Discover Porto

Vinho do Porto

Port wine (also known as Vinho do Porto, and usually simply port) is a Portuguese fortified wine produced in the Douro Valley in the north of Portugal. It is typically a sweet, red wine, often served as a dessert wine.

Fortified wines in the style of port are also produced outside Portugal but, under European Union Protected Designation of Origin guidelines, only the product from Portugal may be labelled as port. In the United States, wines labelled "port" may come from anywhere in the world, while the names "Dão", "Oporto", "Porto", and "Vinho do Porto" have been recognized as foreign, non-generic names for wines originating in Portugal.

Porto's History

Historic references to the city go back to the 4th century and to Roman times. In the Roman period the city developed its importance as a commercial port, primarily in the trade between Lisbon and Braga, but would fall under the Moorish Muslim invasion of the Iberian Peninsula in 711. In 868, Vímara Peres, a Christian warlord from Gallaecia and a vassal of the King of Asturias, Léon and Galicia, Alfonso III, was sent to reconquer and secure from the Moors the area from the Minho River to the Douro River, including the city of Portus Cale, later Porto and Gaia, from where the name and political entity of Portugal emerged. In 868 Count Vímara Peres established the County of Portugal (Condado de Portucale), after the reconquest of the region north of the Douro river.

Museum and Heritage

Torre dos Clérigos

Torre dos Clérigos can be seen from various points of the city and is one of the Clérigos Church most characteristic symbols.

The church was built between 1754 and 1763 for the Brotherhood of the Clérigos (Clergy) by Nicolau Nasoni, an Italian architect and painter who left an extense work in the north of Portugal during the 18th century.

Casa da Música

Casa da Música (House of Music) is a major concert hall space in Porto, Portugal which houses the cultural institution of the same name with its three orchestras: Orquestra Nacional do Porto, Orquestra Barroca and Remix Ensemble.

It was designed by the Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, and was built as part of Porto's project for European Culture Capital in 2001 but was only finished in the first half of 2005 and immediately became an icon in the city.

Museu de Serralves

The Museum is the Serralves Foundation’s primary exhibition space and establishes a direct interaction with the Park, where several installations and sculptures can be found. Instead of creating a monumental façade, the building’s status as a museum is accentuated by the intrinsic interaction between each individual element, delivering harmonious perspectives of the museum space for visitors.

Gastronomy

Francesinha

The Francesinha is a typical dish originating in the city of Porto in Portugal.

It consists of sausage, fresh sausage, ham, cold meats and steak beef or, alternatively, roast loin of pork and sliced, topped with cheese (melted later). It is usually garnished with a tomato-based sauce, beer and piri-piri.

The accompaniments of fried eggs (on top of sandwich) and fries are optional.

Caldo Verde

Caldo verde is always present in the menus of Porto and Minho region. This soup of potatoes and green cabbage finely sliced and drizzled with a little olive oil is referenced in several books by Camilo Castelo Branco as a morning food. Due to its simplicity it can be eaten up always at the beginning of the meal or at a late supper.

Broa

Broa is the northern bread from Portugal, made of white or yellow corn, with more or less rye. It is the follow-up of roasted or fried sardines, cod dishes or caldo verde. The corn, formerly brought from the Americas, quickly joined in our eating habits because of its easy cultivation and being tastier than the rye with which was the bread made until then.

Tripas à moda do Porto

The dish that gives the name to the people of Porto has a long history. Although there are various recipes of Tripe, none of them assumed a historical framework as the one from Porto. The most popular version of the story and the one that has more defenders and historical support originates in the great adventure of the Discoveries when the Infante Dom Henrique, needing meat to fuel his caravels to conquer Ceuta, asked people to help in the supply of the vessels.

The people of Porto rushed to the call of their Prince and then filled in the required amount the wooden barrels of salted meat, getting the guts cooked with thick stew, sausages and fat meat, accompanied with thick slices of dark bread. Later white beans were added. The dish stayed for the history of a city that sees itself in this succulent delicacy of aromas of cumin and black pepper, seasoned with homemade sausage smokehouses and fat chicken.