Famous Landmarks in Porto
An iron double-deck bridge and tiled halls rise above the Douro's UNESCO waterfront.
Porto's landmarks cluster within the historic centre that flanks the Douro estuary, a district that has held UNESCO World Heritage status since 1996 together with the Dom Luis I Bridge and the Monastery of Serra do Pilar across the river. The oldest structure, the Romanesque core of the cathedral, rose above the water around 1110; later Baroque, Neoclassical and early twentieth-century buildings filled in around it as the city grew from a river port into a trading and rail hub. An iron double-deck bridge spans the gorge itself, while tiled murals and carved stonework mark the interiors of the churches, the former stock exchange and the railway terminal that followed.
Dom Luís I Bridge
1886 · Theophile Seyrig
Its riveted iron arch carries two stacked decks, one above the other, an unusual double-tier profile that sets it apart from a similar-looking railway bridge nearby.
This iron arch bridge across the Douro replaced an earlier crossing point and briefly held the record for the longest metal arch span in the world. Theophile Seyrig and Leopold Valentin designed the double-deck structure: an upper level later given over to a light-rail line and pedestrians, and a lower level for road traffic and pedestrians. It links the historic waterfront on one bank to the wine-lodge quays on the other, with a funicular and a cable car serving its two ends.
- At completion its 172-metre arch was the longest of its kind anywhere.
- A nearby railway bridge, built nine years earlier, looks similar enough to cause confusion between the two.
Photo: Mark Koester (CC BY 2.0)
Clérigos Church
1732–1763 · Nicolau Nasoni
Its slender 75-metre bell tower, tiered in Baroque stonework and capped by a lantern, rises well above the surrounding rooftops and is the building's most recognisable feature.
Known as the Church of the Clergymen, this Baroque building was designed by Nicolau Nasoni, with work running from 1732 to the completion of its bell tower in 1763. That tower, the Torre dos Clerigos, stands 75 metres tall and can be seen from many points across the surrounding streets, making it one of the most recognisable structures in the old quarter.
- Its Portuguese name translates as the Church of the Clergymen.
Photo: Krzysztof Golik (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Porto Cathedral
1110–1737
Rather than one uniform style, its fabric layers several building periods together: Romanesque masonry underlying Gothic, Mannerist and Baroque insertions added during later campaigns.
One of the area's oldest monuments, this cathedral began as a Romanesque church around 1110 and gained Gothic, Mannerist and Baroque additions over the following centuries, with work continuing into the 1730s. No architect is recorded for the building as it stands, reflecting its long and layered construction history. It ranks among the most important Romanesque monuments in the area and forms part of the historic centre's UNESCO World Heritage listing.
Photo: Georges Jansoone (CC BY 2.5)
Palácio da Bolsa
1850 · Joaquim da Costa Lima Junior
A symmetrical neoclassical facade set on a square in the heart of the historic centre, built for a merchants' association rather than a religious or royal patron.
The city's Commercial Association built this Neoclassical palace in the nineteenth century as its stock exchange, on the Infante D. Henrique Square in the historic centre. Joaquim da Costa Lima Junior designed the building, which has also served as a former town hall. It stands within the area later listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site and remains a National Monument of Portugal.
- Despite being built as a stock exchange, the palace has also served as a town hall.
Photo: Manuel de Sousa (Public domain)
São Bento Railway Station
1904–1916 · Jose Marques da Silva
Its entrance hall is lined with around twenty thousand ceramic tiles arranged into large murals, multicoloured panels of rural scenes and historical episodes covering roughly 551 square metres of wall.
Built from 1904 to designs by Jose Marques da Silva, this railway terminal stands in the historic centre, part of the area's UNESCO World Heritage listing. Its entrance hall is lined with around twenty thousand hand-painted ceramic tiles by Jorge Colaco, covering roughly 551 square metres in murals depicting rural scenes and moments from national history. An underground passage links the terminal to a metro station of the same name on line D.
- The name translates as Saint Benedict.
- Its tile murals, covering about 551 square metres, were painted by an artist separate from the building's architect.
Photo: Krzysztof Golik (CC BY-SA 4.0)
History
Settlement here goes back to the second century BC, when a Celtic-Latin outpost called Portus Cale stood on the Douro; the name is often traced forward into the word Portugal. A Romanesque cathedral rose above the river around 1110 and was reworked over the following centuries in Gothic, Mannerist and Baroque styles. The eighteenth century added Nicolau Nasoni's Baroque Clerigos Church and its tall bell tower. Nineteenth-century trade wealth financed the Neoclassical Palacio da Bolsa for the city's Commercial Association, while the Dom Luis I Bridge, completed in 1886, carried an iron arch across the Douro gorge to link the two riverbanks. In the early twentieth century, Jose Marques da Silva's Sao Bento railway station added a tiled entrance hall to the historic centre, which UNESCO recognised as a World Heritage Site in 1996.