Your property in Porto
Newly developed luxury houses overlooking the River Douro to pied-à-terre apartments in the trendy terraced quarter make up some of the high-end property in Porto.
The city and its surrounding area are a key focus for new developments given it is a location covered by the golden visa scheme, which encourages non-resident property purchases.
Inside Porto
Eclectic but opulent, the engaging city of Porto, roughly 3 hours north of Lisbon, is bursting with fantastic art, stunning architecture and superb food.
The hilly city, the home of port, has a rich history but has welcomed eye-catching modern buildings to create an intriguing skyline.
Art plays a major part in city life, which has a relaxed pace thanks to its numerous parks, some of which offer stunning views across the city. On the edge of the city, the rugged Atlantic coastline demands to be explored, while to the north and east, rural villages are home to small, traditional communities.
Landscape
Porto’s streets quickly rise from the docks that sit on the River Douro, meaning it takes effort to explore the city by foot.
The city is located on Portugal’s western coast and the nearby wild coastline provides perfect excursions from the city, while the Peneda-Gerês national park is approximately an hour north for rural escapism.
Education
Porto has several international schools making it an excellent location for families considering relocating to the area.
The Oporto British School, which is the oldest British school in mainland Europe, teaches the British curriculum to children aged 3-18, while there are also French- and German-speaking international schools.
For further education, the University of Porto is one of the best regarded universities in the country, while the University of Aveiro is roughly an hour south of Porto.
Activities and Entertainment
Porto is a city brimming with culture, meaning its fantastic history, immortalised in grand sites such as the Igreja de São Francisco and the Palácio da Bolsa, is entirely captivating.
For relaxation, the city’s parks are an oasis of calm, with the Jardins do Palácio de Cristal providing a superb vista across Porto and the River Douro, while the Pergola da Foz is a laid-back promenade perfect for watching the sun set. The city’s cable car also offers a great way to see the Port wine district in Vila Nova de Gaia, which hosts the city’s remarkable wine cellars in a new complex.
Those who enjoy an active lifestyle will find plenty of hiking and cycling trails in and around the city, while the river and nearby beaches make it easy to partake in water sports such as surfing, kite surfing, sailing and kayaking.
Art and Culture
Portuguese azulejo art is particularly prominent in Porto, with several landmarks including the Estacão São Bento and Igreja de Santo Ildefonso standing out for their stunning mosaics.
The city boasts plenty of museums and galleries for culture-lovers, with modern new buildings such as the minimalist Museu de Arte Contemporânea, designed by Álvaro Siza Vieira, providing a wide range of stunning art within the cutting-edge building, while the Casa da Música concert venue, designed by Rem Koolhaas, also adds a modern twist to the city’s skyline.
Music and theatre features prominently in the city, with several festivals such as Queima das Fitas and NOS Primavera Sound bringing a variety of music, while the many theatres scattered across Porto put on an exceptionally wide range of productions.
Food and Drink
Porto is a true culinary melting pot with everything from ‘petiscarias’ tapas bars and food stalls at markets, through to the increasingly sophisticated restaurants of Foz and various Michelin-starred eateries across Porto, including seafood-focused Casa de Chá da Boa Nova.
The city’s proximity to the coast means seafood usually graces the menu, with specialities including bolinhos de bacalhau (deep-fried salt cod cakes), grilled sardines and octopus, while the meat-stuffed francesinha sandwich is a local’s favourite and caldo verde broth is a popular, lighter option. For dessert, the large amount of almond production around the city means the nut features in many of Porto’s sweet treats, including tarte de Amêndoa and tuocinho do céu.
Few cities are as famous for their drinks as Porto, with various red, tawny, white and increasingly rosé port produced in the Douro Valley, and leading cellars, such as Graham’s Port Lodge and Taylor’s Port, in neighbouring Vila Nova de Gaia. Vinho Verde white wine is made closer to Porto.
Accessibility
Porto’s Francisco Sá Cameiro Airport is just 15 minutes from the city centre and serves domestic and international destinations.
The city is well-connected by train, with regular services to Lisbon, which is less than 4 hours away by train, while the city also has several autoroutes which make it easy to traverse the city and travel to destinations around the country.
For those arriving by boat, the Atlântico Leixões port has 248 moorings.