PORTO

The City

Porto is the second-largest city in Portugal and one of the major urban areas of the Iberian Peninsula. Located along the Douro river estuary in Northern Portugal, Porto is one of the oldest European centres, and its historical core was proclaimed a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1996. The history of Porto dates back to around 300 BC and its settlement dates back many centuries, when it was an outpost of the Roman Empire.

Porto is often referred to "Capital of the North", besides its more traditional nicknames of "Unconquered/Invincible City". Its combined Celtic-Latin name, Portus Cale, has been referred to as the origin of the name of the country: Portugal.

Culture

The city has concert halls of a rare beauty and elegance such as the Coliseu do Porto by the Portuguese architect Cassiano Branco; an exquisite example of the Portuguese decorative arts. Other notable venues include the historical São João National Theatre, the Rivoli theatre, the Batalha cinema and Casa da Música, inaugurated in 2005. The city has the Lello Bookshop, which is rated among the top bookstores in the world, which inspired the Harry Potter’s library in Hogwarts. In fact, J.K Rowling lived in Porto teaching English in the early 1990s.

Tourism

Over the last years, Porto has been experiencing an important touristic expansion, mainly caused by the Ryanair hub at Francisco de Sá Carneiro Airport. Porto was considered the fourth best value destination for 2012, by Lonely Planet, and Porto won the European Best Destination 2012, 2014 and 2017 awards.

Airport

Porto is served by Francisco de Sá Carneiro Airport which is located in Pedras Rubras, some 15 kilometres (9 miles) to the north-west of the city centre. The airport is a state-of-the-art facility.