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Friday, June 8, 2012
New York Times Suggests
The city of Porto goes now much beyond the wine that made it famous – Port Wine. In Portugal’s second largest city you can visit its prestigious past, but also try some of its bustling, rich and attractive present, featuring entertainment, architecture, and spreading towards the Douro region that presents a singular wine-inspired offer. These are the views of the New York Times, publishing a proposal to enjoy the city along 36 hours.
With the help of this Tourism Portal we invite you to get to know this New York Times proposal better, as well as its most significant items.
Come along!
Friday, end of the afternoon
From Porto’s Historical Area leaves the typical tram for a sightseeing tour alongside the river Douro up to the Passeio Alegre Garden. A pleasant walk awaits you up to reach the Atlantic. By the sea you will be able to enjoy a well-deserved pause at the Shis restaurant’s terrace, with a magnificent view.
At dinner, forget your diet and try a Francesinha, a specialty from Porto cooked by the DOP restaurant with the highest quality and in an innovative way, besides other equally extraordinary dishes, paired with an excellent wine selection.
To cheer up your night after a delicious meal you will find some meters down the street the Hard Club, settled in the renewed Ferreira Borges Market, featuring music and shows of various kinds.
Saturday
Begin your day paying a visit to the most emblematic market in the city - the Bolhão Market, a building with an exquisite structure where you will find all kinds of fresh products in the most traditional environment.
Leaving the city centre towards the Boavista area you will pass by the Miguel Bombarda quarter, where you will find many different galleries, shops and restaurants under the arts theme, offering appealing alternatives. One of them is the restaurant Bugo Art Burgers, where hamburgers seem “culinary collages made with local materials”, exposing original ways to cook them and present them.
In the afternoon it’s shopping time, but in a different shopping centre, sophisticated and innovative, mostly dedicated to Portuguese independent creators - Bombarda Shopping Centre – also located within the arts quarter.
Once in the Boavista area the Casa da Música won’t leave you indifferent. This is a meteorite that landed on the city, comprising a set of whorls and angles, and presenting an architectural work of art and a music Mecca where you can appreciate superb performances.
For dinner, the suggestion takes place back in the city centre, focused on a literary restaurant - Book, opened recently and offering new Portuguese cuisine - already a bestseller.
When the night falls you must join the group. Around the Clérigos quarter there are many bars where groups of different ages and styles meet, providing a pleasant gathering throughout the night. At this time, streets like Cândido dos Reis become the meeting point in Porto.
Sunday morning
In the Serralves Foundation you will find art everywhere: the Serralves Park, the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Serralves Villa.
When you visit Porto you can’t miss going to the Port Wine Cellars. In Sandeman Cellars, one of the many Cellars open to the general public, you can get to know the history of Port Wine and taste this delicious and famous wine.
Near the cellars you will also find the wine hotel The Yeatman, providing different kinds of exclusive and high quality services under the wine theme, with special mention to the The Yeatman restaurant and theSpa Vinothérapie® Caudalie.
Porto also comprises varied accommodation options for different preferences and prices.
Try this tour
Check here the suggested tour, make your own visit guide and enjoy yourself!
Font: CM Porto
Porto’s São João
Enjoy Porto’s São João
In the Churches and Chapels, and particularly at this time, visitors can tour the altars dedicated to the saint and admire the artistic representations conjured up by renowned national and international artists.
In the streets, the ‘cascatas’ (cascades), unique in Portugal, call the attention of passers-by to a tradition that involves the representation, in miniature, of scenes from around the city and customs from times gone by. They include houses, paths traced out in sand and moss, clay figurines, painted in lively colours, of people going about their daily business, working at their professions, many of which have now disappeared, and animals that, these days, are rarely seen inside the city. The most famous of these is the cascata das Fontaínhas.
The festival programme has space for competitive activities too, such as the now traditional regatta of ‘rabelo’ (port wine) boats which runs over a 1.5 km course from Foz do Douro to the Luís I Bridge. There are also activities along the riverside and more competition in the form of the S. João race and the contests for best cascata, shop window, ‘rusga’ (parade) and popular poetry celebrating S. João.
