The city of Porto, which gave its name to a country and a type of wine, shouts in all languages its basic and ancient purpose – to be the port not only of Portugal, but of all Europe. You can still feel the uniqueness of this colorful city – sitting in a tavern that has grown right next to the old city walls, looking at the old ships moored on the waterfront or sailing under the bridges on barcos rabelos – boats for transporting wine barrels.
A stroll through Porto will never be monotonous, neither in terms of urban architecture nor in terms of relief: climbing up and down the winding streets of the medieval Ribeira district, you will see the Romanesque Cathedral of the XII century, come to the Baroque tower of Clerigos – the highest in Portugal, and walking a little further you will admire the Art Nouveau quarter or the world famous example of modern architecture – the inverted iceberg of the House of Music. There is also São Bento, one of the most beautiful train stations, decorated with colorful traditional tiles. The city of Porto is memorable for its many famous bridges, from which you can assemble a real Eiffel Tower: one was designed by Gustave Eiffel himself, and the other by his pupil.
There is even an entire city dedicated to Port wine in Porto – cross the bridge over the Doro River and you will arrive at Villa Nova de Gaia, famous for its cellars, which used to belong to monasteries but now belong to the largest wineries in the country. The tour of Porto gives you the opportunity to taste different types of wine, to understand their aging and preparation conditions, as well as to see the collection of ancient bottles that are more than a hundred years old.
During any tour of Porto, you will be told that it was here that Enrique the Navigator was born – the famous organizer of maritime expeditions along the African coast and the herald of the Great Discovery, when Portugal took the initiative of historical development from all of Europe, going beyond its geographical limits and beyond the medieval mentality to discover new lands – and a new era.
