Porto

The history of Porto dates back to around 300 BC with Proto-Celtic and Celtic people being the first known inhabitants. Ruins of that period have been discovered in several areas.

During the Roman occupation of the Iberian Peninsula, the city developed as an important commercial port, primarily in the trade between Olissipona (the modern Lisbon) and Bracara Augusta (the modern Braga).[21] Porto was also important during the Suebian and Visigothic times, and a centre for the expansion of Christianity during that period.[22]

Porto Cathedral, Sé do Porto, built in the 12th century, with Baroque and 20th century modifications

Porto fell under the control of the Moors during the invasion of the Iberian Peninsula in 711.[23] In 868, Vímara Peres, an Asturian count from Gallaecia, and a vassal of the King of Asturias, Léon and Galicia, Alfonso III, was sent to reconquer and secure the lands back into Christian hands. This included the area from the Minho to the Douro River: the settlement of Portus Cale and the area that is known as Vila Nova de Gaia. Portus Cale, later referred to as Portucale, was the origin for the modern name of Portugal.[24] In 868, Count Vímara Peres established the County of Portugal, or (Portuguese: Condado de Portucale), usually known as Condado Portucalense after reconquering the region north of Douro.[21]

In 1387, Porto was the site of the marriage of John I of Portugal and Philippa of Lancaster, daughter of John of Gaunt; this symbolized a long-standing military alliance between Portugal and England.[25] The Portuguese-English alliance (see the Treaty of Windsor) is the world's oldest recorded military alliance.[26][27]

Foz neighbourhood, along the coast

A street in Porto

In the 14th and the 15th centuries, Porto's shipyards contributed to the development of Portuguese shipbuilding. Also from the port of Porto, in 1415, Prince Henry the Navigator (son of John I of Portugal) embarked on the conquest of the Moorish port of Ceuta, in northern Morocco.[28][29] This expedition by the king and his fleet, which included Prince Henry, was followed by navigation and exploration along the western coast of Africa, initiating the Portuguese Age of Discovery. The nickname given to the people of Porto began in those days; Portuenses are to this day, colloquially, referred to as tripeiros (English: tripe peoples), referring to this period of history, when higher-quality cuts of meat were shipped from Porto with their sailors, while off-cuts and byproducts, such as tripe, were left behind for the citizens of Porto; tripe remains a culturally important dish in modern-day Porto.

By the 13th century the wine produced in the Douro valley was already transported to Porto in barcos rabelos (flat sailing vessels). In 1703, the Methuen Treaty established the trade relations between Portugal and England.[30] In 1717, a first English trading post was established in Porto. The production of port wine then gradually passed into the hands of a few English firms. To counter this English dominance, Prime Minister Marquis of Pombal established a Portuguese firm receiving the monopoly of the wines from the Douro valley. He demarcated the region for production of port, to ensure the wine's quality; this was the first attempt to control wine quality and production in Europe. The small winegrowers revolted against his strict policies on Shrove Tuesday, burning down the buildings of this firm. The revolt was called Revolta dos Borrachos (revolt of the drunks).

Between 1732 and 1763, Italian architect Nicolau Nasoni designed a baroque church with a tower that became its architectural and visual icon: the Torre dos Clérigos (English: Clerics' Tower). During the 18th and 19th centuries, the city became an important industrial centre and its size and population increased.

The invasion of the Napoleonic troops in Portugal under Marshal Soult brought war to the city of Porto. On 29 March 1809, as the population fled from the advancing French troops[31][32] and tried to cross the river Douro over the Ponte das Barcas (a pontoon bridge), the bridge collapsed under the weight. This event is still remembered by a plate at the Ponte D. Luis I. The French army was rooted out of Porto by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, when his Anglo-Portuguese Army crossed the Douro River from the Mosteiro da Serra do Pilar (a former convent) in a brilliant daylight coup de main, using wine barges to transport the troops, outflanking the French Army.[33]

On 24 August 1820, a liberal revolution occurred, quickly spreading without resistance to the rest of the country.[34] In 1822, a liberal constitution was accepted, partly through the efforts of the liberal assembly of Porto (Junta do Porto). When Miguel I of Portugal took the Portuguese throne in 1828, he rejected this constitution and reigned as an absolutist monarch.[35] A Civil War was then fought from 1828 to 1834 between those supporting Constitutionalism, and those opposed to this change, keen on near-absolutism and led by D. Miguel. Porto rebelled again and had to undergo a siege of eighteen months between 1832 and 1833 by the absolutist army.[36] Porto is also called "Cidade Invicta" (English: Unvanquished City) after successfully resisting the Miguelist siege. After the abdication of King Miguel, the liberal constitution was re-established.

