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General Information

About Porto

History
Classified as World Heritage by UNESCO in 1996, the city of Porto is one of the most ancient European cities and a place that had a crucial role in the birth of Portugal as a nation. As
an urban centre, Porto was born in the 8th century BC, in the Late Bronze Age. Formerly called Cale and later Portucale (from which the name Portugal was derived), nowadays Porto is the second most important city in Portugal – after its capital, Lisbon. The city of Porto has around 250,000 inhabitants. Located in an urban area with more than 1.3 million inhabitants, Porto is also the second largest city in the country, after the capital, Lisbon.

Culture
Known as the “City of work” – an adjective that reflects the historical dynamism of its population – Porto is also a city with intense cultural and social life. Combining harmoniously the old and the new, this northern city has been the European Capital of Culture in 2001 and is proud of being the home, trough the centuries, of many important people, of different artistic areas, such as music, architecture, literature, painting or cinema.

Tourism
The city of Porto combines the old and the new, the classic and the modern, the nightlife and the day, with grace and harmony. Therefore, you can find here a very wide range of tourist spots and activities. There are many reasons to visit Porto, from the middle age monuments to the rock concerts. Porto’s cultural life goes far beyond its historical and monumental patrimony. Chosen by many tourists and visitors, Porto is one of Europe’s most ancient tourism destinations and offers a very rich monumental and artistic patrimony, esplanades, entertainment spots, cinemas, Internet access, music, boat travel, night entertainment and, of course, the Port Wine cellars that produce one of the most famous drinks in the whole world.

Climate
The climate in Porto is typical of Atlantic regions: damp but temperate, with colder nights. In Winter, it may rain quite a lot, but it never snows, as the temperatures never fall below 0ºC. In Summer, temperatures raise and the warmest months are June, July and August, when temperatures vary between 20ºC and 35ºC. September, October, April and May are intermediate, with periods of atmospheric instability: quite frequently foggy mornings are replaced by sunny afternoons, or rain showers alternate with periods of bright sunshine. You are therefore advised to bring some warm clothes for the colder days.

Getting to Porto
Located in the north of Portugal and in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, it is very easy to get to Porto. With an area of 42 km and surrounded by sea, river and land, Porto has very good accesses either if you come by plain, car, train, bus, boat or metro. The Leixões harbour and the Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport are just a few kilometers away and connected to the city by very good highways.

RAILWAY STATIONS (www.cp.pt )
Campanhã - Located in the eastern part of Porto, this railway station includes international services, the Alfa Pendular, services between cities and regions, and Regional and Suburban services, which enables the connection to several destinations in the country and abroad. (Call Center (from 07.00-23.00); National Calls: 808 208 208; International calls: +351 213 185 900)
S. Bento - Located in the centre of the city, this railway station includes suburban and regional services, as well as services between regions, which enables the connection to the several destinations in the city. It also offers an international service for Vigo. (Call Center (from 07.00-23.00); National Calls: 808 208 208; International calls: +351 213 185 900).

PORTO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (Francisco Sá Carneiro), is a modern infrastructure equipped to cope with the huge air traffic to and from the city, located in an important commercial and industrial area (11 km North of the city of Porto), and providing various services, coffee shops and commerce spots.

Connections from the airport to the city center:
By bus – take the buses 601 or 602. More information in www.stcp.pt
By metro – take the Violet Line (E). More information in www.metrodoporto.pt
Daily regular departures every 23 to 27 minutes during almost the whole working period (from 06:08 to 00:42). It runs from the Airport to the Dragão Stadium in 35 minutes. For the complete trip you will need a Z4 Andante (1,35 €). Travelling from the airport to the city centre (Trindade Station) will take you only 31 minutes.
Hello, Metro-Line – telephone: 808 205 060    metro@metro-porto.pt

Legal Procedures to enter the Country for interested participants EU citizens

EU citizens (EU Member States, Switzerland or county from European Economic Area) are allowed to enter the country just by presenting their valid ID card or passport and their entry is not subject to any control. However, the law determinates that for stays longer than 3 months EU citizens should request a residence card within 3 months after their arrival at the Portuguese Authority responsible for the immigration matters - Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras, abbreviated to SEF, (www.sef.pt).

NON-EU citizens
Besides holding a valid passport, all foreign citizens coming from non-EU countries should hold a valid travel document and a correct visa obtained at the Portuguese Embassy or Consulate in their home country. There are different types of visa according to the purpose and duration of the stay: studies, research work, traineeship, acquisition of professional training, short visit, business trip, etc. Further information on this matter consult the Portuguese Embassy or Consulate at the home country or SEF (www.sef.pt).