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Welcome to Portocityguide.com! Here you will find an insider's guide to all things Porto -- plus tips on what to visit in the Douro wine region and Northern Portugal more generally. Our goal is to be the most comprehensive, selective, reliable, and independent source of online information on what Porto has to offer! If you enjoy what you find here, you may want to consider subscribing to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

The Palacio da Bolsa (pa-lah-SEE-oo dah BOL-sa) is the most-visited attraction in Porto, with more than 200,000 visitors each year. Its heavy neoclassical façade hides quite a few gems inside. The building is the headquarters of Porto’s merchants guild, and was designed with the purpose of showcasing Porto’s commercial prosperity and impressing visiting businessmen. It is located in Praca do Infante, the main square of the Ribeira neighborhood, a World Heritage Site. Construction started in 1842, and included works by the most renowned nineteenth-century architects, painters, sculptors, and furniture makers of Northern Portugal. It displays a variety of styles, from austere Tuscan architecture to nineteenth-century neoclassicism — including Arabian polychromatic and English neopalatial styles. You can find a floor-plan of the palace with links to panoramic views of each of the main rooms here.

Inside, you’ll find what is by far the most interesting interior in Porto. Its main attractions are the Arabian Room and the Hall of Nations.

The Arabian Room is where most receptions for foreign dignitaries visiting Porto are held. No images do justice to its spectacular colors, so you’ll have to see the room for yourself. (You can get a good sense of how it looks, though, by following the link to a panoramic image from 360 Portugal at the top of this review.) Built between 1862 and 1880, it is inspired by moorish-style buildings in Al-Aldaluz — the south of Spain, which was under Muslim rule until 1492. Lavish detailed decorations in plaster, wood, and gold leaf cover each square inch of wall and ceiling with Arabian motifs. The background is red and aquamarine, with an over-layer of inscriptions in Arabic extolling Allah. All windows are in stained glass, with additional Arabian themes.

The other great space is the Hall of Nations (panoramic image from 360 Portugal linked below), which was once an open-air cloister, and now has a glass-and-metal dome. It is decorated with the coats of arms of Portugal and its twenty most important trade partners in the early nineteenth century. The floor is decorated with tiles inspired by those in the ill-fated Roman city of Pompeii. The floor of the Porto Stock Exchange operated here till the mid-1990s.

Guided tours take you through other rooms that, though not as exquisite as these two, are not a waste of time either. Among these, the nicest are the library, the president’s room (decorated with mid-nineteenth century furniture in the first-empire style, using the best Portuguese and Brazilian woods), the board of directors room (also called the golden room because of the gilded carvings on the walls and ceiling, imitating bronze, gold, and wood, but which are actually made of plaster), the portrait room (featuring full-body portraits of the last six Portuguese monarchs before the 1910 republican revolution — all the constitutional monarchs), and the court room (in the French renaissance style, with large oil-painted panels on the walls).

Throughout the tour, pay attention to the floors, which feature some of the most beautiful wooden parquetry anywhere in the world (Brazilian exotic wood was important in Porto’s trade), with dizzying designs including a 3D trompe l’oeil stairway.

The Palacio da Bolsa has a great agenda of performances, exhibitions, auctions, and other stuff happening most of the time, so check their website if you want to attend (or avoid) a particular event.

Inside the palace there is also a restaurant, O Comercial, which is well worth mentioning. It offers contemporary Portuguese cuisine with an international twist, all in an elegant setting. Right next to it, you’ll find The Essence of Porto, a small port-wine shop with a great selection of ports — and a nice, quiet tasting room.

Price point: guided tours are 5 euros for adults; 3 for children. No visits beyond outside tours. No photography is allowed inside the palace, so you’ll probably end up buying some postcards in the gift shop.

Address: Rua Ferreira Borges, Porto.

Phone: (+351) 22.339.9000.

Website: http://www.palaciodabolsa.pt/

Opening hours: between November and March, open seven days a week 9:00am-1:00pm and 2:00pm-6:00pm; April through October, open from 9:00am to 7:00pm uninterruptedly. The Essencia do Vinho wine bar is open daily from 10:00am to 7:00pm. The restaurant — O Comercial — is open Monday through Friday 12:00-3:00pm and 8:00-11:00pm (till Midnight on Fridays).

