Porto or Oporto is the second-largest city in Portugal and one of the Iberian Peninsula‘s major urban areas. Porto city is small compared to its metropolitan area, with a population of 237,559 people.
Porto’s metropolitan area has an estimated 1.7 million people in an area of 2,395 km2 (925 sq mi), making it the second-largest urban area in Portugal.
It is recognized as a global city with a Gamma + rating from the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.
Located along the Douro River estuary in northern Portugal, Porto is one of the oldest European centres, and its core was proclaimed a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1996, as “Historic Centre of Porto, Luiz I Bridge and Monastery of Serra do Pilar”. The historic area is also a National Monument of Portugal. The western part of its urban area extends to the coastline of the Atlantic Ocean. Its settlement dates back many centuries, when it was an outpost of the Roman Empire. Its combined Celtic–Latin name, Portus Cale, has been referred to as the origin of the name Portugal, based on transliteration and oral evolution from Latin. In Portuguese, the name of the city includes a definite article: o Porto (“the port” or “the harbor”), which is where its English name “Oporto” comes from.
Port wine, one of Portugal’s most famous exports, is named after Porto, since the metropolitan area, and in particular the cellars of Vila Nova de Gaia, were responsible for the packaging, transport, and export of fortified wine. In 2014 and 2017, Porto was elected The Best European Destination by the Best European Destinations Agency.Porto is on the Portuguese Way path of the Camino de Santiago. Porto is also the home of one of the country’s most successful football clubs, FC Porto.
Economy
As the most important city in the heavily industrialized northwest, many of the largest Portuguese corporations from diverse economic sectors, like Altri, Ambar, Amorim, Bial, Cerealis, BPI, CIN, EFACEC, Frulact, Lactogal, Millennium bcp, Porto Editora, Grupo RAR, Sonae, Sonae Indústria, and Unicer, are headquartered in the Greater Metropolitan Area of Porto, most notably, in the core municipalities of Maia, Matosinhos, Porto, and Vila Nova de Gaia.
The country’s biggest exporter (Petrogal) has one of its two refineries near the city, in Leça da Palmeira (13 km) and the second biggest (Qimonda, now bankrupt) has its only factory also near the city in Mindelo (26 km).
The city’s former stock exchange (Bolsa do Porto) was transformed into the largest derivatives exchange of Portugal, and merged with Lisbon Stock Exchange to create the Bolsa de Valores de Lisboa e Porto, which eventually merged with Euronext, together with Amsterdam, Brussels, LIFFE and Paris stock and futures exchanges. The building formerly hosting the stock exchange is currently one of the city’s touristic attractions, with the Salão Árabe (Arab Room in English) being its major highlight.
Porto hosts a popular Portuguese newspaper, Jornal de Notícias. The building where its offices are located (which has the same name as the newspaper) was up to recently one of the tallest in the city (it has been superseded by a number of modern buildings which have been built since the 1990s).
Porto Editora, one of the biggest Portuguese publishers, is also located in Porto. Its dictionaries are among the most popular references used in the country, and the translations are very popular as well.
The economic relations between the city of Porto and the Upper Douro River have been documented since the Middle Ages. However, they were greatly deepened in the modern ages.[citation needed] Indeed, sumach, dry fruits and nuts and the Douro olive oils sustained prosperous exchanges between the region and Porto. From the riverside quays at the river mouth, these products were exported to other markets of the Old and New World. However, the greatest lever to interregional trade relations resulted from the commercial dynamics of the Port wine (Vinho do Porto) agro-industry.
It decidedly bolstered the complementary relationship between the large coastal urban centre, endowed with open doors to the sea, and a region with significant agricultural potential, especially in terms of the production of extremely high quality fortified wines, known by the world-famous label Port. The development of Porto was also closely connected with the left margin of River Douro in Vila Nova de Gaia, where is located the amphitheatre-shaped slope with the Port wine cellars.South side of Douro, Vila Nova de Gaia
The city is very much the gateway to Portugal’s northern region as well as the northern and western areas of Spain. Within a two-hour drive of Porto’s airport there are four Unesco World Heritage sites and popular Spanish tourist hotspots such as Santiago de Compostela.
In a study concerning competitiveness of the 18 Portuguese district capitals, Porto was the worst-ranked. The study was made by Minho University economics researchers and was published in Público newspaper on 30 September 2006. The best-ranked cities in the study were Évora, Lisbon and Coimbra.
Nevertheless, the validity of this study was questioned by some Porto notable figures (such as local politicians and businesspersons) who argued that the city proper does not function independently but in conurbation with other municipalities. A new ranking, published in the newspaper Expresso (Portuguese Newspaper) in 2007 which can be translated to “The Best Cities to Live in Portugal” ranked Porto in third place (tied with Évora) below Guimarães and Lisbon. The two studies are not directly comparable as they use different dependent measures.
