Top Things to Do in Porto (Oporto), Home of Port

Portugal's Second City Highlights Include Port Wine Cellar Tours

Sep 29, 2009

Porto, or Oporto, in Portugal is a great city break destination, thanks to cheap flights from Ryanair. The best things to do include tours of the port wine cellars.

Porto, near the mouth of the Douro River, is Portugal's second-biggest city and an increasingly popular city break holiday destination. This has been boosted by an expanding network of Ryanair cheap flights to and from many other European cities. Renowned for its port wine cellars, many of which can be visited, Porto's historic centre is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Porto's varied attractions include its wonderful riverside setting, beautiful bridges, ancient churches, a cathedral, buildings brilliantly decorated with colorful tiles, the impressive FC Porto football stadium, some good fado clubs and other nightlife, museums, and a definite charm and character all its own.

Some of the Best Things to Do in Porto are:

1. Visit the Port Houses

Porto's famous port houses are not actually in Porto but on the far side of the river across the Ponte de Dom Luis I bridge in the adjoining but separate city of Vila Nova de Gaia. Famous port names like Taylor's, Croft, Fonseca, and Sandeman crop up everywhere, and many have cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia that can be toured.

One of the best port cellar tours is at Taylor's Port (Rua do Choupelo 250, Tel: (+ 351) 223 742 800), not least for its exceptional restaurant, renowned as one of the best in town. Taylor's has been making port in Portugal since 1692, and is still regarded as the best of the port houses for fine vintage ports, winning many awards in wine competitions worldwide.

2. Walk Across the Dom Luis Bridge

The Dom Luis I Bridge connects Porto with Vila Nova de Gaia, where the port houses are. It is one of the most photographed subjects in Porto. It has been carrying traffic and pedestrians between the two cities since it opened in 1886. The engineer was Teófilo Seyrig, who had previously worked in Porto with Gustav Eiffel, who designed the 1877 Maria Pia Bridge, a little further along the Douro and another impressive Porto sight.

3. See the Stadium of the Dragons

Whether visiting FC Porto's Estadio Do Dragao for a football match or just admiring it from outside, the stadium is an impressive piece of sport architecture.

4. Listen to Fado Music

Many Porto restaurants and clubs feature Portugal's mournful fado music, with one of the best-known being the Restaurante Tipico O Fado (16 Largo de Sao Joao Novo, tel (+351) 222 026 937).

5. Walk Round the Historic Centre of Porto

Porto's Historic Centre was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1996 and described as an outstanding urban landscape with a 2,000-year history. Highlights include the city's cathedral, the neoclassical Stock Exchange Palace, and the Church of Santa Clara, one of many outstanding old churches.

Ryanair Cheap Flights to Porto

Porto has become one of budget airline Ryanair's major airports in southern Europe. There are cheap flights to and from Porto from a range of European cities. At the time of writing there are flights to Porto on Ryanair from:

Other destinations with Ryanair flights to Porto include Basel, Brussels, Eindhoven, Faro, Gran Canaria, and Tenerife South.

Where to Stay in Porto

The Pestana Porto Hotel is considered the best in Porto, right by the river in two historic buildings, with some rooms having spectacular river views.

In June 2010 the new luxury Yeatman Hotel will be opening next to the Taylor's Cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia. All rooms here will have terraces and fabulous views across the Douro to the historic centre of Porto.