Oporto – Wine Capital

Do you love wine? Would you like to have some as you take pleasure in looking at the view of the river which ends in the Atlantic Ocean? Would you also like to be charmed by some art treasures, cathedrals and museums from the Medieval period? If you do, you are surely going to fall in love with Oporto.

Oporto is the capital of Northern Portugal. It is the second largest city after Lisbon and is also as industrialized. Visitors love visiting the historic centre of Oporto because of the legendary Port Wine. This wine is processed, blended, and aged in the lodge of the Vila Nova da Gaia district right across the river Douro. Visitors can drop in on these lodges and finish up with a wine-tasting session.

Along the Atlantic coastline of Oporto, numerous resorts are within reach. These resorts have restaurants known for their sumptuous seafood menus. Taking a river cruise along Douro is possible for you to see better the splendid scenery of the area.

Here are the other attractions people enjoy while in the historic centre of Oporto:

• Igreja de Sao Franciso – In English, the Church of Saint Frances. This church dates back to as far as 1383. The exterior is not very imposing but the inside is extravagantly Baroque in style created in the 17th and 18th centuries.

• Museu Nacional de Soares dos Reis – This is an extensive art museum which opened in 1840. This was renamed and dedicated to Soares dos Reis, a very famous sculptor born and bred in Oporto. It houses both Portuguese and foreign collections.

• Solar Vinho do Porto – This is the place to go if you want to have a taste of the Porto Wine. This is in a villa full of roses which definitely gives visitors the light and relaxing feeling they long for in a getaway. Hosts offer visitors glasses of wine along some complimentary snacks. Also inside this villa is a small museum which has some 18th century painting and furniture.