The Porto metropolitan area had a GDP amounting to $43.0 billion, and $21,674 per capita.
Tourism
Over the last few years, Porto has experienced significant tourism increases, which may be partly linked to the Ryanair hub at Francisco de Sá Carneiro Airport. Porto won the European Best Destination 2012, 2014 and 2017 awards.
The city received 2.8 million overnight visitors and 1.4 million day trippers between January and November 2017, with 73% from other countries. Tourism revenue has been increasing by over 11%, according to a 2018 report.
According to a February 2019 report, over 10% of economic activity in Porto is generated by tourism. The hotel occupancy rate in 2017 was 77%. A scholarly study published in June 2019 stated that “Porto is one of the fastest-growing European tourist destinations that has experienced exponential growth in the demand for city-break tourists”.
Education
The city has a large number of public and private elementary and secondary schools, as well as kindergartens and nurseries. Due to the depopulation of the city’s interior, however, the number of students has dropped substantially in the last decade, forcing a closure of some institutions. The oldest and largest international school located in Porto is the Oporto British School, established in 1894. There are more international schools in the city, such as the French School and the Deutsch School, both created in the 20th century.
Office of the Citizen
Porto Line. 220 100 220 – Telephone Answering Service | 2nd to 6th, from 9:00 am to 7:00 pm – to obtain information, to know the status of processes and to report occurrences.
Virtual Service Desk / Talk to Us: http://balcaovirtual.cm-porto.pt
PRESENTIAL SERVICE | CONDITIONED
Since May 11, it is possible to schedule a face-to-face service at the Office of the Citizen (Praça General Humberto Delgado 266, 4000 – 286 Porto). But in order for this hypothesis to be evaluated, citizens have to make prior appointment through the Porto Line. 220 100 220 , available from Monday to Friday, from 9 am to 7 pm, indicating the reason for the appointment, which will be in person when the impossibility of the matter being resolved by remote channels (telephone or online) is verified.
GIM – Office of the Municipal Tenant / Domus Social
Telephone answering service – 228 330 000
LAT – Technical Support Line – 808 100 505
E-mail – gim@domussocial.pt
Domus Social website http://www.domussocial.pt/
Waters of Porto
General and Malfunctions: 225 190 800
Digital Desk – https://balcaodigital.aguasdoporto.pt/
Airport
ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal, SA.
Information: 229 432 400
Buses
Sociedade de Transportes Colectivos do Porto, SA – www.stcp.pt
General: 225 071 000
Blue Line: 226 158 158/808 200 166
Almeida Garrett Municipal Library
328 Rua de Entrequintas
4050-329 Porto
Phone: 226 081 000
Fax: 226 081 057
Bib.agarrett@cm-porto.pt
Porto Municipal Public Library – BPMP
Rua D. João IV (to the Garden of S. Lázaro) 4049-017 Porto
Tel. 225 193 480
Fax: 225 193 488
e-mail: bpmp@cm-porto.pt
Firemen
Firefighters Battalion: 225 073 700
Porto Volunteer Firefighters: 222 038 387
Oporto Volunteer Firefighters: 226 151 800
Railways
CP – Trains of Portugal, EPE
Information: www.cp.pt | 707 210 220
Porto Consumer and Arbitration Information Center
General: 225 508 349
Emergency
European Emergency Number: 112
National Social Emergency Line: 144
National Forest Protection Line: 117
Intoxications: 808 250 143
Red Cross
Ambulances – Emergency Service: 226 006 353
Hospitals
Joaquim Urbano: 225 899 550
Maria Pia: 226 089 900
Maternity Júlio Dinis: 226 087 400
Regional Military No. 1: 226 063 011
Magalhães de Lemos: 226 192 400
Count Ferreira: 225 071 200
Santo António: 222 077 500
São João: 225 512 100
IPO-Porto: 225 084 000
Porto Citizen Shop
300 003 990
Police
Public Security Police: 22 209 2000
Republican National Guard: 223 399 600
GNR – Fiscal Brigade: 223 394 960
GNR – Traffic Brigade: 223 399 760
Municipal Police: 226 198 260
Judicial Police: 225 088 644
Maritime Police (General): 222 070 970 / Picket Maritime Police: 916 352 954
Foreigners and Borders Service of the Northern Regional Directorate: 228 330 200
Civil Protection
National: 214 165 100
District: 226 197 650
Douro River Precision and Flood Prevention Center: 223 389 660
Ombudsman
Blue Line: 808 200 084
Child Scraps (risky or dangerous situations)
Green Line: 800 206 656
Support Service for Urgent Situations (SASU)
General: 228331326
.jpg){kind=link}