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Porto

Porto
Municipality (Concelho)
Porto montage.PNG
From the top left corner clockwise: Clérigos Tower; Palácio da Bolsa; Avenida dos Aliados; Church of São Francisco; Porto Cathedral; Porto City Hall; Ribeira
Flag
Coat of arms
Official name: Concelho do Porto
Name origin: Portuguese: "port" (or O porto "the port")
Motto: Antiga, Mui Nobre, Sempre Leal e Invicta (Old, Very Noble, Always Loyal and Undefeated)
Nickname: A Cidade Invicta (The Unvanquished City) A Cidade da Virgem (The City of the Virgin)
Country Portugal
Region Norte
Subregion Grande Porto
District Porto
Civil parishes 7
River Douro
Center Cedofeita
 - elevation 104 m (341 ft)
 - coordinates 41°9′43.71″N 8°37′19.03″W / 41.1621417°N 8.6219528°W / 41.1621417; -8.6219528Coordinates: 41°9′43.71″N 8°37′19.03″W / 41.1621417°N 8.6219528°W / 41.1621417; -8.6219528
Highest point Monte Tadeu
 - elevation 149 m (489 ft)
 - coordinates 41°9′22″N 8°36′4″W / 41.15611°N 8.60111°W / 41.15611; -8.60111
Lowest point Sea level
 - location Atlantic Ocean, Foz do Douro, Porto
 - elevation 0 m (0 ft)
Length 11.57 km (7 mi), Northwest-Southeast
Width 5.31 km (3 mi), North-South
Area 41.42 km2 (16 sq mi)
 - urban 777 km2 (300 sq mi)
 - metro 2,040 km2 (788 sq mi)
Population 287,591 (2011)
 - urban 1,774,000
 - metro 2,162,524
Density 6,943/km2 (17,982/sq mi)
Settlement 275 BOT
 - Municipality 868
LAU Concelho/Câmara Municipal
 - location Praça General Humberto Delgado, Santo Ildefonso, Porto
 - elevation 120 m (394 ft)
 - coordinates 41°9′0″N 8°36′39″W / 41.15000°N 8.61083°W / 41.15000; -8.61083
Mayor Rui Moreira (Independent, supported by CDS-PP)
Municipal Chair Miguel Pereira Leite (CDS-PP)
Timezone WET (UTC0)
 - summer (DST) WEST (UTC+1)
ISO 3166-2 code PT-
Postal Zone 4000-286 Porto
Area Code & Prefix (+351) 22
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Name Historic Centre of Porto
Year 1996 (#20)
Number 755
Region Europe and North America
Criteria iv
Demonym Portuense
Patron Saint Nossa Senhora de Vandoma
Municipal Holidays 24 June (São João)
LocalPorto.svg
Location of the municipality of Porto in continental Portugal
Statistics: Instituto Nacional de Estatística
Website: http://www.cm-porto.pt
Geographic detail from CAOP (2010) produced by Instituto Geográfico Português (IGP)

Porto (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈpoɾtu]; also known as Oporto in English) is the second largest city in Portugal after Lisbon and one of the major urban areas of the Iberian Peninsula. The urban area of Porto, which extends beyond the administrative limits of the city, has a population of 2.1 million (2011) in an area of 389 km2 (150 sq mi), making it the second-largest urban area in Portugal. Lisbon Metropolitan Area, on the other hand, includes an estimated 2.8 million people. It is recognized as a gamma-level global city by the Globalization and World Cities (GaWC) Study Group, the only Portuguese city besides Lisbon to be recognised as a global city.

Located along the Douro river estuary in Northern Portugal, Porto is one of the oldest European centres, and its historical core was proclaimed a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1996. The western part of its urban area extends to the coastline of the Atlantic Ocean. Its settlement dates back many centuries, when it was an outpost of the Roman Empire. Its combined Celtic-Latin name, Portus Cale, has been referred to as the origin of the name "Portugal", based on transliteration and oral evolution from Latin. In Portuguese, the name of the city is spelled with a definite article ("o Porto"; English: the port). Consequently, its English name evolved from a misinterpretation of the oral pronunciation and referred to as Oporto in modern literature and by many speakers.

One of Portugal's internationally famous exports, port wine, is named for Porto, since the metropolitan area, and in particular the caves of Vila Nova de Gaia, were responsible for the packaging, transport and export of the fortified wine. In 2014, Porto was elected The Best European Destination by the Best European Destinations Agency.


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