Getting there: if you are driving from downtown Porto, the easiest way of getting there is to take Rua Mouzinho da Silveira down to Praca do Infante. Park there in the underground parking lot. Once you’ve walked back up to the street level, Palacio da Bolsa is the large stone building on the Western side of the square. If you’re not driving, walking from downtown should take you 10 minutes, and a taxi should take about 5 minutes.

For more wonderful Quicktime VR panoramic image of Palacio da Bolsa, click here. The link will take you to a map of the Palacio on 360 Portugal, a comprehensive archive of panoramic images of Portugal. As always, many thanks to Santiago Ribas, the man behind the camera.

Taylor’s Fladgate (or just Taylor’s) is one of the greatest names in port, with over 300 years of history. The company was founded by Job Bearsley, a bacalhau (salted cod) trader in 1692. In 1744, his son Bartholomew became the first Englishman to buy a vineyard in the Douro valley, where port is produced. Except for a brief interregnum during the Napoleonic invasions (in which the farmhouse served as a field hospital for Wellington’s troops), Taylor’s has been producing port there every year. In 1836, the company gained a new partner, John Fladgate, a London wine merchant. In the 1920s, Taylor’s produced the first varietal ports. In the 1930s, it introduced the first white port, Taylor’s Chip Dry, an excellent aperitif, solo or with tonic (called a “Splash”). In 1958, Taylor’s became the first company to sell single estate ports, under their Quinta de Vargellas brand, named after the estate in Douro. That same year (which, by the way, yielded one of the very best vintages ever), the company merged with Fonseca, another established name in port. In 1970s, Taylor’s pioneered the LBVs (or late bottled vintages) a vintage port that requires no decanting, enabling the market for ruby ports (aged in the bottle) to expand considerably. In 2002, Taylor’s and Fonseca purchased Croft and Delaforce, two other well-respected port companies. You get the point — Taylor’s is a company with a lot of achievements under its belt.

Taylor’s wine lodge in Gaia is one of the best to visit and the only to possess an excellent restaurant with a great view of Porto. As soon as you step through the gates, you’ll find a secluded surrounding of immaculate gardens, stunning terraces with wonderful views across the river, and damp cellars where barrels age for decades, if not more. During your (free) tour, the guide will summarize the history of port and of the company itself in a lively and concise way. The tour is not limited to the wine cellars, covering also the craftsmanship involved in building the barrels, the vine growing process (which takes place up the Douro river), environmental concerns, and, of course, some off-the barrel tasting!

Afterwards, you can taste two wines for free — the white Chip Dry and a late bottled vintage (LBV). You can hang out in the library or, if the weather is pleasant, on the terrace, which oversees Porto and the river. There is, of course, a large wine store (to which no one will push you) where you will find all wines produced by the Taylor’s group at unbeatable prices. The staff is attentive but not pushy. They also have an ear for how knowledgeable you are in port and are willing to adjust their spiel to your level of interest, not the other way around. All in all, Taylor’s produces some of the finest vintage ports, and that same quality is reflected in the level of service you will find.

If you have time — and you should — have lunch at the Baron of Fladgate Restaurant in the premises. The dining room has a stunning view of Porto, and you can indulge in good Portuguese food accompanied by good table wines and followed by excellent ports. Your lunch will start with a chilled white dry port and an assortment of appetizers, including a few Portuguese cheeses. We love the traditional clam soup, as well as the several bacalhau dishes and other fish courses — black grouper broiled with onion and tomato and a grilled sea bass with lemon sauce. Desserts include all the major Portuguese staples, with lots of traditional conventual egg sweets. The table wines are up to the job but, of course, the stars are the ports that await you at the end. Make sure you book your table the moment you arrive for the tour. Service is attentive and the ambiance is great.

Price point: tastings of basic wines are free; more sophisticated wines by the glass from 3 euros; bottles from 10 euros. Lunch at the restaurant will cost you around 20 euros plus drinks.

Address: Rua do Choupelo 250, Gaia.

Website: http://www.taylor.pt/

Opening hours: open Monday through Friday from 10:00am till 6:00pm; same schedule on weekends during July and August.

Reservations: not required; call (+351) 22.374.2800.

Getting there: taxi highly recommended, should take 10-15 minutes from downtown Porto and cost you less than 5 euros. The section of Gaia where port lodges are located is made of narrow, steep, and winding streets — a nightmare for the typical American driver on any occasion — and for everyone else after the wine tasting.

