Porto Overview

Overview

Built on the right bank of the Douro river, Oporto (or Porto) is a city where the old features contrast with the new. Its winding, hilly, narrow streets in the old town are a complement to its wide modern avenues which spread out to the suburbs. As capital of the north, Porto is very unpretentious and unashamedly commercial. As a Portuguese saying goes: "Lisbon shows off, Braga prays, Coimbra studies and Porto works".

That this saying is true you will immediately recognize. For the year 2001 Porto shares the title of the "European Capital of Culture" with Rotterdam in the Netherlands. It seems that the people of Porto thought that 2002 would be their turn, because the whole city still is full of construction sites and roadworks. There is dust and noise everywhere, but still, Porto is a fascinating city with lots of unknown treasures to discover by just strolling around.

Here, at the delta of the Douro River, the second heart of Port wine beats. The wines, that are produced in several "quintas" up the river on step hills, are here bottled and shipped to all over the world. Vila Nova de Gaia, the city opposite of Porto on the left bank of the River, is the home to all the famous Port wine companies like Taylors, Dows, Offleys, Calem etc.

Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia are directly connected through the Ponte de Dom Luis I , a steelwork construction build in the 19th century. This bridge, dominating the skyline of the two cities, is a double bridge that connects on the one hand the upper towns of Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia and on the other hand the river banks. The most direct route to the wine lodges is across the lower level from the Cais da Ribeira, but if you have a head for heights it is an amazing sensation to walk over the upper deck, otherwise take bus no. 32, 57 or 91 from Sao Bento train station. Standing on the upper bridge and looking eastwards you will see the second steelwork construction bridge of Porto, the railway bridge Ponte de D. Maria Pia , designed and contracted by Gustave Eiffel's company with Théophile Seyrig as chief engineer in 1876 / 1877, length 160 m.