Known as the city of bridges, Porto built its first permanent bridge, the Ponte das Barcas (a pontoon bridge), in 1806. Three years later, it collapsed under the weight of thousands of fugitives from the French invasions during the Peninsular War, causing thousands of deaths.[37] It was replaced by the Ponte D. Maria II, popularised under the name Ponte Pênsil (suspended bridge) and built between 1841 and 1843; only its supporting pylons have remained.

The Ponte D. Maria, a railway bridge, was inaugurated on 4 November of that same year;[38] it was considered a feat of wrought iron engineering and was designed by Gustave Eiffel, notable for his Parisian tower. The later Ponte Dom Luís I replaced the aforementioned Ponte Pênsil.[39] This last bridge was made by Teophile Seyrig, a former partner of Eiffel. Seyrig won a governmental competition that took place in 1879. Building began in 1881 and the bridge was opened to the public on 31 October 1886.[40]

A higher-learning institution in nautical sciences (Aula de Náutica, 1762) and a stock exchange (Bolsa do Porto, 1834 - 1910[41]) were established in the city, but were discontinued later.

Unrest by Republicans led to the first revolt against the monarchy in Porto on 31 January 1891. This resulted ultimately in the overthrow of the monarchy and proclamation of the republic by the 6 October 1910 revolution.[42][43][44]

On 19 January 1919, forces favourable to the restoration of the monarchy launched a counter-revolution in Porto known as Monarchy of the North.[45][46] During this time, Porto was the capital of the restored kingdom, as the movement was contained to the north. The monarchy was deposed less than a month later and no other monarchist revolution in Portugal happened again.

The historic centre of Porto was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1996. The World Heritage Site is defined in two concentric zones; the "Protected area", and within it the "Classified area". The Classified area comprises the medieval borough located inside the 14th-century Romanesque wall.[47]

Porto features a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csb), with influences of an oceanic climate (Cfb) like the northern Galicia.[50] As a result, its climate shares many characteristics with the warm, dry Mediterranean climates of southern Europe and the wet marine west coast climates of the North Atlantic, providing it warm, dry summers and mild, rainy winters. Cool and rainy days can, occasionally, interrupt the dry season. These occasional summer rainy periods may last a few days and are characterised by showers and cool temperatures around 20 °C (68 °F) in the afternoon. The annual precipitation is high and concentrated in the winter months, making Porto one of the wettest major cities of Europe and the wettest major city with a Mediterranean climate. However, long periods with warmer temperatures and sunny days are frequent even during the rainiest months.

Summers are typically sunny, with average temperatures between 16 and 26 °C (61 and 79 °F), but can rise to as high as 38 °C (100 °F) during occasional heat waves. During such heat waves, the humidity remains quite low. Nearby beaches are often windy and usually cooler than the urban areas. Summer average temperatures are a few degrees cooler than those expected in more continentally Mediterranean-influenced Portuguese cities because of the oceanic influence.

Winter temperatures typically range between 6 °C (43 °F) early in the morning and 15 °C (59 °F) in the afternoon, but rarely drop below 0 °C (32 °F) at night. The weather is often rainy for long stretches, although prolonged sunny periods do occur.

