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Sheraton Porto Hotel & Spa

Sheraton Porto Hotel & Spa is a five-star establishment located in the center of the city. It is an ideal hotel for both business and holiday travelers, situated only a stone throw’s away from the main commercial, cultural and nightlife places of interest. It boasts 266 convenient rooms with modern and soothing features. For business travelers, the hotel offers large multifunctional meeting spaces equipped with all the necessary technology. The hotel’s magnificent restaurant serves both local and international cuisine and even has “show cooking” as a special form of dinner entertainment. The wellness and spa center leaves nothing to be desired and the hotel also has an indoor heated swimming pool and fitness and health center. At an average cost of 150 euros per night, you can afford the luxury of a high-class hotel in the very heart of Portugal’s magical historical city.

Tiara Park Atlantic

Situated in the bustling business district on Avenida Boavista, the Tiara Park Atlantic Porto Hotel is a four-star luxury hotel and a landmark of Porto. With its 232 rooms and 11 meeting rooms, this hotel can meet all your business and holiday needs. The hotel provides a wide array of services to make your stay more comfortable, including Internet access in the entire building, a billiard room, a discotheque and luggage delivery. The guestrooms boast modern interior design that provides you with a perfect atmosphere for relaxation after a day spent outside climbing through the narrow streets of the city. The hotel runs special rates at certain times of the year, while the average nightly stay will cost you around 115 euros. Its Poivron Rouge bar and restaurant is an excellent place to try some of the region’s specialties with a touch of international cuisine.

Vila Galé Porto Hotel

Another centrally located four-star hotel is the Vila Galé Porto Hotel. Known for its excellent quality at affordable prices, the hotel has a staggering 292 rooms. You can avail yourself of the hotel’s conference and spa facilities or just enjoy the comfort and coziness of your guestroom. Although its name may not suggest it, the hotel’s Paris Texas Restaurant serves wonderful regional cuisine, which means that you can get a true taste of the Douro region straight from the comfort of your hotel. The central location of the establishment means that you are only a step away from the main streets and squares. The hotel is thus an excellent base from which you can explore the city and the region, bearing in mind that the metro and train stations are only a few minutes walking distance away. The average room rate is around 90 euros, making this hotel a truly great deal for your holidays or business trip to Porto.

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Porto European Capital of Culture

Porto is a bustling industrial metropolis that rivals Lisbon both economically and culturally. In 2001, Porto was named “European Capital of Culture”. It is the home of many contemporary museums and galleries, including the Art Deco building of the Serralves Foundation with its splendid gardens and the ultramodern Casa da Música.

The city center has been proclaimed a UNESCO World Heritage Site and boasts amazing examples of Gothic, Baroque, Neoclassical, Roman and Renaissance architecture. The fact that the center of the city was built into the cliffs of the Douro estuary gives it a recognizable charm. The twelfth-century Porto Cathedral is the city’s oldest building and represents one of its architectural landmarks, together with the remains of the city walls and a few other churches and fifteenth-century houses. The São Bento train station is also one of the city’s monuments with its painted tiles, which number over 20,000.

Best time to Visit Porto

Porto is best to visit in early spring and summer. February is also particularly pleasant because of the blossoming trees on the city’s streets. Winds from the sea in the summer months ensure that the temperature remains comfortable. Late summer, however, is the time of the rainy season in northern Portugal, so make sure to check the weather forecasts well in advance.

Porto Tourist Info

Like Lisbon, Porto is a great city to explore on foot, wandering through the little streets and allowing yourself to be surprised. It is very hilly and has many stairs cut into the cliffs, so be prepared for quite a lot of climbing. The waterfront, or Ribeira, is very popular with tourists, due to its bars and quality restaurants serving seafood. One can still find the traditional rabelo boats along the river, which were once used to transport wine casks down the Douro. Today, they have a purely touristic purpose and greatly contribute to the city’s allure. Porto has six bridges and is often referred to as the “City of the Bridges”, one of which is the metallic Dom Luís the First Bridge designed by a disciple of Gustave Eiffel.

Porto is a city that one should take time to get to know. There are numerous narrow streets that take the form of labyrinths and hide many unique and interesting restaurants, bars, bookshops, and galleries. It is also a very proud city with open and warm people who are willing to help you find your way to wherever you need to go or even suggest something that they think you might particularly like. Unlike Lisbon, Porto is not teeming with tourists throughout the year due to its slightly colder climate and this gives it a more authentic feeling. Be ready to explore and discover a historical city that has successfully combined modern urban development with centuries-old traditions.