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…

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…

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…

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…