Oporto’s cathedral crowns the city’s upper level and in the surrounding
streets are a variety of monuments to the city’s past, including the
Renaissance church of Santa Clara and the turn-of-the-century railway
station of São Bento, alongside bustling street markets.

Beneath the towering cathedral lies the crowded Barredo, a quarter seemingly
unchanged since medieval days, where balconied houses cling to each other
and to the vertiginous hillside, forming a maze of ancient alleys; some are
no more than outside staircases.

This riverside quarter is a warren of narrow, twisting streets and shadowy
arcades. Behind brightly tiled or pastel-painted façades, many in faded
glory, a working population earns its living, hangs out the washing, chats
and mixes in lively street scenes. Restoration of this atmospheric district
is attracting a growing number of restaurants and nightclubs.

The Cordoaria gardens lie in the lee of the hilltop landmark of the Torre dos
Clérigos (see Igreja dos
Clérigos). Nearby streets are full of interesting shops.

The civic centre of Oporto ranges along the Avenida dos Aliados, leading up
to the modern Câmara Municipal, or town hall. Along this broad double avenue
is a high concentration of the city’s banks and offices, and thriving
outdoor cafés. To the east, the Baixa or “lower level” district attracts
shoppers, especially to the fashionable jewellery and leather shops in and
around the pedestrianized Rua de Santa Catarina and the parallel Rua Sá da
Bandeira. Between them lies the two-tier covered Bolhão market. Exuberant
and noisy, it provides an entertaining view of Oporto daily life. Everything
can be bought here, from fresh fruit and vegetables to household goods and
pets.

The busy Avenida da Boavista is lined with hotels, residential blocks and
shops. In the centre of the Rotunda da Boavista, as Praça de Mouzinho de
Albuquerque is known locally, a statue of a lion (the Luso-British forces)
crushing an eagle (the French) marks the victory in the Peninsular War.
South of the rotunda is some of the best shopping in the city.

Built as a fortress church in the 12th and 13th centuries, the cathedral
has since been modified several times. The beautiful rose window in the
west front is from the 13th century. The small chapel to the left of the
chancel has a silver retable of dazzling workmanship, saved from
invading French troops in 1809 by a hastily raised plaster wall. The
south transept gives access to the 14th-century cloisters and the Capela
de São Vicente. An 18th-century staircase leads to the upper levels,
where azulejo  panels depict the life of the Virgin and
Ovid’s Metamorphoses .

The former home of the poet and fiery Republican activist Guerra
Junqueiro (1850–1923) is an 18th-century Baroque gem. The poet’s private
collection ranges from rare ceramics and Portuguese furniture to Flemish
tapestries and a remarkable set of English alabaster sculptures. In the
Dom João V Room there is a colourful parade of Chinese dogs.

Legend has it that Prince Henry the Navigator was born in this house on
Oporto’s riverfront. Today the building houses Oporto’s city archives,
which include historical documents, among them Prince Henry’s
christening certificate, photographs and recent archaeological
finds.

Where the monastery of São Francisco once stood, the city’s merchants
built the stock exchange, or Bolsa, in 1842. The Tribunal do Comércio,
where Oporto’s mercantile law was upheld, is full of historic interest,
and has a small adjoining picture gallery. But the glittering highlight
is the Arabian Room. This galleried salon, its convoluted blue and gold
arabesques inspired by Granada’s Alhambra, makes a setting fit for
Scheherazade.

Housed in a vast Neo-Classical building on the riverfront, this museum
includes a permanent exhibition on the automobile and interactive
exhibitions on media, science, new technologies and art. The building
also houses a restaurant, various spaces for cultural events and the
customs service.

This religious hospice, alongside its imposing church, was founded in the
1500s. Its most precious possession is the Fons Vitae 
(Fountain of Life), donated by Manuel I in about 1520. It shows the king
and his family kneeling before the crucified Christ. The artist’s
identity remains unproven, but both Van der Weyden and Holbein have been
suggested.

This Gothic church was begun in the 1300s, but it is the 18th-century
Baroque interior that amazes visitors. Over 200 kg (450 lb) of gold
encrusts the high altar, columns and pillars, wrought into cherubs and
garlands, culminating with the Tree of Jesse on the north wall. A tour
includes the catacombs and treasures from the church’s monastery,
destroyed in 1832.

The modern tiles on the façade of this 17th-century church are by Jorge
Colaço. They depict scenes from the life of St Antony, and provide a
dignified presence amid the traffic that clogs this part of the
city.