The night of the 23 June is the most jubilant of the year. Crowds of people come out onto the streets to celebrate this patron saint of amours. In the ‘Baixa’ area the streets ring out with the cries of the sellers of the traditional basil plants, carnations, lemon verbena, “leeks” and the modern hammers that are used to dole out friendly whacks on the head to passers-by and which spread like wildfire throughout the city from early on in the day, acting as harbingers of the fun that is coming later on. The S. João bonfires are set alight in the streets, by groups of neighbours and friends who prove their bravery by jumping right over the top of them. At midnight on the 23 June, there are fireworks, or São João’s fire, on the river. The banks of the Douro fill up with thousands of spectators who have come to watch the biggest show of the year, bursting with light, colour and emotion.
The traditional S. João balloons, made out of paper and brightly coloured, are carefully launched into the sky, providing an unparalleled spectacle of hundreds of ascending points of light.
On the Feast night or on the day of S. João, people eat ‘caldo verde’ soup with cornbread, mutton, lamb or grilled sardines, pepper salad and, for dessert, egg and milk custard or S. João cake, deservedly washed down by a delicious Port Wine.
The night of S. João comes to a close at Foz do Douro, with people rowing out towards the sea until the dawn breaks.
Come and have fun with us. Porto awaits you!
In the Churches and Chapels, and particularly at this time, visitors can tour the altars dedicated to the saint and admire the artistic representations conjured up by renowned national and international artists.
In the streets, the ‘cascatas’ (cascades), unique in Portugal, call the attention of passers-by to a tradition that involves the representation, in miniature, of scenes from around the city and customs from times gone by. They include houses, paths traced out in sand and moss, clay figurines, painted in lively colours, of people going about their daily business, working at their professions, many of which have now disappeared, and animals that, these days, are rarely seen inside the city. The most famous of these is the cascata das Fontaínhas.
The festival programme has space for competitive activities too, such as the now traditional regatta of ‘rabelo’ (port wine) boats which runs over a 1.5 km course from Foz do Douro to the Luís I Bridge. There are also activities along the riverside and more competition in the form of the S. João race and the contests for best cascata, shop window, ‘rusga’ (parade) and popular poetry celebrating S. João.
The night of the 23 June is the most jubilant of the year. Crowds of people come out onto the streets to celebrate this patron saint of amours. In the ‘Baixa’ area the streets ring out with the cries of the sellers of the traditional basil plants, carnations, lemon verbena, “leeks” and the modern hammers that are used to dole out friendly whacks on the head to passers-by and which spread like wildfire throughout the city from early on in the day, acting as harbingers of the fun that is coming later on. The S. João bonfires are set alight in the streets, by groups of neighbours and friends who prove their bravery by jumping right over the top of them. At midnight on the 23 June, there are fireworks, or São João’s fire, on the river. The banks of the Douro fill up with thousands of spectators who have come to watch the biggest show of the year, bursting with light, colour and emotion.
The traditional S. João balloons, made out of paper and brightly coloured, are carefully launched into the sky, providing an unparalleled spectacle of hundreds of ascending points of light.
On the Feast night or on the day of S. João, people eat ‘caldo verde’ soup with cornbread, mutton, lamb or grilled sardines, pepper salad and, for dessert, egg and milk custard or S. João cake, deservedly washed down by a delicious Port Wine.
The night of S. João comes to a close at Foz do Douro, with people rowing out towards the sea until the dawn breaks.
Come and have fun with us. Porto awaits you!
Font: CM Porto
Thursday, June 7, 2012
History
Early history
The history of Porto dates back to the 4th century, to the Roman occupation of theIberian Peninsula. Celtic and Proto-Celtic ruins have been discovered in several areas, and their occupation has been dated to about 275 BC. During the Roman occupation, the city developed as an important commercial port, primarily in the trade between Olissipona (the modern Lisbon) and Bracara Augusta (the modern Braga)
Porto fell under the control of the Moors during the invasion of the Iberian Peninsula inAD 711. In 868, Vímara Peres, a Christian warlord from Gallaecia, and a vassal of the King of Asturias, Léon and Galicia, Alfonso III, was sent to reconquer and secure the lands from the Moors. This included the area from the Minho to the Douro River: the settlement of Portus Cale and the area that is today known as Vila Nova de Gaia. Portus Cale, later referred to as Portucale, was the origin for the modern name ofPortugal. In 868 Count Vímara Peres established the First County of Portugal, or (Portuguese: Condado de Portucale), usually known as Condado Portucalense after reconquering the region north of Douro.
In 1387, Porto was the site of the marriage of John I of Portugal and Philippa of Lancaster, daughter of John of Gaunt; this symbolized a long-standing military alliance between Portugal and England. The Portuguese-English alliance,(see the Treaty of Windsor (1386)) is the world's oldest recorded military alliance.