Vinologia (vee-noo-loo-GEE-ah) is the best port-only wine bar in Porto — it matches the Solar do Vinho do Porto in terms of variety and beats it in terms of the enthusiasm and service. (OK, it is not as comfortable, but it makes up in liveliness what it lacks in plush.) Roy Hersh, an American wine critic who has covered port for a long time, has this to say: “If this was near my home, I’d be broke and homeless.” Owner Jean Philippe Duhard, originally from Bordeaux, settled in Porto in 1995 and became enamored of port wine. Five years later he opened this place, and has been doing all of us a favor ever since.

Located at the heart of the Ribeira neighborhood, Vinologia (a.k.a. La Maison des Porto — or the house of port in Jean Philippe’s native French) occupies an authentic eighteenth-century house. In it, you’ll find a tiny wine bar (25 guests max. at any time) as well as an excellent wine store devoted entirely to port. The decor is sober, mostly in brick, granite, and wood. Every nook and cranny in the place is filled with port bottles, port glassware, port books — all things port. Their slogan is “A glass of port, in the heart of Porto.”

As the name indicates — it stands for “wine-ology,” or the science of wine — the team at Vinologia takes their job pretty darn seriously. In fact, they don’t conceive of the place as a bar, more of a port wine school. And they’re well equipped to do so. Jean Philippe is a member of the Port Wine Institute’s confraria (brotherhood), an exclusive club to which only the most well-versed in port can aspire to belong. His son Gustavo possesses an encyclopedic knowledge of port, including minor producers and off vintages. And Cristophe, the Swiss bartender, is fluent in a handful of languages, making their mission of converting heathens into port-believers much easier. As you probably guess by now, service is attentive and enthusiastic.

Vinologia offers more than two hundred bottlings of port, which easily makes it the place with the widest variety of port in Porto. While the Solar do Vinho do Porto covers mostly the main producers, Vinologia specializes in small producers who rarely make it to the U.S. market. If you know little about port, this is a great place to catch the bug. If you already know a bit and would like to know more, then this is the place to develop a nuanced knowledge of the world of port and a real grasp of its intricacies.

You can try port by the glass, or you can go for one (or more…) of the flights on offer, from basic introductory stuff to top-notch wines. The prices are easy to follow — each wine of the same kind (dry white, ruby, tawny, 10-year old, 20-year old, 40-year old, LBV, vintage, colheita, etc.) has the same price. Whites are served with apricots and salted toasted almonds; rubies with prunes; and tawnies with chocolates and raisins. If you’re hungrier than that, Vinologia offers raisin bread, chocolate, nuts, and the king of Portuguese cheeses — Serra da Estrela (SEH-rah dah Esh-TREH-lah) — a raw sheep’s-milk cheese that makes a perfect accompaniment for port and is one of the best cheeses in the whole world.

In sum, Vinologia is an excellent spot for several stops during your stay in Porto. Take a break during the day and taste a three-glass flight. Go there after dinner and indulge in a longer tasting. If you’re staying at the Porto Pestana Carlton (our favorite hotel in town), the walk home is only one block downhill. Enjoy, and Godspeed!

Price point: ports by the glass from 1.5 euros; degustation flights from 6 euros. Prices in general are very reasonable for the quality of the ports served. Bottles of port are 10 euros and up.

Address: Rua S. Joao 46, Porto.

Website: http://www.lamaisondesporto.com/

Opening hours: open daily from 2:00pm till midnight.

Reservations: required only for groups of 10 or more; call (+351) 93.605.7340.

Getting there: if you are driving from downtown Porto, the easiest way of getting there is to take Rua Mouzinho da Silveira down to Praca do Infante. Park there in the underground parking lot. Once you’ve walked back up to the street level, face the river (which means turn your back to the red metal structure on the higher side of the square, the Mercado Ferreira Borges, an old market). Then walk to the lowest part of the square, and turn left. Vinologia is on the next crossing, at the beginning of the block that leads to the tunnel heading to the D. Luiz I bridge. If you’re not driving, walking from downtown should take you 10-15 minutes, and a taxi should take about 5 minutes.

