The faithful and invincible city of Porto
The very noble, always faithful, and invincible city of Porto, built along the hills on the banks of the river Douro in Portugal has a climate which is affected by its situation on the Atlantic coast. Winters are mild and humid and summers are warm, but in general somewhat cooler than other cities with a similar climate like Malaga, Alicante or Valencia.
From an architectural point of view Porto is quit varied, with modern constructions and medieval buildings standing side by side. Extremely hilly, the city is a pleasure to the eye, but a walking tour may be hard. Famous for the Port wine, many warehouses of historical companies like Sandeman or Fonseca are built into the cliffs on the banks that overlook the Douro river.
The airport of Porto, located approximately fifteen kilometres from the city, is the third busiest airport in Portugal and considered as one of the best in its category in Europe. Companies like Ryanair, Air Berlin, Transavia, Easyjet and the national carrier TAP offer flight to cities like London, Dublin, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Paris, Milan, Barcelona and many other important destinations all over Europe.
Although the Baixa and Ribeira, the most popular parts of Porto amongst tourists are very hilly, due to the maze of alleys and narrow cobbled streets it is still better to walk than to drive. If it is getting to steep yoy can decide to take the panoramic elevator called Ascensor da Ribeira or the Funicular dos Guindais, a cable railway system which offers lovely panormaic views of the Douro river and connects the Ribeira to the Batalha square.
There are many tourist boats which travel up and down as far as Pinhão with a stunning landscape and ferry boats that connect Porto to the neighbouring city of Vila Nova de Gaia. You can also walk or travel by bus, metro or rent a car to the other side of the river Douro.
