PORTO IS THE PORTUGUESE CITY YOU SHOULDN’T MISS

Porto is Portugal’s portal to port wine. It also has one of the most eye-popping river skylines I’ve ever seen. Not as stately, perhaps, as that of Budapest or Vienna with their baroque and Art Nouveau architecture, but Porto’s dramatic location astride steep cliffs rising from the Douro River is at once memorable, dramatic, personal and intimate. With its medieval homes, winding cobbled streets, and churches and homes embellished with Portugal’s signature tiles, Porto surely rates as one of Europe’s great cities. That’s why I think Porto is the Portuguese city you shouldn’t miss.

Port wine

Aside from Porto’s obvious beauty, a compelling reason for spending a few days here is to learn about port wine. After all, this is where it has been produced and traded for more than four centuries. Simply stated, port is fortified wine, with brandy no less. In marked contrast to automated picking and production in many wine regions, grapes here are still handpicked and crushed by human feet. And although you might know port as being ruby red, there are actually several varieties, including white ports and tawnies.

Taking in the essence of Porto

There are also museums and churches and markets to explore, but mostly Porto is a city to enjoy on foot. Stop for coffee at Cafe Majestic, a resplendent art-nouveau coffeehouse founded almost 100 years ago. Lose and find yourself in Porto’s historic center, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996. Stroll both sides of the Douro River, on waterfronts buzzing with pedestrians in the old Ribeiro district and Vila Nova de Gaia, connected by the double-deck graceful Ponte Luiz I bridge. Spend a lazy afternoon at one of Porto’s sandy beaches. Or board a boat for a trip up the Douro River to the vineyards.

Porto may be Portugal’s second-largest city, but it seems rather small and navigable, relaxing, mesmerizing and memorable. Of course you should see Lisbon, and there are many worthwhile villages to explore, but Porto really is the Portuguese city you shouldn’t miss.

For more on why you should visit Porto, see my article Porto: A Grand European City with a Rich History, originally appearing in gettingontravel.com, which has sadly ceased publication, so I’m providing a PDF below:

For more on Portugal, see my articles Portugal: The Joys of Obidos in gonomad.com; Sintra’s Quinta da Regaleira Invites Exploration, in gardendestinations.com; and my blogs Sintra-Playground of Portugal’s Rich and Guincho Beach–A Vacation from our Portugal Vacation.