In the 14th and the 15th centuries, Porto's shipyards contributed to the development of Portuguese shipbuilding. It was also from the port of Porto that, in 1415, Prince Henry the Navigator (son of John I of Portugal) embarked on the conquest of the Moorish port of Ceuta, in northern Morocco. This expedition by the King and his fleet, which counted amongst others Prince Henry, was followed by navigation and exploration along the western coast of Africa, initiating the Portuguese Age of Discovery. The nickname given to the people of Porto began in those days; Portuenses are to this day, colloquially, referred to as tripeiros (English: tripe peoples), referring to this period of history, when higher-quality cuts of meat were shipped from Porto with their sailors, while off-cuts and by-products, such as tripe, were left behind for the citizens of Porto: tripe remains a culturally important dish in modern day Porto.
18th century
Between 1732 and 1763, Italian architect Nicolau Nasoni designed a baroque church with a tower that would become its architectural and visual icon: the Torre dos Clérigos(English: Clerics Tower). During the 18th and 19th centuries the city became an important industrial centre and saw its size and population increase.
19th century
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| Porto Cathedral |
Porto fell under the control of the Moors during the invasion of the Iberian Peninsula inAD 711. In 868, Vímara Peres, a Christian warlord from Gallaecia, and a vassal of the King of Asturias, Léon and Galicia, Alfonso III, was sent to reconquer and secure the lands from the Moors. This included the area from the Minho to the Douro River: the settlement of Portus Cale and the area that is today known as Vila Nova de Gaia. Portus Cale, later referred to as Portucale, was the origin for the modern name ofPortugal. In 868 Count Vímara Peres established the First County of Portugal, or (Portuguese: Condado de Portucale), usually known as Condado Portucalense after reconquering the region north of Douro.
In 1387, Porto was the site of the marriage of John I of Portugal and Philippa of Lancaster, daughter of John of Gaunt; this symbolized a long-standing military alliance between Portugal and England. The Portuguese-English alliance,(see the Treaty of Windsor (1386)) is the world's oldest recorded military alliance.
In the 14th and the 15th centuries, Porto's shipyards contributed to the development of Portuguese shipbuilding. It was also from the port of Porto that, in 1415, Prince Henry the Navigator (son of John I of Portugal) embarked on the conquest of the Moorish port of Ceuta, in northern Morocco. This expedition by the King and his fleet, which counted amongst others Prince Henry, was followed by navigation and exploration along the western coast of Africa, initiating the Portuguese Age of Discovery. The nickname given to the people of Porto began in those days; Portuenses are to this day, colloquially, referred to as tripeiros (English: tripe peoples), referring to this period of history, when higher-quality cuts of meat were shipped from Porto with their sailors, while off-cuts and by-products, such as tripe, were left behind for the citizens of Porto: tripe remains a culturally important dish in modern day Porto.
Wine, produced in the Douro valley, was already in the 13th century transported to Porto in barcos rabelos (flat sailing vessels). In 1703 the Methuen Treaty established the trade relations between Portugal and England. In 1717, a first English trading post was established in Porto. The production of port wine then gradually passed into the hands of a few English firms. To counter this English dominance, Prime MinisterMarquis of Pombal established a Portuguese firm receiving the monopoly of the wines from the Douro valley. He demarcated the region for production of port, to ensure the wine's quality; this was the first attempt to control wine quality and production inEurope. The small winegrowers revolted against his strict policies on Shrove Tuesday, burning down the buildings of this firm. The revolt was called Revolta dos Borrachos(revolt of the drunks).
Between 1732 and 1763, Italian architect Nicolau Nasoni designed a baroque church with a tower that would become its architectural and visual icon: the Torre dos Clérigos(English: Clerics Tower). During the 18th and 19th centuries the city became an important industrial centre and saw its size and population increase.