Clerigos Tower (KLE-ree-goosh) is the ex libris of Porto. Designed by Tuscan architect Niccolo Nasoni in 1754 and completed nine years later, the tower is one of the best examples of the baroque style in Portugal. At the time of completion, it was also the tallest building in the country. The tower is 76 meters (249 feet) high. Its design is inspired by the Tuscan campaniles to which Nasoni was used. Since it is located at the top of one of the hills delimiting downtown, the view from the top of Clerigos Tower is one of the best of Porto. Adjacent to the tower is Clerigos Church, a slightly older (1732) building also in the Italianate baroque style.

Your way to the top will involve climbing 225 steps, but the view is well-worth the effort. In fact, it is the best overview of downtown Porto short of a helicopter tour. You can see the whole of downtown, as well as the Douro bridges, and the port wine cellars on the south margin. The faint of heart should stay home (or at the hotel), however. The steps in the long spiral narrow stairway are not uniform and, with all the climbing and descending, the stone is very smooth. Two observation platforms provide opportunities to rest on your way to the top.

On the inside, the tower is separated from the church by a thick curtain. The interior of the church is painted in light pink and gold colors and the altar is carved in polychromed marble.

The main facade of the church (facing downhill) is heavily decorated with typical baroque motifs, such as garlands and shells, based on an early seventeenth century Roman scheme. The lateral facades show the eliptic floorplan of the church nave.

Nicolau Nasoni, who was responsible for many other works in Northern Portugal, loved his Clerigos Tower so much he asked to be inducted into the Clerigos religious order and is buried in the church.

Price point: entrance to the Tower costs 1 euro; there is no charge to enter the Church.

Address: Rua de S. Filipe Nery, Porto.

Phone: (+351) 22.200.1729.

Website: unavailable.

Opening hours: in the winter, the Tower is open Thursday to Tuesday from 10:30am to noon and from 2:30 to 5:00pm. In the summer, it opens from 9:30am to 1:00pm and from 2:30 to 7:00pm. In August, the Tower is open uninterruptedly from 10:00am to 7:00pm.

Getting there: Clerigos Tower is a five-minute walk from downtown Porto. If you are at the bottom of Praca da Liberdade / Avenida dos Aliados (the two together form the large square in front of City Hall) facing City Hall, turn left and start climbing the street — Rua dos Clerigos. The Tower is at the top; you can’t miss it. If you’re driving, the closest parking lot is the underground parking facility on Praca dos Leoes, so drive past the bookstore and follow the parking signs when you reach the top of the street.

For wonderful Quicktime VR panoramic images of Clerigos Tower, click on the large images above. The link will take you to 360 Portugal, a comprehensive archive of panoramic images of Portugal. While you’re at it, you may want to see more of downtown Porto by following the links in the detailed maps of Porto available on that website, including map A4 (Vitoria). As always, many thanks to Santiago Ribas, the man behind the camera.

Ribeira (ree-BAY-rah) literally means riverside. It is the neighborhood next to the Douro river closest to downtown Porto, and it once was the center of the city. During the eighteenth and nineteenth century, Porto’s economy revolved around the port-wine business. Cellars were (and still are) located across the Douro river in Gaia, while shippers were located in Ribeira. After going through some decline during most of the twentieth century, the neighborhood was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1996. Since then, works restoring this precious neighborhood of medieval origins have been proceeding at a steady pace.

The World Heritage Site also includes the medieval section of Porto, which is within the fourteenth-century Romanesque wall, uphill from Ribeira. This other neigborhood, called Se (the cathedral is there) has the oldest buildings in Porto.

Attractions

Ribeira occupies the lower part of the slope descending from Baixa — downtown Porto — to the Douro river. Besides the picturesque riverfront walkway, it has two centers of attraction: Praca do Infante and Praca da Ribeira.

Praca do Infante (the Infante, by the way, is Henry the Navigator, who is supposed to have been born just steps away, in the Casa do Infante) has several attractions: the Palacio da Bolsa, a nineteenth-century palace that is the headquarters of the Porto commerce chamber and has lavishly decorated rooms; the Mercado Ferreira Borges, a nineteenth-century red metal structure that used to be a market and nowadays hosts exhibitions of different sorts, like antiques, city planning, etc.; and the nearby S. Francisco church, which is not only one of the few remaining medieval buildings in town but also (on the inside) one of the greatest exponents of baroque religious art in Portugal.

