Oporto Hotels, Oporto Flights and Oporto Holidays:

If you are planning a Oporto holiday and are looking for an Oporto hotel and flight, the following information may help by giving you an overview on Oporto city.

Oporto is in the north of Portugal, built on granite cliffs overlooking the River Douro in northern Portugal, Oporto is a tangle of pretty lanes and crumbling buildings running steeply down to a medieval waterfront. It is hard not to be enchanted by Oporto’s atmospheric riverside, dotted with old port-wine boats, narrow alleys and pretty archways. Oporto, known to the Portuguese as simply ‘Porto’, is the second largest city in the country and one of the major financial and economic centres of the north-western Iberian Peninsular.

Portugal’s best-known product, Port wine, was named after the city because it was originally shipped from Vila Nova de Gaia, just across the river. Since the 1850s producers have matured and stored their wine in warehouses there, and about 60 establishments scramble up the hill from the waterfront. Some offer tours and tasting.

Among the architectural highlights of the city, the twelfth-century Cathedral of Se, with its Romanesque rose window and Gothic cloister, is the oldest surviving structure. Among the very old buildings are the small Romanesque Church of Cedofeita and the Gothic Igreja de Sao Francisco [Church of St Francis] with its Baroque interior decoration and carved Tree of Jesse. The Baroque style is well represented in the city in the unbelievably elaborate interiors of the churches of St Francis and St Claire [Santa Clara], the churches of Mercy [Misericorida] and of the Clerics [Igreja dos Clerigos].

Beside the huge two-storey bridge of Dom Luis I which spans the Douro River, is the austere sixteenth-century Augustinian monastery of Serra do Pilar with its intricate wood carvings and gold-leaf altars. Also well worth a visit is the Neoclassical Palacio da Bolsa with its magnificent Arabic ballroom.

The people of Oporto have long been known as Tripeiros [‘tripe eaters’], supposedly because the city went without meat in order to provide for the fleet which left the city to conquer Ceuta in North Africa in 1415. They had to subsist on tripe soup, even today a speciality of the city.

Some "must see" places include the Maria Pia Bridge which was built by Gustav Eiffel in 1877. It spans the Douro River at a height of 60m and is an impressive sight. The Port Wine Museum is located in an 18th century warehouse where famous wines were once stored.

Location of Oporto:
Towards the north end of Portugal's west coast. 67 miles south of the Spanish border, 194 miles north of Lisbon, 11 miles south of Oporto's international airport.

Serving Airports:
Porto Airport Francisco Sa Carneiro Airport [OPO]
Flight time from the UK: approximately 2 hours 15 minutes.

Beaches in Oporto:
Whilst not a beach destination, those seeking a respite from sightseeing can travel 6 miles to Foz or Cabedelo on the Atlantic coast; may be crowded in summer. Alternatives farther out incude Esmoriz and Cartegaca [16 miles south] and Vila Cha [11 miles north]. Road to/from the beach resorts may be heavily congested at weekends in summer.

Shopping in Oporto:
The variety and standard of shops in the city have improved with the building of the Via Catarina shopping centre, which accommodates a range of major chains. The streets to the NE of Praça da Liberdade are home to most of the city's traditional shops. Small outlets selling the famous port wine and white Vinho Verde wine are dotted throughout the city. Local art may be bought in the private galleries along Rua Miguel Bombarda.

Eating out in Oporto:
Mainly rather filling, traditional fare, consisting of tripe, meat stews and dishes made from bacalhau (dried salt cod). Fast-food outlets have crept in and pizza houses are popular. Local cafes serve cakes, fish-orientated snacks and strong coffee.

Oporto Temperature Chart:

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Temp °C	10	10	12	14	17	21	24	24	22	18	14	12

Average daily temperature °C

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Disclaimer:
By its very nature much of the information in our destination guides is subject to change at short notice and travellers are urged to verify information on which they are relying with the relevant authorities. Corona Holidays [UK] Limited cannot accept any responsibility for any loss or inconvenience to any person as a result of information contained above.

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