Porto, Portugal — Activities
Porto Culture
Music and Theater:Casa da Musica, Avenida Da Boavista 604-610 (tel: 220 120 220; website: www.casadamusica.pt) opened in 2005 and has already established itself as the musical heart of the city. It is home to the Orquestra Nacional do Porto (tel: 220 120 200) and has a hugely impressive concert hall, but it also has lots of other halls and rooms for a wide variety of musical events and genres. In addition, it has two restaurants and three bars, so it’s a nice venue to spend an evening.
Coliseu do Porto, Rua de Passos Manuel 137 (tel: 223 394 940/9; website: www.coliseudoporto.pt) is a cultural venue housed in an impressive art deco building and hosting a wide variety of events - theater and opera productions as well as concerts and exhibitions. Teatro Nacional São João, Praca da Batalha (tel: 223 401 900; website: www.tnsj.pt) opened its doors for the first time in 1798, and it is one of the city’s most important cultural spaces, hosting theater productions as well as many other kinds of cultural events. Other Porto theaters include Rivoli Teatro Municipal, Praça D João I (tel: 223 392 200/1), Teatro Campo Alegre, Rua das Estrelas 57 (tel: 226 063 000/17) and TECA - Teatro Carlos Alberto, Rua das Oliveiras 43 (tel: 223 401 900 or 800 108 675).
Cinema:Cidade do Porto, Rua Gonçalo Sampaio 350, Centro Comercial Cidade do Porto (tel: 226 009 164) is a modern cinema screening contemporary movies. At CinemaBatalha, Praça da Batalha 47 (tel: 222 011 913; website: www.cinemabatalha.com), housed in an impressive modernist building, all kinds of films can be seen. The two auditoriums, the largest of which has 950 seats, are also used for concerts and other kinds of events. There is also a restaurant and a couple of bars. Cineclube do Porto/Clube Português de Cinematografia(Portuguese Cinematography Club – Porto Cineclub), Rua do Rosário (tel: 222 000 972; website: www.cineclubedoporto.canalblog.com) is where Porto’s film buffs go. Independent and international films are often screened, and a wide-ranging program of workshops, lectures and other events is constantly unfolding here.
Porto Tours
Various guided walking tours in Porto are available from the tourist offices. Professional guides are in charge of these walks, and booking is required. Printable detailed descriptions of various walks that can be made throughout Porto are available on the Porto Turismo website - www.portoturismo.pt.
Porto's bus network operator STCP (tel: 0808 200 166; website www.stcp.pt) runs an open-top sightseeing bus service tour called Porto Vintage. The tour lasts for 90 minutes, departs every hour, has commentary in many languages and covers most of Porto's sights, monuments and historic spots.
Many companies offer cruises on the Douro River. Barcadouro (tel: 223 722 415; website: www.barcadouro.pt), Douro Acima (tel: 222 006 418; website: www.douroacima.pt), Douro Azul (tel: 223 402 500; website: www.douroazul.com) and Endouro (tel: 226 099 302) all offer 50-minute guided cruises focusing on the bridges between Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia (as well as one- and two-day cruises into the Douro Valley).
The Electric Tramcar Museum (tel: 226 158 185/2; website: http://museu-carro-electrico.stcp.pt) has a fleet of fully restored electric tramcars from the 1920s and 1930s that are available for rent for rides along the Marginal and Restauração lines.
Porto Tours (tel: 222 000 073; website: www.portotours.com) have a useful summary of all the various kinds of tours currently on offer in Porto. They take bookings for all the tours available in the city.
