Porto Short Breaks Guide

Porto is Portugal’s second city and is situated at the estuary of the Rio Douro (River Douro). It’s fair to say that, in tourism terms at least, it has yet to enter the consciousness of the UK short break tourist. 

With its wonderful baroque architecture and beautiful vistas along the river, it certainly has what it takes to become a favourite destination alongside the likes of Barcelona or Amsterdam. It is still cheap to fly there direct and the hotels, restaurants, and city transport are very much cheaper than in many of the major European cities. Above all, Porto seems to exude an atmosphere of total calm and relaxation.

Porto dates back to Roman times, making it one of the older European cities, it is also referred to as “Oporto”, which was apparently an English misinterpretation on the name which stuck. The moors dominated the city for a couple of centuries before it was won back by Vimara Peres who was sent by the King Alfonso III of Gallaecia. Porto, then called Portus Cale was the origin of Portugal, which Vimara Peres founded in 868AD.

The Portugese Age of Discovery was initiated by Prince Henry the Navigator who set sail from Porto to discover North Africa in 1415.

These days Porto is most famous for its own special brand of red wine, Port. Port is made along the Douro Valley and has been since the 13th century, but in 1717 an English trading outpost was founded which then came to dominate the Port industry and its export.

Napoleon brought war to the city of Porto in 1809 but was booted out by the Duke of Wellington.

Getting there:
You can fly direct to Porto twice a day with TAP Air Portugal from London Heathrow, from London Gatwick on Easyjet and from London Stansted with Ryanair.

Arriving at Porto:
The metro station is adjacent to the Airport terminal which takes you right to the centre of the city for about 2 EURO’s. This takes about 30 minutes. You can always take a taxi for 25 Euro’s but make sure you go to the official taxi rank or you’ll just get ripped off. Refuse to pay more than 30 Euro for central Porto. The cab will take 25-30 minutes depending on your hotel location.

Getting around:
You can get day passes on the metro from 5 Euro, but it’s a shame to use any public transport in such a great looking city – better to walk. That’s with the exception of the tourist tram which must be tried out.