Porto is situated 300 km from Lisbon and to go to Porto take the A1 highway up to the Carvalhos toll and then follow theIC 2 to Gaia, the exit is at Santo Ovídioto, get to the Republic avenue at Gaia. You continue straight ahead and at the bottom, there is a magnificent view over the city of Porto.
Porto is Portugal's second city, it has a population of 300 000 inhabitants, and has a suburb with more than a million people, it is known to be the capital of the North. Porto is situated on the right bank of the Douro, the mythical river which crosses one of the most beautiful regions of Portugal and on which were formerly transported barrels filled with Porto wine from the producing region. The city is both modern and ancient, it has magnificent monuments, beautiful museums, gardens, good restaurants, comfortable hotels, and there are regularly large exhibitions and concerts. We can now say that Porto has a very intense social life. The historic centre of the city was classified as UNESCO World Heritage in 1996, and in 2001, Porto was proclaimed with Rotterdam, European capital of culture.
Porto is in the centre of a very important industrial area in particular for metal industry, shoes, furniture, textile (textile industry), silver trade and the transformation of cork.
Porto has nothing to do with Lisbon, we cannot compare them because they are very different. Most of the monuments in Porto are granite which makes its atmospheredarker than if they were built in white stone. Some people say that Porto is rough, rustic, dark, all this may be true but it has a very special charm. It is necessary to go there with an open mind.
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The city was born on the edge of the river where there is now the district of Miragaia prior to the Roman occupation. The village was called "Portus" because it was the port of "Cale" belonging to the village situated across on the left bank where the people coming from the south crossed the river to continue northwards. In the course of time, the village on the right bank was known under the name of "Portus de Cale" and developed rather quickly. Later the Romans settled down on the hill where there is now a cathedral. The "Suebi" arrived in 417 and built the first fortified walls of the city. Then, in 716 the Moors arrived and the Christian conquest took place in 868. The city was already called "Portucale" and it became the most important city in the country that then took the name: "Portucalense". Later, the same name was given to the new kingdom that was independent in 1143, and later the country changed its name again to Portugal. In 1120 the city was given to bishop D.Hugo and his successors. It created problems with the kings because the city was very rich.
In the 15th century, the King gave it its independence and there was no city in Portugal that possessed more boats. Other fortified walls were built, and king D.João I settled down there several times. He got married in the cathedral and prince D.Henrique the Navigator, patron father of the Portuguese discoveries, was born in Porto. This prince organized a big fleet in Porto. This fleet went to join the one in Lisbon and together, they left to conquer the city of Ceuta in North Africa in 1415. The name given to the people of Porto "Tripeiros" (tripe eaters) comes from that time, when the king asked the people of the city to give the sailors who left for North Africa everything they could and they gave all their food keeping only the tripes for themselves.
That is why one of the city's most traditional dishes is "tripas à moda do Porto".
Porto not only participated in the Portuguese maritime enterprise with labor but also with large sums of money.
Thanks to the Port wine business, the city was well developed at the end of the 18th century. Many English store keepers settled down in Porto and created buildings which modernized the city. In 1809 Porto was the scene of a disaster when the fleeing population rushed on the pontoon bridge which connected the two banks because Napoleon's army was entering the city.
In 1820 a liberal revolution began in Porto, and it only ended in 1832 with the landing of king D.Pedro IV in Mindelo. That's why the king left his heart to the city (church da Lapa) which was never conquered (Invicta cidade do Porto). In 1891 an unsuccessful revolution took place in Porto, but it announced the republican revolution of 1910. Afterwards, the other economic, social and political movements that took place in Porto reinforced the importance of this city in Portugal.
Porto is known to be the city of bridges.
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Maria Pia |
Arrábida |
São João |
Infante |
- Ponte de Maria Pia, also known under the name of the Eiffel bridge because it was built by Eiffel. It was inaugurated in 1877, is 354 m long and was a railway bridge. It is now closed.
- Ponte Dom Luís I was built in 1886 by a Belgian company, 172 m and has 2 roadways. This bridge is now a pedestrian bridge.
- Ponte da Arrábida was inaugurated in 1963, is 270 m long and is a road bridge, built by a Portuguese architect.
- Ponte de S.João, a railway bridge built in 1992 to replace the Eiffel bridge.
- Ponte do Freixo, a road bridge inaugurated in 1995.
- Ponte Infante D.Henrique inaugurated in 2003.
