Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
tugal's most dazzling displays of baroque finery. Hardly an inch escapes unsmothered, as
otherworldly cherubs and sober monks are drowned by nearly 100kg of gold leaf.
Palácio da Bolsa
MONUMENT
(Stock Exchange; Rua Ferreira Borges; tours adult/concession €7/4; 9am-6.30pm Apr-Oct, 9am-12.30pm &
2-5.30pm Nov-Mar)
This splendid neoclassical monument (built from 1842 to 1910) honours
Porto's past and present money merchants. Just past the entrance hall is the glass-domed
Pátio das Nações
(Hall of Nations), where the exchange once operated. But this pales in com-
parison with rooms deeper inside, and to visit these you must join one of the half-hour
guided tours, which set off every 30 minutes and are given in Portuguese, English, French,
German and Spanish.
The highlight is a stupendous ballroom called the Salão Árabe (Arabian Hall), with
stucco walls that have been teased into complex Moorish designs, then gilded with some
18kg of gold. There's also a restaurant and wine bar (the appropriately named 'O Comer-
cial') for lingering amid the elegance.
Casa do Infante
(Rua Alfândega 10; adult/student €2.20/1.10, Sat & Sun free; 10am-5pm Tue-Sun)
Just back from the river
is the handsomely renovated medieval town house where, according to legend, Henry the
Navigator was born in 1394. The building later served as Porto's first customs house.
Today it houses three floors of exhibits on the complex activities of the customs house
throughout the centuries. In 2002 the complex was excavated, revealing Roman founda-
tions as well as some remarkable mosaics - all of which are now on display.
HISTORICAL BUILDING
Instituto dos Vinhos do
Douro e do Porto
(
www.ivdp.pt
; Rua Ferreira Borges 27; with wine tasting €5; 11am-7pm Mon-Fri)
When area vintners ap-
ply for the certification that ultimately christens their casks with the term 'Port' they bring
vials to the labs set in this attractive relic just uphill from the river. The labs are off-limits
to visitors, but you're welcome to explore the lobby exhibits, and the attached wine shop
offers free tastings.
NOTABLE BUILDING
Igreja da Misericórdia
CHURCH
