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Culture and festivities
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2005 © Oficina Virtual de Turismo
The cultural dynamics of Porto are far
from being limited to its historic, monumental, museum and artistic heritage.
The city is enriched today thanks to the House of Music , an
essentially multidisciplinary and multipurpose institution, equipped with
infrastructures, technical and acoustic means for the production and reception
of the most diverse musical spectacles, as well as other events.
The city offers a series of organised activities for visitors to choose from: Porto
Tours is a booking centre offering tours, organised by different theme
areas: medieval, Baroque, neoclassical, tile work and gastronomy and wine.
There are also organised bus tours for panoramic visits, or personalised tours
around the town in a car with a driver. You can even see the city from the air
on a helicopter tour, or from the river in a boat on the Cruzeiro das Pontes in
the river Douro, on a day tour or a whole weekend. The choice is yours.
If you prefer to visit natural environments, you can also go to one of the
several parks, among them the City Park or the Serralves Park
. The former has an area of 80 ha. and 8,5 km of paths, while the latter is an
example of twentieth century landscaping.
A visit to the city would not be complete without a visit to the Caves do Vinho
do Porto (Port wine cellars), where you can get to know their history
and their wine of choice - The Port Wine.
For your visit to the city we recommend using the Porto Card, a
tourist and cultural card devised by the Tourism Office of The Porto City Council , with the aim of showing the city to tourists and
visitors in an organised way and to their advantage, through discounts for
access to several monuments, museums, the purchase of organised tours,
restaurants in town or shopping. This card will also give you discounts in some
of the city’s transports.
In Porto the festivities of São João are celebrated on 23 and 24 June. It is a
popular festival, with stands, dances and fireworks lasting all night long, and
it brings the entire town out together on the streets in lively celebration.
The leek is the symbol par excellence of these festivities, and in combination
with martelos (little hammers) make for a unique show of colour.
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