsular Northwest. The walled in area presents a remarkable urbane organisation with a regular structure.

Municipal Museum (Paços de Ferreira)
The Municipal Museum is located in the old building of the town-hall and consists in a space where the memory of the arts and offices of the local culture, specially the furniture industry (main local industry), is exposed.

S. Vicente Spa (Penafiel)
The S. Vicente Spa is located about 43 km from Porto, being recommended to respiratory and circulation problems.
On this area, besides a quality hotel resort, one can find a municipal swimming pool and a tennis court, and enjoy unforgettable and relaxing holidays.

Our Lady of Bom Despacho Church (Maia)
This church dates from 1738 and it’s one of the most beautiful temples of all Porto. Its beauty is confirmed by the unity of the architectural and adornment elements. This church has remarkable exemplary carved in gold, a Malta cross and a magnificent stained glass window of Our Lady of Bom Despacho.

Bow’s House or the Five Miller’s House (Maia)
The Bow’s House is located near the bridge, by the Leça River. Built on the 18th century, it surprises the visitor by the granitic magnificence and it shelters, in the interior, the five millers that gave it name. These millers, in spite of not working anymore, still offer a truly wonderful scene.

Abade Pedrosa Municipal Museum (Santo Tirso)
This museum, settled on the conventual aisle of the old Benedictine Monastery, it’s composed by four rooms dedicated to archaeology. One can find in exhibition material evidences of ancient cultures and civilisations of the county, since the pre-history to the Middle Age.
It’s opened from Tuesday to Friday, between 9h00 and 12h30 and from 14h00 to 17h30, and on Saturdays and Sundays from 14h00 to 18h00.