19th century
The invasion of the Napoleonic troops in Portugal under Marshal Soult also brought war to the city of Porto. On 29 March 1809, as the population fled from the advancing troops and tried to cross the river Douro over the Ponte das Barcas (a pontoon bridge), the bridge collapsed under the weight. This event is still remembered by a plate at thePonte D. Luis I. The French army was rooted out of Porto by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, when his troops crossed the Douro river from the Mosteiro da Serra do Pilar (a former convent) in a brilliant daylight coup de main, using wine barges to transport the troops, so outflanking the French Army. In August 1820, Porto rebelled against the English presence. A Civil War took place in early 20's between those supporting Constitutionalism and a change of regime, and those opposed to this change, keen on near-absolutism and led by D.Miguel. In 1822, a liberal constitution was accepted, partly through the efforts of the liberal assembly of Porto (Junta do Porto). When Miguel of Portugal took the Portuguese throne in 1828, he rejected this constitution and reigned as an absolutist monarch. Porto rebelled again and had to undergo a siege of eighteen months between 1832 and 1833 by the absolutist army. Porto is also called "Cidade Invicta" (English: Unvanquished City) after resisting theMiguelist siege. After the abdication of King Miguel, the liberal constitution was re-established.
Known as the city of bridges, Porto built its first permanent bridge, the Ponte das Barcas (a pontoon bridge), in 1806. Three years later it was sabotaged. It was replaced by the Ponte D. Maria II, popularised under the name Ponte Pênsil (suspended bridge) and built between 1841–43; only its supporting pylons have remained.
The Ponte D. Maria, a railway bridge, was inaugurated the 4th of November of that same year; it was considered a feat of wrought iron engineering and was designed by Gustave Eiffel, notable for his Parisian tower. The later Ponte Dom Luís I replaced the aforementioned Ponte Pênsil. This last bridge was made by Teophile Seyrig, a former partner of Eiffel. Seyrig won a governmental competition that took place in 1879. Building began in 1881 and the bridge was opened to the public on 31 October 1886.
Unrest by Republicans led to a revolt in Porto on 31 January 1891. This would result ultimately in the creation of the Portuguese Republic in 1910.
A higher learning institution in nautical sciences (Aula de Náutica, 1762) and a stock exchange (Bolsa do Porto, 1834) were established in the city, but would be discontinued later.
Known as the city of bridges, Porto built its first permanent bridge, the Ponte das Barcas (a pontoon bridge), in 1806. Three years later it was sabotaged. It was replaced by the Ponte D. Maria II, popularised under the name Ponte Pênsil (suspended bridge) and built between 1841–43; only its supporting pylons have remained.
The Ponte D. Maria, a railway bridge, was inaugurated the 4th of November of that same year; it was considered a feat of wrought iron engineering and was designed by Gustave Eiffel, notable for his Parisian tower. The later Ponte Dom Luís I replaced the aforementioned Ponte Pênsil. This last bridge was made by Teophile Seyrig, a former partner of Eiffel. Seyrig won a governmental competition that took place in 1879. Building began in 1881 and the bridge was opened to the public on 31 October 1886.
Unrest by Republicans led to a revolt in Porto on 31 January 1891. This would result ultimately in the creation of the Portuguese Republic in 1910.
A higher learning institution in nautical sciences (Aula de Náutica, 1762) and a stock exchange (Bolsa do Porto, 1834) were established in the city, but would be discontinued later.
20th century
The historic centre of Porto was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1996. The World Heritage site is defined in two concentric zones; the "Protected area", and within it the "Classified area". The Classified area comprises the medieval borough located inside the 14th-century Romanesque wall. In 1958 and 1960, Porto's streets hosted the Formula One Portuguese Grand Prix.
Font: Wikipedia
How to arrive
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| Underground line E |
If you come to Porto by plain you will arrive in Francisco Sá Carneiro airport. You must take a taxi or the underground to drive you to the center of the city, the underground is cheaper then taxi and will let you in the center town. you must follow in the airport the subway indicators and take the line "E" purple collour with the direction Dragon Stadium and travel in to the station Trindade, here you can take other directions.To buy your ticket to travel you must search the tickets machine and buy a Z4 ticket to travel from airport to the center.
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| Validation spot |
The Gold Andante is for monthly passes, you probably won't need them except if you intend to stay in Porto longer than a month. It costs 5,00€ (only the card) plus the monthly pass cost.
The Blue Andante is for single trips or Andante24 (valid for 24h and a certain number of zones) purchases. The card itself costs 0,50€ and you can buy it in the machines placed in metro stations, andante stores, train stations and quiosks. Don't forget: 2 or more persons can't use the same ticket at the same time! 1 person = 1 ticket! Counting the right number of zones can be very tricky sometimes and there are heavy fines for people caught with the wrong ticket. You'll probably need only Z2 tickets for the tourist zones but be careful anyway."
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