The Douro & Trás-os-Montes

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Houses of the historic city center of Porto

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Overview

It's the dynamic Rio Douro that brings diversity to the province it has defined, a province with granite bluffs, wine caves, medieval stone houses and steep, terraced vineyards. Romantic Porto, Portugal’s second-largest city, is at its mouth; one of the world’s oldest demarcated wine regions is close to the source; and scores of friendly villages in between have always relied on it for water, food and commerce. Alongside the river, the region also boasts intricately carved cathedrals, baroque churches, palatial quintas (estates), beaux arts boulevards and 18th-century wine cellars.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • Decorated interior of church museum of Saint Francis (Igreja de Sao Francisco) in Porto, Portugal. architecture, art, baroque, belief, catholic, church, construction, convent, decoration, destination, district, europe, famous, former, francis, franciscan, francisco, gothic, heritage, historic, historical, igreja, interior, landmark, leading, lines, monument, old, ornamental, orthodox, pattern, porto, portugal, portuguese, religion, ribeira, rich, romantic, saint, sao, site, symmetrical, symmetry, tourism, traditional, travel, urban, view, vintage, wealth, wealthy, world

    Igreja de São Francisco

    Ribeira

    Igreja de São Francisco looks from the outside to be an austerely Gothic church, but inside it hides one of Portugal’s most dazzling displays of baroque…

  • PORTO, PORTUGAL - AUGUST 22, 2013: Art deco villa in Serralves Gardens in the city of Porto, Portugal; Shutterstock ID 335447633; Your name (First / Last): Josh Vogel; GL account no.: 56530; Netsuite department name: Online Design; Full Product or Project name including edition: Digital Content/Sights

    Serralves

    Foz do Douro

    This fabulous cultural institution combines a museum, a mansion and extensive gardens. Cutting-edge exhibitions, along with a fine permanent collection…

  • Se Cathedral in Porto, Portugal

    Sé

    Ribeira

    From Praça da Ribeira rises a tangle of medieval alleys and stairways that eventually reach the hulking, hilltop fortress of the cathedral. Founded in the…

  • Dom Luis I bridge, Porto, Portugal.

    Ponte de Dom Luís I

    Ribeira

    Completed in 1886 by a student of Gustave Eiffel, the bridge’s top deck is now reserved for pedestrians, as well as one of the city’s metro lines; the…

  • National Museum Soares dos Reis located in the ancient Carrancas Palace, in Porto, Portugal; Shutterstock ID 233117197; Your name (First / Last): Josh Vogel; GL account no.: 56530; Netsuite department name: Online Design; Full Product or Project name including edition: Digital Content/Sights

    Museu Nacional Soares dos Reis

    Miragaia

    Porto's best art museum presents a stellar collection ranging from Neolithic carvings to Portugal’s take on modernism, all housed in the formidable…

  • Porto, Portugal - August 25, 2020: Nations Courtyard at Stock Exchange Palace in Porto, Portugal. 1439431854 attraction, building, central, commercial, culture, dome, exchange, historic, historical, indoor, inner, interior, landmark, nations, octagonal, palacio da bolsa, patio das nacoes, porto, portuguese, stock, stock exchange

    Palácio da Bolsa

    Ribeira

    This splendid neoclassical monument (built from 1842 to 1910) honours Porto’s past and present money merchants. Just past the entrance is the glass-domed…

  • Detail of Sao Bento Train station in Oporto. The first train arrived here in 1896, but the building (designed with a French Renaissance touch) opened in 1903.; Shutterstock ID 7016608; Your name (First / Last): Josh Vogel; GL account no.: 56530; Netsuite department name: Online Design; Full Product or Project name including edition: Digital Content/Sights

    São Bento Train Station

    Aliados & Bolhão

    One of the world's most beautiful train stations, beaux arts São Bento wings you back to a more graceful age of rail travel. Completed in 1903, it seems…

  • APRIL 19, 2017: Customers browse books inside the famous bookshop, Lello e Irmao (1906). 785980567 architecture, art, art-nouveau, attraction, neo-gothic, book, bookshop, bookstore, building, century, capital, culture, commerce, design, detail, decorated, europe, european, eu, famous, historic, historical, irmao, landmark, location, lello, livraria, nouveau, old, oporto, ornate, picturesque, porto, portugal, portuguese, shop, sight, sightseeing, store, travel, trip, tourism, inside, indoor, interior, bookshelf, shelf, wooden

    Livraria Lello

    Aliados & Bolhão

    Ostensibly a bookshop, but even if you’re not after books, don’t miss this exquisite 1906 neo-Gothic confection, with its lavishly carved plaster…

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A view of a village clinging to a hill rising from the banks of the Cavado river in Peneda-Gerês national park in northern Portugal, with rugged green hills beyond.

Sports

Why adventure lovers should head to northern Portugal

Jul 9, 2019 • 6 min read

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