Porto, the country΄s second largest city, is in itself full of interest, but the district it heads, though largely industrialized, offers the visitor plenty to see.
Along the coast, holiday resorts like the cosmopolitan beach of Espinho, busy ports like Matosinhos, with splendid seafood, or traditional fishing towns like Pσvoa de Varzim, but where there is also an animated casino. Inland, for example, the quaint charm of Amarante, with 17th century mansions overlooking the river and famous for a kind of sweet egg pastries called "papos de anjo" (angel bellies).
Right next to Porto you can visit, in Vila Nova de Gaia, the lodges where Port wine is blended and aged and where you can taste the different varieties, or you may choose to take a river cruise along the Douro. The whole district is filled with prosperous towns, as commerce and industry thrive there, but you can drive along many calm roads with wonderful views over the river or enjoy a rugged and still unspoilt coastline.
Major Attractions in Porto :
- 12th century cathedral or se. Huge cathedral founded in the 12th century but extensively altered in the 18th.
- Igreja de Sao Francisco - Gothic church with a plain facade but tons of gold-leaf gilding inside.
- Ponte de D. Luis, the city's emblematic iron bridge, built by a disciple of the famous Eiffel.
- the Ribeira do Porto, the cluster of buildings, smoky bars and seafood restaurants along the waterfront
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