PORTO - Portugal - page 333

Visiting the Stock Exchange: You'll tour eight rooms. The place is rife with sym-
bolism and intricate, time-consuming craftsmanship intended only to impress: the com-
plex patterned floors, carefully pieced together with Brazilian and African wood (from
Portugal's colonies); an incredibly detailed inlaid table, created over three years using
wood scraps from those same floors; and a room that looks like it's made of finely carved
woodwork and bronze—until you realize it's all painted plaster and gold leaf. Almost
everything is original, and little refurbishment has been needed.
The knock-your-socks-off finale is the sumptuous Arabian Room. This grand
hall—inspired by Granada's Alhambra—was painstakingly decorated in the Moorish
style over 18 years with wood, plaster, and gold leaf.
PortoWineShop —This port wine-tasting facility, operated by the Port and Douro Wines
Institute (which runs a similar place in Lisbon—see here ) , is Porto's finest spot for
sampling an array of ports. The price per taste or per bottle depends on the quality of the
port and ranges from €1 to a small fortune. If they call it “port,” you'll find it here. While
it's more fun to tour the cellars across the river, this is a handy one-stop opportunity to try
several ports.
CostandHours: Mon-Fri 11:00-19:00, closed Sat-Sun, Rua Ferreira Borges 27, near
Stock Exchange Palace, tel. [phone], www.ivdp.pt .
House of Henry the Navigator (Casa do Infante) —Six hundred years ago, Porto's fa-
vorite son was supposedly born in this mansion (once the largest house in town and later
the main customs house). This scant museum has few artifacts, but fans of ancient history
enjoy the Roman mosaics found on-site and the reconstruction of the building when it was
the customs house. A free revolving exhibit of town history drawn from the city archives
is located in the same building.
Cost and Hours: €2.10, free on weekends, Tue-Sun 10:00-12:30 & 14:00-17:30,
closed Mon, last entry 30 minutes before closing, Rua da Alfândega 10, tel. [phone].
For more on Hank, see here .
In the City Center
The modern urban sector of Porto has few museums, but there are a handful of interesting
squares, churches, and monuments here. I've listed these sights in walking or-
der—roughly from north to south, beginning at City Hall (at the top of Avenida dos
Aliados, near the TI) and working downhill toward the cathedral and then back around
through the shopping district.
▲ Avenue of the Allies (Avenida dos Aliados) —This is the main urban drag of
Porto—named for the alliance created in 1387 when the Portuguese King John (João) I
married the English princess Philippa, establishing a long and happy trading partnership
between the two nations. Lined with elaborate examples of various architectural eras