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General Information
Porto is the second largest city of Portugal. The city and its district offers a lot of things to see from Portuguese heritage. The history of the city goes back to the Romans, 5th Century. The official name of this city is Porto. However, in recent times there has been popularity for people from other parts to refer to it as "Oporto". This is due to its close and lengthy association with Port wine and the reference to the actual product, "o porto".
The city has a number of distinctive atmospheres and this is very evident when comparing the various parts of the city. The quarter along the riverside known as the Ribeira is full of narrow twisting streets with houses once painted or tiled in colorful facades. The district around the Cathedral is also full of busy streets and monuments to past achievements. The Cordoaria quarter is for the students with steep streets and interesting shops. The civic center of the city is in the Central e Baixa quarter with broad avenues lined with Banks and outdoor cafés, or in the Baixa where the the two-tiered covered daily market goes about its business. Lastly, the Boavista area is the arterial route in and out of the city past blocks of apartments and hotels.
Along the coast, holiday resorts like the cosmopolitan beach of Espinho, busy ports like Matosinhos, with splendid seafood, or traditional fishing towns like Póvoa de Varzim. Inland, for example, the quaint charm of Amarante, with 17th century mansions overlooking the river and famous for a kind of sweet egg pastries called "papos de anjo" (angel bellies).
Right next to Porto you can visit, in Vila Nova de Gaia, the lodges where Port wine is blended and aged and where you can taste the different varieties, or you may choose to take a river cruise along the Douro. The whole district is filled with prosperous towns, as commerce and industry thrive there, but you can drive along many calm roads with wonderful views over the river or enjoy a rugged and still unspoilt coastline.
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