This unmistakable hilltop landmark was built in the 18th century by
Niccolò Nasoni.

The soaring Torre dos Clérigos with which the architect complemented his
design is, at 75 m (246 ft), still one of the tallest buildings in
Portugal. The dizzying 240-step climb is worth it for the superb views
of the river, the coastline and the Douro valley.

This typical example of Portuguese Baroque architecture was built by José
Figueiredo Seixas between 1750 and 1768. The immense azulejo  panel covering one outside wall, designed by Silvestro
Silvestri, depicts the legendary founding of the Carmelite order. The
older Igreja das Carmelitas next door was completed in 1628 in a
combination of Classical and Baroque styles. It is now part of a
barracks.

The elegant Carrancas Palace, built in the 18th century, has been a
Jewish textile workshop, a royal abode and a military headquarters. In
1809 Oporto was in French hands, and Marshal Soult and his troops were
quartered here. They were ousted in a surprise attack by Arthur
Wellesley, later Duke of Wellington, who then calmly installed himself
at the marshal’s dinner table.

Today, the palace provides an appropriate setting for an outstanding
museum, named after António Soares dos Reis, the country’s leading
19th-century sculptor. Pride of place goes to the display of Portuguese
art. This includes paintings by the 16th-century master, Frey Carlos,
and the Impressionist, Henrique Pousão. Also hung here are landscapes of
Oporto by the French artist, Jean Pillement (1728–1808). The star
sculpture exhibit, O Desterrado  (The Exile), is Soares
dos Reis’s own marvel of pensive tension in marble, completed in 1874.
Further sections display Portuguese pottery, Limoges enamels, porcelain
and decorative art. Historical exhibits in the museum include an
appealing 15th-century silver bust of São Pantaleão, patron saint of
Oporto, and a sword which was once owned by the first king of
Portugal.

Constructed in Romanesque style in the 12th century, this plain little
church is thought to be the oldest in the city. It is said to have been
built on the site where Theodomir, the King of the Suevi (a Germanic
tribe who occupied the area), was converted to Christianity in the 6th
century by Saint Martin.

The Quinta da Macieirinha was briefly the residence of the abdicated King
Carlo Alberto of Sardinia (1798–1849), who lived here for the final two
months of his life. In 1972 the upper floor of the mansion was converted
into a museum. The well-proportioned rooms looking out over the river
display French, German and Portuguese furniture, as well as rugs,
ceramics and miscellaneous exhibits. Among the oil paintings and
watercolours on show here are portraits of Baron Forrester and Almeida
Garrett, the great Portuguese Romantic poet, playwright and author.

On the ground floor of the Quinta, the Port Wine Institute operates the
Solar do Vinho do Porto. In this bar it is possible to choose from a
tasting list of over 150 varieties of port, then relax in the secluded
garden and enjoy the view across the Douro.

Inspired by the Crystal Palace of London’s Great Exhibition in 1851,
Oporto’s own crystal palace was begun in 1861. The steel and glass
structure of the original was replaced in the 1950s by the Pavilhão Rosa
Mota, an ungainly shape dubbed “the half-orange”. Concerts are
occasionally held here and the leisure gardens are enlivened by a fair
at festa  time.

It is a steep walk up to this circular 16th-century church, but worth it.
From the terrace, the future Duke of Wellington planned his surprise
attack on the French in 1809. It is easy to see the advantage gained,
for the panoramic view takes in the port lodges below, the sweep of the
River Douro and the old city on the far side.

Created in 1989 as Portugal’s main institution for contemporary art, the
foundation is responsible for both the Art Deco Casa de Serralves and
the Museu de Arte Contemporânea. The museum occupies a long white ship
of a building and houses a permanent collection including works by
Christian Boltanski, Bruce Nauman and Julião Sarmento.

Trams, once the backbone of the city’s transport system, have trundled
into retirement at this museum. Among the beauties on show is No. 22,
introduced in 1895 as the first electric tram on the Iberian
Peninsula.

A ride on No. 18, Oporto’s last tram, takes a scenic route along the
river to Rua Infante Dom Henrique and back.

The former residence of the businessman, collector and poet, Fernando de
Castro (1888–1950), was donated to the state by his sister in 1951. His
collection ranges from religious sculpture saved from disbanded churches
to works by modern artists, and includes a painting of the infant Jesus
attributed to Josefa de Óbidos. Also of special interest are figurines
from the 19th and 20th centuries by Teixeira Lopes, both father and
son.