Being located in the rather well-known Duoro port-wine region of Portugal, the city of Porto or Oporto as it is very oftentimes referred to as, is the second-largest city in Portugal and wildly different from the country’s capital. Lisbon is a very elegant place, focused on showing off its assets, Porto on the other hand is a busy industrial and commercial center, it’s a much more down to earth type of place.

Porto – A place with a rich history

And a varied array of sights and attractions

Porto Sightseeing

The city of Porto is not only responsible for naming a world renown type of wine after it but also the entire country is named after it. Centuries ago, the Lusitanian settlement of Cale was on one side of the Duoro and the Roman settlement of Portus was on the other and they were known as Portus-Cale. In time the two settlements merged and the resulting town acted as the capital or the Portucale lands between the Rio Duoro and Rio Minho. After the Reconquista the entire kingdom took the name of Portugal.

While it is highly likely that you will be landing in Porto for your trip there, if you happen to already be in the country and in a nearby city, you should definitely consider approaching the city via the Duoro train line or river cruise. Both of these options will take you through extremely beautiful scenery and most tourists would consider them an end in themselves. Regardless of the method that you will choose to get in the city, once you reach Porto you’ll see how active the city is, especially if you’re coming from Lisbon. There’s a local saying which boils down the characteristic of Portugal’s main cities which says: “Coimbra studies, Braga plays, Lisbon shows off and Porto works”.

The commercial success of the city is very well attested to through the five spectacular bridges which span the Rio Duoro. The Ponte Luis I joins the main town with the suburb of Vila Nova de Gaia – this is where the port wine lodges can be found and as a result this is where many tourist head to first.

However one must keep in mind that Porto is a rather ancient city and it features quite a few ancient monuments which are also of great interest to visitors. The place is very interesting to see especially from the architectural point of view because it features a mix of styles, with the medieval and the modern coexisting side by side.

One example of medieval architecture is the 16th century Capela ou Emida de Sao Miguel-O-Anjo. This monument was built on a rocky island in the river. On the inside the building is octagonal in shape but the chapel has a traditional cupola featuring spiral stairs to its top.

On the other hand, examples of modern architecture can be found especially when it comes to Porto’s commercial centers which are extremely varied and always busy, keeping in line with the city’s reputation.

Of course this short description doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of what it would be to visit Porto, the best you can hope for is to get some good Porto car hire services so that you can have a car at your disposal in order to better explore the city and all of its offerings on your own schedule.