Porto is Portugal's second largest city and the capital of the Northern region.
The city was built along the hills overlooking the Douro river estuary, and its historical center was awarded World Heritage status by UNESCO in 1996. Porto has always been a mercantile city, and this is evident in the style of buildings. The center of town, unlike other major Portuguese cities, which tend towards the baroque, is granite and monumental. The city is extremely hilly, with many buildings built into a cliff face that overlooks the river. Stairs cut into the stone run up and down the cliff face and offer a laborious but rewarding walking tour.
Citizens of Porto, while definitely Portuguese, hold themselves apart culturally from the rest of the country, as is expressed in the often heard phrase "o Porto é uma nação" (Porto is a nation).
1 comment:
Sounds like a nice city =)
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