Introduction
314km (195 miles) N of Lisbon; 304km (189 miles) S of La Coruña, Spain; 589km (365 miles) W of Madrid, Spain
Porto (known also as the Port) gave its name not only to port wine but also to Portugal and its language. The name derives from the Roman settlement of Portus Cale. The Douro, which comes from Rio do Ouro (River of Gold), has always been Porto's lifeblood. The city perches on a rocky gorge that the Douro cut out of a great stone mass. According to the writer Ann Bridge, "The whole thing looks like a singularly dangerous spider's web flung across space."
Porto's most interesting neighborhood is Ribeira. The steep, narrow streets and balconied houses evoke Lisbon's Alfama, though the quarter has its own distinctive character. Ribeira preserves the timeless quality of many of the old buildings and cobbled streets lining the riverbank.
Many visitors write off Porto as an industrial city with some spectacular bridges, but there's much to enjoy here. As the provincial...
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Porto Sandeman
The most famous port-wine center is Porto Sandeman, owned by Seagram's of Canada. In a former 16th-century convent, George Sandeman of Scotland...
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Caves Ramos Pinto
This wine producer is usually acknowledged as the most interesting and best-preserved of any in Porto and Vila de Gaia. Owned since 1991 by the...
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Sé (Cathedral)
This cathedral grew and changed with the city -- that is, until about the 18th century. Founded by a medieval queen and designed in a foreboding,...
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