Oporto, the Best European Destination in 2012

   

The Portuguese city of Oporto has been voted Best European Destination in 2012, competing against  20 stunning European cities like Vienna, Dubrovnik and Prague.

If you are still thinking of a fantastic place to visit this summer, give it a go in this fantastic city that features much more than its world famous Port Wine: come visit the stunning  Historical Centre designated World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO, the Museums, enchanting parks and gardens, fashion boutiques by national and international designers... Porto gives you a bit of everything. 

Located along the Douro river estuary in northern Portugal, Porto is one of the oldest European centres, and registered as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1996. Its settlement dates back many centuries, when it was an outpost of the Roman Empire. Its Latin name, Portus Cale,  has been referred to as the origin for the name "Portugal," based on transliteration and oral evolution from Latin. In Portuguese the name of the city is spelled with a definite article as "o Porto" (English:  the port).   (source: wikipedia)

Oporto was followed in the voting ranks by Vienna (Austria), Dubrovnik (Croatia) and Prague (Czech Republic), in second, third and fourth places respectively. Brussels (Belgium) made mid-table at fifth, followed by Berlin (Germany), Budapest (Hungary) and Lisbon (Portugal) in sixth, seventh and eight places, respectively.  Rounding off the top ten are Florence (Italy) and last but not least, Edinburgh (Scotland).    

"Portugal is in fact the only country to feature twice on the top ten Best Destination list, with its capital city, Lisbon, coming in eighth." - Portugal News

To visit Oporto, you can fly directly from London (see prices here) or if you prefer a longer holiday (and interesting too!), flying to Lisbon and from there, taking the comboio (train) to Oporto or a domestic flight.  Or, best of all, rent a car and drive all way to the north, until you reach the city. The route from Lisbon to Oporto has 318 kilometres, but you can always stop midway in Coimbra, another enchanting city in Portugal and enjoy a couple of days there.   On your way back, you can fly from Oporto back to your hometown.  

Porto is not a cheap place to visit, but it is not as expensive as Paris or Rome, you can buy a hop on/hop off ticket on a yellow bus to go sightseeing, there is also the Porto Card that gives you free access and discount on attractions. In the official tourism page of Oporto, you can also buy sightseeing tours from 45 Euros, including lunch and tour.  You can also find more information on river cruises in this site and in here. 

Of course Porto is a very well prepared city for tourism and you will not find it difficult to get around over there if you only speak English, however, it is always more pleasant to travel around Portugal when you can speak some Portuguese.  Be it for the freedom it gives as you will feel more confident to venture yourself into the countryside and the out-of-map pretty villages and also for the deeper experience you can have when trying to absorb their culture. 

Don't forget that you can learn Portuguese for your next trip to Portugal in  here.