Porto in the context of "Tourism in Portugal"

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⭐ Core Definition: Porto

Porto, officially the Ancient, Very Noble, Ever Loyal and Undefeated City of Porto, also known in English as Oporto, is the second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropolitan area, with an estimated population of 252,687 people in a municipal area of 41.42 km (16 sq mi). As of 2025, Porto's urban area has around 1.4 million people in an area of 2,395 km (925 sq mi), making it the second-largest urban area in Portugal. while the Porto metro area has more than 1.8 million people. It is recognized as a global city with a Gamma + rating from the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.

On the Douro River estuary in northern Portugal, Porto is one of the oldest European centers, and its core was named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1996, as the Historic Centre of Porto, Luiz I Bridge and Monastery of Serra do Pilar. The historic area is also a National Monument of Portugal. The western part of its urban area extends to the coastline of the Atlantic Ocean. Settlement dates back to the 2nd century BC, when it was an outpost of the Roman Republic. Its combined Celtic-Latin name, Portus Cale, has been referred to as the origin of the name Portugal, based on transliteration and oral evolution from Latin.

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Porto in the context of County of Portugal

The County of Portugal (Galician-Portuguese: Comtato de Portugalle; referred to as Portugalia in contemporary documents) refers to two successive medieval counties in the region around Guimarães and Porto, today corresponding to litoral northern Portugal, within which the identity of the Portuguese people formed. The first county existed from the mid-ninth to the mid-eleventh centuries as a vassalage of the Kingdom of Asturias and the Kingdom of Galicia and also part of the Kingdom of León, before being abolished as a result of rebellion. A larger entity under the same name was then reestablished in the late 11th century and subsequently elevated by its count in the mid-12th century into an independent Kingdom of Portugal.

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Porto in the context of Norte Region, Portugal

The North Region (Portuguese: Região do Norte [ʁɨʒiˈɐ̃w̃ du ˈnɔɾtɨ] Mirandese: Region de l Norte [rɨʒiˈõŋ d(ɐ)ɫ ˈno̝ɾte̞] or Northern Portugal is the most populous region in Portugal, ahead of Lisbon, and the third most extensive by area. The region has 3,576,205 inhabitants according to the 2017 census, and its area is 21,278 kilometres (13,222 mi) with a density of 173 inhabitants per square kilometre. It is one of five regions of Mainland Portugal (NUTS II subdivisions). Its main population center is the urban area of Porto, with about one million inhabitants; it includes a larger political metropolitan region with 1.8 million, and an urban-metropolitan agglomeration with 2.99 million inhabitants, including Porto and neighboring cities, such as Braga, Guimarães and Póvoa de Varzim. The Commission of Regional Coordination of the North (CCDR-N) is the agency that coordinates environmental policies, land-use planning, cities and the overall development of this region, supporting local governments and associations.

Northern Portugal is a culturally varied region. It is a land of dense vegetation and profound historic and cultural wealth. What is now Northern Portugal was first settled by various pre-Celtic and Celtic tribes before being visited by a number of Mediterranean civilizations who traded in its river-mouths, including Greek, Carthaginians, conquest by the Romans, invasion by Germanic peoples, and attacks by the Moors and the Vikings.

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Porto in the context of Liberal Revolution of 1820

The Liberal Revolution of 1820 (Portuguese: Revolução Liberal) was a Portuguese political revolution that erupted in 1820. It began with a military insurrection in the city of Porto, in northern Portugal, that quickly and peacefully spread to the rest of the country. The Revolution resulted in the return in 1821 of the Portuguese court to Portugal from Brazil, where it had fled during the Peninsular War, and initiated a constitutional period in which the 1822 Constitution was ratified and implemented. The movement's liberal ideas had an important influence on Portuguese society and political organization in the nineteenth century.

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Porto in the context of Douro

The Douro (UK: /ˈdʊər, ˈdʊər/, US: /ˈdɔːr, ˈdɔːr/, Portuguese: [ˈdo(w)ɾu], Mirandese: [ˈdowɾʊ]; Spanish: Duero [ˈdweɾo]; Latin: Durius) is the largest river of the Iberian Peninsula by discharge. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in the Spanish province of Soria, meanders briefly south, then flows generally west through the northern part of the Meseta Central in Castile and León into northern Portugal. Its largest tributary (carrying more water than the Douro at their confluence) is the right-bank Esla. The Douro flows into the Atlantic Ocean at Porto, the second largest city of Portugal.

The scenic Douro railway line runs close to the river. Adjacent areas produce port (a mildly fortified wine) and other agricultural produce. A small tributary of the river has the Côa Valley Paleolithic Art site which is considered important to the archaeological pre-historic patrimony, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Within Spain, it flows through the middle of the autonomous community of Castile and León, with the basin spanning through the northern half of the Meseta Central. The latter includes wine producing areas such as the Ribera del Duero DOP.

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Porto in the context of Greater Metropolitan Area of Porto

The Porto Metropolitan Area (Portuguese: Área Metropolitana do Porto; abbreviated as AMP) is a metropolitan area in northern Portugal centered on the City of Porto, Portugal's second largest city. The metropolitan area, covering 17 municipalities, is the second largest urban area in the country and one of the largest in the European Union, with a population in 2024 of 1,818,217 in an area of 2,040.31 km².

The Porto Metropolitan Area is a major economic engine in Portugal, with a very high HDI (Human Development Index) and a GDP above the European average. Porto has been Portugal's largest manufacturing region since the Industrial Revolution and is home to many of the country's largest corporations.

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Porto in the context of Câmara municipal

A câmara municipal (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈkɐmɐɾɐ munisiˈpal], meaning literally municipal chamber and often referred as câmara de vereadores or simply as câmara) is a type of municipal governing body, existing in several countries of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries.

In Portugal, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau and Timor-Leste, a câmara municipal is the executive body of a municipality. In Brazil, it is the legislature of a municipality. São Tome and Príncipe has similar câmaras distritais (district chambers), which are the executive bodies of the districts (municipalities).

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