Top Attractions - Portugal

Attractions - Lisbon

Porto, Portugal

Portugal’s second-largest city, Porto retains all the ambience of a riverside community, keeping alive ancient traditions. The town is named on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, while being the country’s most important commercial and manufacturing area. It is built on steep granite hills overlooking the River Douro, with a mass of 19th-century narrow streets and alleys at its heart. The river is straddled by five dramatic bridges that connect the town with the Vila Nova de Gaia area, traditional home of the port-wine lodges and Porto’s largest tourist attraction. Theatres, live music of all kinds, bars, nightclubs, cafés and restaurants all contribute to make this a thriving, dynamic city that no visitor to Portugal should miss.

The Riverside area of Ribeira is an enchanting combination of old-fashioned fishing district, elegant restaurants and smoky bars. Stroll by the River Douro and visit the bustling downtown area. Explore the shadowy lanes and grimy cobbled alleys. Must-sees include the 12th-century cathedral, the Clerigos tower and church, the astonishingly ornate church of Sao Francisco and the church of Carmo with its stunning tiled facades. Take a river cruise and experience the town’s five bridges from a river perspective, boarding in the Ribeira or near the Ponte de Dom Luis I at Vila Nova de Gaia. Join in the hustle and bustle of the Mercado do Bolhao, a lively street market in the town centre.

C heck out the excellent collections at the Museu Nacional Soares dos Reis. Porto’s finest museum is housed in an 18th-century mansion in the former Palacio das Carrancas on Rua de Dom Manuel II. Its highlights include works by Soares dos Reis, the 19th-century sculptor and his pupil Teixeira Lopes, a fine collection of Bohemian glass, Vista Alegre porcelain and the naturalist paintings of the 19th-century artists of the Porto School. Porto is also a natural base from which to explore the wonderful Douro valley with its vine-clad terraced slopes and picturesque towns.

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