The Ribeira area is a hub for tourists

Tourists on the river

Over the last few years, Porto has experienced significant tourism increases, which may be partly linked to the Ryanair hub at Francisco de Sá Carneiro Airport. Porto won the European Best Destination 2012, 2014 and 2017 awards.[20]

The city received 2.8 million overnight visitors and 1.4 million day trippers between January and November 2017, with 73% from other countries. Tourism revenue has been increasing by over 11%, according to a 2018 report.[58]

According to a February 2019 report, over 10% of economic activity in Porto is generated by tourism.[59] The hotel occupancy rate in 2017 was 77%.[60] A scholarly study published in June 2019 stated that "Porto is one of the fastest growing European tourist destinations that has experienced exponential growth in the demand for city-break tourists".[61]

Internal highway

The road system capacity is augmented by the Via de Cintura Interna or A20, an internal highway connected to several motorways and city exits, complementing the Circunvalação 4-lane peripheric road, which borders the north of the city and connects the eastern side of the city to the Atlantic shore. The city is connected to Valença (Viana do Castelo) by highway A28, to Estarreja (Aveiro) by the A29, to Lisbon by the A1, to Bragança by the A4 and to Braga by the A3. There is also an outer-ring road, the A41, that connects all the main cities around Porto, linking the city to other major metropolitan highways such as the A7, A11, A42, A43 and A44. Since 2011, a new highway, the A32, connects the metropolitan area to São João da Madeira and Oliveira de Azeméis.

Luís I Bridge, September 2019

The Dom Luís I Bridge (Ponte de Dom Luís I) is a double-deck metal arch bridge that spans the River Douro between Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia. Built in 1876, its 172 metres (564 ft) span was then the longest of its type in the world. The top level is used for the Porto Metro trains, with an option for pedestrians; the lower level carries traffic and pedestrians.[62]

During the 20th century, major bridges were built: Arrábida Bridge, which at its opening had the biggest concrete supporting arch in the world, and connects north and south shores of the Douro on the west side of the city, S. João, to replace D. Maria Pia and Freixo, a highway bridge on the east side of the city. The newest bridge is Infante Dom Henrique Bridge, finished in 2003. Two more bridges are said to be under designing stages and due to be built in the next 10 years, one on the Campo Alegre area, nearby the Faculty of Humanities and the Arts, and another one in the area known as the Massarelos valley.

Porto is often referred to as Cidade das Pontes (City of the Bridges), besides its more traditional nicknames of "Cidade Invicta" (Unconquered/ Invincible City) and "Capital do Norte" (Capital of the North).

In July 2015 a new cruise terminal was opened at the port of Leixões, which is north of the city in Matosinhos.

Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport

Porto is served by Francisco de Sá Carneiro Airport which is located in Pedras Rubras, Moreira da Maia civil parish of the neighbouring Municipality of Maia, some 15 kilometres (9 miles) to the north-west of the city centre. The airport underwent a massive programme of refurbishment due to the Euro 2004 football championships being partly hosted in the city.

São Bento railway station

Azulejos at São Bento

Porto's main railway station is Campanhã railway station, located in the eastern part of the city and connected to the lines of Douro (Peso da Régua/Tua/Pocinho), Minho (Barcelos/Viana do Castelo/Valença) and centre of Portugal (on the main line to Aveiro, Coimbra and Lisbon).

From Campanhã station, both light rail and suburban rail services connect to the city center. The main central station is São Bento Station, which is itself a notable landmark in the heart of Porto . This station was built between 1900 and 1916, based on plans by architect José Marques da Silva. The large panels of azulejo tile were designed by Jorge Colaço; the murals represent moments in the country's history and rural scenes showing the people of various regions.[63]

Porto is connected with Lisbon via high-speed trains, Alfa Pendular, that cover the distance in 2h 42min. The intercities take slightly more than 3 hours to cover the same distance. In addition, Porto is connected to the Spanish city of Vigo with the Celta train, running twice every day, a 2h 20 min trip.[64]

Porto Metro light rail

Currently the major project is the Porto Metro, a light rail system. Consequently, the Infante bridge was built for urban traffic, replacing the Dom Luís I, which was dedicated to the light rail on the second and higher of the bridge's two levels. Six lines are open: lines A (blue), B (red), C (green) and E (purple) all begin at Estádio do Dragão (home to FC Porto) and terminate at Senhor de Matosinhos, Póvoa de Varzim (via Vila do Conde), ISMAI (via Maia) and Francisco Sá Carneiro airport respectively. Line D (yellow) currently runs from Hospital S. João in the north to Santo Ovídio on the southern side of the Douro river. Line F (orange), from Senhora da Hora (Matosinhos) to Fânzeres (Gondomar). The lines intersect at the central Trindade station. Currently, the whole network spans 60 km (37 mi) using 68 stations, thus being the biggest rapid transit system in the country.

