Porto

Why Porto works

Porto's Ribeira district, a UNESCO World Heritage riverside quarter of narrow, tilted houses in ochre, blue and faded pastel, tumbles down to the Douro River in a jumble that has changed little since the medieval period. The double-decked Dom Luis I Bridge, designed by a student of Gustave Eiffel and completed in 1886, carries both a metro line on its upper deck and pedestrian traffic on both levels, offering the city's best photograph back across the river. On the opposite bank, Vila Nova de Gaia holds the port wine lodges — Sandeman, Graham's, Taylor's and dozens more — where the fortified wine that gives Porto its name has aged in oak barrels since Portuguese vintners began shipping it downriver from the Douro Valley in the 17th century; most offer tastings paired with cellar tours. Livraria Lello, an ornate neo-Gothic bookshop with a red spiral staircase, draws long queues partly on rumours it inspired Harry Potter's Hogwarts library, though J.K. Rowling's actual connection is disputed. Sao Bento railway station's entrance hall is lined floor to ceiling with over 20,000 hand-painted azulejo tiles depicting Portuguese history. Porto's cuisine centres on the francesinha, a heavyweight sandwich smothered in melted cheese and beer-spiked tomato sauce — a hangover cure turned civic institution.

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