Lisbon’s northern rival, Porto is a dynamic riverside metropolis of medieval lanes, sun-dappled plazas and lofty viewpoints overlooking the Douro. That is additionally a metropolis with a love for the nice issues in life: high-quality artwork, soccer and wine.
The town’s impressively various museums present a useful primer on Porto’s distinctive sides, from its age-old wine-making traditions to newer triumphs on the sporting pitch, with detours through the town’s cheerfully painted trams and trailblazing art work.
You’ll additionally acquire deeper perception into Portugal’s historical past via galleries packed stuffed with historic relics and swashbuckling interactive exhibitions geared toward pleasing the hardest of critics (particularly the underneath 10 crowd, who’re nicely catered for in Porto).
The historic Ribeira district has the densest focus of museums, but it surely’s value roaming throughout the town to see the highest museums. Getting from museum to museum is a part of the journey, and never a cumbersome one, given the town’s glorious public transport community. Plan your journey round these seven good museums (and see distinctive elements of Porto alongside the way in which).
Museu Nacional Soares dos Reis: finest for Portuguese artwork
Even earlier than you step within the door, you may really feel the overarching prominence of this grand museum, going through the Nineteenth-century Palace of the Carrancas and set in considered one of Porto’s best neoclassical buildings. Strolling up the granite staircase, you’ll observe within the footsteps of Arthur Wellesley (aka, the primary Duke of Wellington) and Dom Pedro IV, each of whom lived for a time within the constructing. Authentic frescoes and Italian stucco work adorn the rooms inside, together with one of many best artwork collections in Porto.
Structure apart, Portugal’s oldest museum shows a wide selection of creative treasures, together with work by Sixteenth-century Portuguese Renaissance grasp, Vasco Fernandes, and Nineteenth-century naturalist, Henrique Pousão. Delight of place goes to works by the artist for whom the museum is called – generally referred to as the ‘Michelangelo of Portugal,’ the sculptor Soares dos Reis created hauntingly practical works, together with O Desterrado (The Exile), on show alongside a number of different dos Reis masterpieces.
World of Wine: finest for wine lovers
Within the port-loving settlement of Vila Nova de Gaia, throughout the river from Porto correct, the World of Wine isn’t one museum however seven. Right here, you possibly can study not solely about winemaking in Portugal but in addition about different key industries integral to the Portuguese id, together with cork-harvesting, chocolate and textiles. There’s a museum that covers Porto’s sophisticated previous and one other dedicated to consuming vessels – over 1800 beakers, bowls and chalices from throughout the globe that present a novel window into this attention-grabbing aspect of human historical past.
Museums are just one a part of the WOW experience. Guests even have ample alternatives to partake of one other beloved Portuguese custom: particularly consuming. The complicated features a dozen totally different eating places, bars and cafes, every with a novel focus. You’ll discover vegetarian fare, steaks, haute delicacies, tapas and desserts. Naturally, good wines are ubiquitous, although if you wish to delve deeper into native wine traditions, take a category or a workshop on the onsite Wine School.
Casa do Infante: finest for Porto historical past
If these partitions might speak the cacophony could be deafening contemplating how a lot has transpired on this 14th-century constructing through the years. Amongst different issues, the Case do Infante is the place future Prince Henry the Navigator – the daddy of Portuguese exploration – was seemingly born in 1394.
Stepping inside, you’ll study all concerning the notable royal, who performed a key function in Portugal’s maritime dominance and the Portuguese colonization of Africa, Asia and South America, whereas additionally getting an summary of Portuguese historical past.
Exhibitions delve even additional again in time than the Age of Discoveries, due to the unintended unearthing of Roman ruins beneath the museum. Don’t miss the show revealing an impressively designed historical Roman mosaic flooring.
Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Serralves: finest for avant-garde artwork
Hop on bus 201 and take a 30-minute jaunt west of the middle to achieve the Parque de Serralves. Right here, tucked amid manicured, French-inspired gardens, you’ll discover the Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Serralves, Portugal’s most essential modern artwork museum.
Exhibitions change usually and showcase thought-provoking works by artists from Portugal and past. Latest hits embody exhibits by Joan Miró, Ai Weiwei and filmmaker Manoel Oliveira. The hanging modernist constructing, designed by famed Porto-based architect, Álvaro Siza Vieira, performs a supporting function – as does the backyard exterior, with outsized home windows within the gallery framing nature’s suave designs exterior.
World of Discoveries: finest for youths
Dragging the youngsters right into a museum is usually a robust promote. The World of Discoveries, nevertheless, brings a contact of Disney-esque pleasure to the previous, with interactive, hands-on reveals. You’ll rewind to the fifteenth and Sixteenth centuries, and the times when Portuguese explorers sailed off into the unknown, and also you’ll see the lands they encountered – together with North Africa, Brazil, Macau and India.
There are rooms the place you possibly can roam across the within a ship, find out about navigation via contact screens and take a look at barrels of cinnamon and different spices introduced again to Europe. The spotlight is a “round-the-world” boat journey, passing life-sized tableaus full with knights, camels and jungle creatures alongside the way in which.
Museu do Carro Eléctrico: finest for transportation nerds
Porto’s beloved yellow trams get the star remedy at this pleasant museum close to the banks of the Douro River. Set within the cavernous inside of the previous thermoelectric station that when powered the tram community, this museum shows some two dozen totally different trams, together with oddities resembling an 1872 streetcar that was pulled by mules and boxy Vagoneta 80, which was used to hold fish from the docks of Matosinhos to the markets in Porto.
No prizes for guessing the one acceptable mode of transport to achieve the museum! Scenic tram line 1 rattles alongside the riverside from the Ribeira district to close the museum entrance. It’s a memorable 10-minute experience, and after visiting the museum you possibly can proceed out to Passeio Alegre for extra superb tram time.
FC Porto Museum: finest for sports activities followers
Set beneath the 50,000-seat Estadio do Dragão, the high-tech FC Porto Museum immerses you within the lore of considered one of Portugal’s best-loved soccer (soccer) groups. Thoughtfully designed reveals and interactive screens inform the story of FC Porto since its founding in 1893, overlaying its deep connection to the town, its most well-known gamers, and its biggest victories.
Don’t miss the exhibit devoted to Rabah Madjer’s back-heel purpose within the 1987 European Cup ultimate in opposition to Bayern Munich – which led to Porto’s first European Cup title. For a couple of euros extra you possibly can add on a stadium tour and get a take a look at among the key areas within the ‘Dragon’s Den.’
