Porto

Introduction

Porto, D. Luis bridge

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Porto, also called Oporto in English, is a city along the northwestern coastline of Portugal and is the second biggest city in the country, with over 1.5 million inhabitants in the metropolitan area, but just about 250,000 in the city itself.

Neighbourhoods

Sights and Activities

• Visit Porto wine cellars and port cellars
• Dining in restaurants on the riverside.
• Go for dinner and to listen Fados (typical Portuguese music).
• Douro Valley

Events and Festivals

Weather

Porto has a nice and warm climate with warm summers from June to September when temperatures average between 23 °C and 26 °C degrees Celsius. Nights are around 15 °C degrees. Occasionally, temperatures hit 38 °C degrees. Winters last from December to March, when daytime temperatures are between 13 °C and 17 °C degrees and nights rather chilly with around 5 °C degrees. Most of the rain falls during the wintermonths while summers are dry with only some showers now and then.

Getting There

By Plane

TAP Portugal and Portugália Airlines both have flights to and from Porto Airport (OPO), with a growing number of other airlines having services throughout Europe as well. Destinations include Faro, Madeira, Porto Santo, Lisbon and the Azores. TAP flies to a number of European cities as well. Low-cost carrier Ryanair flies to most destinations, a few dozen throughout Europe. There are also direct flights to Montreal and Toronto.

To/from the airport
The airport is served by Line E of the Porto Metro, linking it to downtown Porto, pendolino trains and Estádio do Dragão, and by transfer to other urban centres of Greater Porto: in Verdes station to Vila do Conde and Póvoa de Varzim (using line B), Fonte do Cuco station to Maia (line C), and Senhora da Hora station to Matosinhos (line A). Taxis and STCP buses also link the airport and the city. There is also a bus service to/from Vigo (in Galicia, Spain) twice a day on weekdays, and once a day during the weekend.

By Train

Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses has an extensive network of train links throughout the country.
There are fast links with speeds well over 200 km/h from Porto to Coimbra and Lisbon.

By Car

By Bus

Contact Rede Nacional de Expressos for more information about prices and schedules to and from Porto.

By Boat

Getting Around

By Car

By Public Transport

Porto Metro provides an efficient lightrail/subway system in the city, while STCP provides bus connections to many areas, including many ones which aren't served by lightrail/subway.
This is a cable railway system. Use this if you don't wish to walk up the steep streets of Porto. This system connects the Ribeira to the Batalha square, in the city centre.

By Foot

Much of central Porto, including the area directly across the river where you'll find some good port cellars, is easily navigated on foot.

By Bike

Eat

• Malcocinhado
• Cafe Embaixador
• Local Pasteis de Nata (custard tarts)
• Bella Roma

Drink

Sleep

Budget

Mid-Range

• Hotel Peninsular - Rua Sa da Bandeira 21

Upscale

Work

Learn

• University of Porto

Keep Connected

Internet

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

Post

Post offices (correios) have varying opening hours, but in general post offices are open on weekdays from 08:30-18:00 and on Saturday mornings until 12:30. More information about offices, costs and other details can be found at the CTT Portuguese Post website. It's a relatively efficient but also relatively slow postal service. Costs for sending a standard letter/postcard are €0.32 within Portugal, €0.68 within Europe and €0.80 outside Europe.

External Links

• Official Website