Praca da Ribeira is a riverfront square of medieval origins transformed in the eighteenth century, which is now full of coffeeshops with outside tables. It is a good place to sit, enjoy the view and mingle with the locals.

The nearby Cafe do Cais (if you’re in Praca da Ribeira, walk to the river, then turn right — the coffeeshop is the glass building on your left, right on the river edge, less than 100 yards from the Praca) has a better view and a more refined atmosphere, but you find a more middle class sort of local clientele there, as opposed to the coffeeshops in Praca da Ribeira proper, where the clients are mostly students (especially at night) and people from the neighborhood. Cruise-ships that go up and down the Douro depart from right next to this coffeeshop, offering tours lasting from fifteen minutes up to several days.

The narrow streets, arcades, and stairways around the two piazzas — Praca da Ribeira and Praca do Infante — are well worth exploring. Furthermore, if you walk along the river from Praca da Ribeira towards D. Luiz I bridge, right before the bridge’s lower-level crossing starts you will find a large tile panel. It is the Ribeira Negra (black riverfront) panel, by Portuguese painter Julio Resende, representing the darkness (in more than one way) of local life.

If you walk downriver from Praca do Infante (or, for that matter, from Praca da Ribeira) after about half a mile you will get to Miragaia (literally, “see Gaia”), the next riverfront neighborhood. It is centered on the large granite river-front customs building. The lower-level streets, alleys, and archways in front of the customs building are also worth exploring.

Atmosphere

A mixture of locals and tourists, medieval and twenty-first century, wealthy and poor, lively and secluded, Ribeira is a rather unique place, where in seconds you can go from a bustling piazza to a damp narrow alley where you’ll only find locals.

Most of the neighborhood’s houses date back to the seventeenth and eighteenth century, and are small two-, three-, or even four-storey dwellings painted in bright colors. Most of them are inhabited by senior citizens, and you will see them going about their daily lives, which for the most part means men gathering at coffeeshops and women doing house chores, hanging clothes on the line to dry outside their window or just perched on the window sill watching passers-by or chatting with their neighbors across the narrow streets. It’s an ideal place to get the feeling of what Porto really is.

Ribeira is worth visiting a few times, as its colors change dramatically with differences in sunlight. Foggy mornings will draw out cool tones; bright afternoons will highlight warm pastel tones; and evenings will create pointillistic images of neon signs and their reflections on the river.

The whole ensemble of Ribeira is at its best when seen from across the Douro river from the coffeeshops along the riverfront in Gaia (the twin-city of Porto, on the left margin of the Douro river). Among these, our favorite spot for a picture-perfect view of Ribeira is Bogani, a mere fifteen-minute walk from Ribeira across the river and then to the right (you can find more detailed walking directions in our review of it). You’ll enjoy a view that mixes colorful buildings with the stark granite mountain slope. It is this view that defines Porto.

Where to Stay, Eat, and Drink

During the day, enjoy the many coffeeshops in the neighborhood. For lunch, we recommend the D. Tonho outpost across the river in Gaia.

For dinner, you have two terrific options: the D. Tonho main dining room (between Praca da Ribeira and the D. Luiz I bridge) or A Mesa com Bacchus (walk along the river downstream from Praca do Infante past S. Francisco church and half a mile later you will find a large building on your left, the customs building; the restaurant is just across the street from there; more detailed directions in our review).

At night, both Ribeira and the Gaia riverfront are lively places full of bars and clubs. Bogani, across the river in Gaia is a must day or night, both for its coffee drinks and, especially, its view. Back in Ribeira, Aniki Bobo (on Rua da Reboleira, the narrow street to your right if you’re on Praca da Ribeira facing the river) is a classic bar in Porto, attracting the local intelligentsia. If you prefer a lively Irish pub, go to Ryan’s Irish Bar (on the street connecting Praca do Infante to the tunnel that leads to the D. Luiz I bridge).

In any case, keep in mind that Portuguese nightlife starts between 10:00 and 11:00pm, so don’t be surprised if all the bars are empty between 9:00 and 10:00, which is still considered dinnertime.

Above all, we recommend the Pestana Porto Carlton as the place to stay in Porto. It is right in the heart of Ribeira, on Praca da Ribeira, facing the river and the D. Luiz I bridge.