Metro do Porto
Line		Length (km)	Stations	Inauguration	Vehicle
	Estádio do Dragão ↔ Senhor de Matosinhos	15.6	23	7 December 2002	Flexity Outlook (Eurotram)
	Estádio do Dragão ↔ Póvoa de Varzim	33.6	35	13 March 2005	Flexity Swift (Tram-train)
	Campanhã ↔ ISMAI	19.6	24	30 July 2005	Flexity Swift (Tram-train)
	Hospital São João ↔ Santo Ovídio	9.2	16	18 September 2005	Flexity Outlook (Eurotram)
	Estádio do Dragão ↔ Aeroporto	16.7	21	27 May 2006	Flexity Outlook (Eurotram)
	Fânzeres ↔ Senhora da Hora	17.4	24	2 January 2011	Flexity Outlook (Eurotram)
	Ribeira ↔ Batalha	0.3	2	19 February 2004	Funicular of Guindais

STCP bus

The city has an extensive bus network run by the STCP (Sociedade dos Transportes Colectivos do Porto, or Porto Public Transport Society) which also operates lines in the neighbouring cities of Gaia, Maia, Matosinhos, Gondomar and Valongo. Other smaller companies connect such towns as Paços de Ferreira and Santo Tirso to the town center. In the past the city also had trolleybuses.[65] A bus journey is 2.00 €, which must be paid in cash.

Heritage tram

A tram (streetcar) network, of which only three lines remain one of them being a tourist line on the shores of the Douro, saw its construction begin on 12 September 1895, therefore being the first in the Iberian Peninsula. The lines in operation all use vintage tramcars, so the service has become a heritage tramway. STCP also operates these routes as well as a tram museum. The first line of the area's modern-tram, or light rail system, named Metro do Porto, opened for revenue service in January 2003[66] (after a brief period of free, introductory service in December 2002).

The average amount of time people spend commuting with public transit in Porto, for example to and from work, on a weekday is 47 minutes. About 6.5% of public transit riders ride for more than two hours every day. The average time people wait at a stop or station for public transit is 12 minutes, while 17.4% of riders wait for over 20 minutes on average every day. The average distance people ride in a single trip with public transit is 6 km, while 5% travel for over 12 km in a single direction.[67]

Casa da Música

The Ribeira area along the river Douro, part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site

Porto's most popular event is St. John (São João Festival) on the night of 23–24 June.[71] In this season it's a tradition to have a vase with bush basil decorated with a small poem. During the dinner of the great day people usually eat sardines and boiled potatoes together with red wine.

Another major event is Queima das Fitas, that starts on the first Sunday of May and ends on the second Sunday of the month. Basically, before the beginning of the study period preceding the school year’s last exams, academia tries to have as much fun as possible. The week has 12 major events, starting with the Monumental Serenata on Sunday, and reaching its peak with the Cortejo Académico on Tuesday, when about 50,000 students of the city's higher education institutions march through the downtown streets till they reach the city hall. During every night of the week a series of concerts takes place on the Queimódromo, next to the city’s park, where it is also a tradition for the students in their second-to-last year to erect small tents where alcohol is sold in order to finance the trip that takes place during the last year of their course of study; an average of 50,000 students attend these events.[72]

Porto was considered the fourth best value destination for 2012, by Lonely Planet.

On the waterfront, She Changes sculpture by artist Janet Echelman

Porto was the birthplace in 1856 of Susanna Roope Dockery, an Anglo-Portuguese watercolour painter who produced many paintings of the city and the people and landscape of the surrounding rural areas. An Englishman, Frederick William Flower, moved to Porto in 1834 at the age of 19 to work in the wine trade and subsequently became a pioneer of photography in Portugal. Like Dockery, he drew his inspiration from the city, the Douro river and the rural areas.

In 2005, the municipality funded a public sculpture to be built in the Waterfront Plaza of Matosinhos. The resulting sculpture is entitled She Changes[73] by American artist, Janet Echelman, and spans the height of 50 × 150 × 150 metres.

Azulejos and Gothic elements at the Cathedral

Due to its long history, the city of Porto carries an immense architectural patrimony. From the Romanesque Cathedral to the Social Housing projects developed through the late 20th century, much could be said surrounding architecture.