The only downside to Ribeira, as is the case with many other picturesque neighborhoods around the world, is that it became a bit touristy and many restaurants became over-priced tourist-traps. Follow our recommendations and you won’t go wrong.

For wonderful Quicktime VR panoramic images of Ribeira, click on the large images above. The link will take you to 360 Portugal, a comprehensive archive of panoramic images of Portugal. While you’re at it, you may want to see more of Ribeira by following the links in the detailed maps of Porto available on that website. Ribeira and the surrounding areas encompass maps A2 (Miragaia), A3 (Infante), and A6 (Ribeira). Also, check out the panoramic images taken from Gaia, across the Douro river from Ribeira, by clicking on the links placed on the southern margin of the Douro on their general map of Porto. As always, many thanks to Santiago Ribas, the man behind the camera.

Serralves (Se-RAL-vesh) hosts the Portuguese national museum of contemporary art. But its delights go well beyond your regular museum. Serralves started in 1925 as a villa for a wealthy industrialist, surrounded by a beautiful park. After having ben bought by the state, the villa and park opened to the public with art exhibitions in 1987. Ten years later, a brand-new museum designed by Pritzker-prize winning Portuguese architect Alvaro Siza started being built at the opposite end of the park. Work was concluded in 1999, and since then Serralves offers visitors art, architecture, and landscaped gardens without match in Porto.

The villa was for a long time the main attraction at Serralves. Originally conceived as a private residence in the 1920s, it is a prime example of art deco architecture. It was build over a period of almost twenty years, between 1925 and 1944. Its exquisite wrought-iron gates, modernist marble stairways, and magnificent views of the garden make it one of the finest villas built in Portugal during the first half of the twentieth century. Serralves is considered the most notable example of an art deco building in Portugal, even though it was completed well after the end of this style’s golden years. Ironically, the owner was plagued by financial problems and had to move out only three years after completion of his lifetime project. The house was kept private until the 1980s, when the heirs of its last owner sold it to the state in 1986. Currently, the villa serves as an extension of the Museum, featuring temporary exhibitions. Among the many delightful rooms, one of the highlights is the 100%-pink-marble bathroom of the main suite, which is often closed to the public. Try to talk one of the staff-members to open it for you.

The Serralves park has always been a must in Porto. It is rather unique in Portuguese landscape gardening history. There are wooded areas, artificial lakes, rose gardens, perfectly-manicured lawns, and a main garden with a sequence of water tanks surrounded by flower beds. Serralves is perfect for a stroll or to read a book on one of the benches. You feel completely isolated from the city around you.

With the opening of the Museum in 1999, Serralves now has a third major attraction to offer. The National Museum of Contemporary Art is the permanent home of one of the best collections of Portuguese twentieth-century art (the others are, you guessed, in Lisbon). The works on show span from the end of the 1960s to the present, covering all genres from pop art to conceptual projects, and including great pieces representing the experimentalism that dominated Portuguese art of the (literally) revolutionary 1970s.

The museum’s building, by architect Alvaro Siza, is worth a visit even if you don’t like contemporary art. It is an exponent of the Porto school of architecture, with its clear lines, exterior walls in white stucco and stone, and a playful interaction with natural light. It also makes the most of the lovely park views. So it should be no surprise that it is a magnet for architecture buffs from all around the world, who roam there to learn from the great Portuguese master. As in most of Siza’s buildings, the furniture and fittings were also designed by him, without neglecting the smallest detail — including lighting fixtures, handrails, and doorknobs.

Besides the villa, park, and museum, Serralves has an excellent cafeteria, a fine-dining restaurant, and an auditorium offering dance, music, and performances on a regular schedule. The lunch buffet at the cafeteria is particularly good, so arrive early before the place gets packed. Our favorite spot, however, is the tennis-court teahouse, which offers an assortment of teas, scones, and tarts in a hard-to-beat environment. It is located halfway between the museum building and the villa, making for a mandatory stop during your visit to the park.

Price point: entrance to the museum and park costs 5 euros; 2.5 for the park only. On Friday and Saturday, entrance for the museum costs 3 euros after the park closes. For details on discounts for seniors, students, etc., check the Serralves website.

Address: Rua D. Joao de Castro 210, Porto.

Phone: (+351) 22.615.6500.

Website: http://www.serralves.pt/

Opening hours: from October to March, Serralves is open from Tuesday through Sunday 10:00am till 7:00pm. The cafeteria opens seven days a week — from 12:00pm to 7:00pm on weekdays, and 10:00am till 7:00pm on weekends. The restaurant opens from 8:00pm till midnight from Tuesday through Saturday. The teahouse opens from 10:00am till 7:00pm on weekends only. During the Summer months, the park closes at 10:00pm on Fridays and Saturdays, and at 8:00pm on Sundays; and the teahouse is open every day.

Getting there: Serralves is easy to reach by car. If you’re driving from downtown, follow the directions to Boavista. Once you get to the Boavista roundabout (known informally as Rotunda da Boavista and formally as Praca Mouzinho de Albuquerque — you can’t miss it; there is a tall column on the center, with a lion crushing an eagle at the top), take Av. da Boavista heading down to the sea (Casa da Musica, an unmistakable building shaped like a quartz crystal, is on the corner). After about one-and-a-half mile, take a 45-degree left towards Av. Marechal Gomes da Costa. There is a large glass-and-metal fountain (actually, a sculpture) at the intersection. Once on Av. Marechal, Serralves is on the inside of the long wall you will find on your left after the Shell gas-station. As soon as the wall ends, turn left and park. The entry is at the intersection of Av. Marechal Gomes da Costa and Rua D. Joao de Castro. If you’re not driving, a taxi should take 20-30 minutes from downtown.

Lello (LEH-loo) is a feast for the eyes — and for the mind. Open since 1906, it is one of the most beautiful bookstores in the world. It is also one of the best bookstores in Porto and the flagship store for one of the most important Portuguese publishing houses. Co-owner Antero Braga is usually around, knows the Portuguese book market in and out, and will be glad to help you find exactly what you want even when you don’t have a clue about what that may be.

But Lello is much more than a your run-of-the-mill bookstore. Its turn of the century architecture — by Xavier Esteves — is outstanding. On the outside, the facade is an excellent example of neo-gothic design. Don’t miss the two painted figures representing Art and Science. Once inside, the curvaceous red stairway connecting the two levels (inspired on the Parisian Galleries Lafayette), the heavily decorated walls and ceilings, and the magnificent stained-glass skylight with Lello’s motto vecus in labore will no doubt impress you. The pillars are ornamented with bronze bas-reliefs of Portuguese literature figures and there is a small track on the floor along which employees move carts filled with books. All in all, Lello is one of the best works of the so-called “second eclecticism” style in Portugal, with beautiful art nouveau naturalist elements.

One of the best-kept secrets in Porto is the four-table coffeeshop on the second floor of Lello – there’s coffee, port, and cigars. It’s the perfect place to stop for a moment before returning to the bustling downtown life outside; or to spend a long time browsing a few books.

Besides the wide array of Portuguese fiction and non-fiction titles, Lello sells many English and French books, including translations of Portuguese literature and poetry works. If you’re looking for books on Porto, Lello has the widest choice. (For a broader range of books, check out the Fnac chain bookstores. There is one on the corner of Rua Sta. Catarina with Rua Passos Manuel in downtown Porto and another one in the Norte Shopping shopping center in Matosinhos.)

Address: Rua das Carmelitas 144, Porto.

Phone: (+351) 22.200.2037.

Website: unavailable.

Opening hours: open Monday through Friday from 9:30am till 7:00pm, and Saturday from 9:30am till 1:00pm.

Getting there: Lello is a five-minute walk from downtown Porto. If you are at the bottom of Praca da Liberdade / Avenida dos Aliados (the two together form the large square in front of City Hall) facing City Hall, turn left and start climbing the street (Rua dos Clerigos) heading towards Clerigos tower. Right before the tower, the street splits into a narrow street to the left of the tower and a broader one to its right. Take this broader street (Rua das Carmelitas) and continue going up, past the tower on your left, heading to Praca dos Leoes — where you’ll see a fountain with lions. Lello is on your right just before you reach the square, at the top of Rua das Carmelitas. If you’re driving, the closest parking lot is the underground parking facility on Pc. dos Leoes, so drive past the bookstore and follow the parking signs when you reach the top of the street.

For a wonderful Quicktime VR panoramic image of Lello, click on the image at the top of this review. The link will take you to 360 Portugal, a comprehensive archive of panoramic images of Portugal. As always, many thanks to Santiago Ribas, the man behind the camera.