Porto is home to the Porto School of Architecture, one of the most prestigious architecture schools in Europe and the world. It is also home to two earners of the Pritzker Architecture Prize (two former students of the aforementioned school): Álvaro Siza Vieira and Eduardo Souto de Moura.

This historic area includes the cathedral with its Romanesque choir, the neoclassical Stock Exchange and the Manueline-style Church of Santa Clara. The entire historic centre has been a National Monument since 2001 under Law No. 107/2001. The "Historic Centre of Porto, Luiz I Bridge and Monastery of Serra do Pilar" is a Unesco World Heritage site.[16]

Cais da Ribeira

Porto is home to a number of dishes from traditional Portuguese cuisine. A typical dish from this city is Tripas à Moda do Porto (Tripes Porto style). Bacalhau à Gomes de Sá (cod in the style Gomes de Sá) is another typical codfish dish born in Porto and popular in Portugal.

The Francesinha is the most famous popular native snack food in Porto. It is a kind of sandwich with several meats covered with cheese and a special sauce made with beer and other ingredients.

Port wine, an internationally renowned wine, is widely accepted as the city's dessert wine, especially as the wine is made along the Douro River which runs through the city.

Porto has several institutions of higher education, the largest one being the state-managed University of Porto (Universidade do Porto), which is the second largest Portuguese university, after the University of Lisbon, with approximately 28,000 students and considered one of the 100 best Universities in Europe.[76] There is also a state-managed polytechnic institute, the Instituto Politécnico do Porto (a group of technical colleges), and private institutions like the Lusíada University of Porto, Universidade Fernando Pessoa (UFP), the Porto's Higher Education School of Arts (ESAP- Escola Superior Artística do Porto) and a Vatican state university, the Portuguese Catholic University in Porto (Universidade Católica Portuguesa – Porto) and the Portucalense University in Porto (Universidade Portucalense – Infante D. Henrique). Due to the recognition, potential for employment and higher revenue, there are many students from the entire country, particularly from the north of Portugal, attending a college or university in Porto.

For foreigners wishing to study Portuguese in the city there are a number of options. As the most popular city in Portugal for ERASMUS students, most universities have facilities to assist foreigners in learning the language. There are also several private learning institutions in the city.

Estádio do Dragão, home of FC Porto

Estádio do Bessa XXI, home of Boavista

As in most Portuguese cities, football is the most important sport. There are two main teams in Porto: FC Porto in the parish of Campanhã, in the eastern part of the city and Boavista in the area of Boavista in the parish of Ramalde, in the western part of the city, close to the city centre. FC Porto is one of the "Big Three" teams in the Portuguese league, and was European champion in 1987 and 2004, won the UEFA Cup (2003) and Europa League (2011) and the Intercontinental Toyota Cup in 1987 and 2004. Boavista have won the championship once, in the 2000–01 season and reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup in 2003, where they lost 2–1 to Celtic.

Formerly, Salgueiros from Paranhos was a regular first division club during the 1980s and 1990s but, due to financial indebtedness, the club folded in the 2000s. The club was refounded in 2008 and began playing at the regional level. They now play at the third level of Portugal's national football pyramid.

The biggest stadiums in the city are FC Porto's Estádio do Dragão and Boavista's Estádio do Bessa. The first team in Porto to own a stadium was Académico, who played in the Estádio do Lima, Académico was one of the eight teams to dispute the first division. Salgueiros, who sold the grounds of Estádio Engenheiro Vidal Pinheiro field to the Porto Metro and planned on building a new field in the Arca d'Água area of Porto. Located a few hundred metres away from the old grounds, it became impossible to build on this land due to a large underground water pocket, and, consequently, they moved to the Estádio do Mar in Matosinhos (owned by Leixões). For the Euro 2004 football competition, held in Portugal, the Estádio do Dragão was built (replacing the old Estádio das Antas) and the Estádio do Bessa was renovated.

The FC Porto (basketball) team plays its home games at the Dragão Caixa. Its squad won the second most championships in the history of Portugal's 1st Division. Traditionally, the club provides the Portuguese national basketball team with numerous key players.[80]