News

A month to celebrate Christmas
4 December, 2017 / ,

Until January 7, Porto illuminates with the colors of Christmas. From a giant tree to ice rinks, there is fun for the whole family.

Christmas lights are already a long tradition in the city of Porto, but this year they go even further, taking the magic of the festive season to other streets. Nearly two million micro bulbs, neon and LED, in white, gold and blue will make the streets of Porto shine and work not only as a background for Christmas shopping in Baixa and Boavista, but also in places such as the Campanhã station, Bonfim , Marquês, Carvalhido and Foz.

The beginning of this Christmas period takes place on December 1st, at dusk, when the giant tree is placed in front of the Town Hall building, as well as the Christmas lights in all the streets. In the Aliados the moment will be marked with a concert and fireworks. But whoever misses this moment still will have much to see until the 7th of January.

During this period, two ice rinks will be operating: one in D. João I Square and another in Mouzinho de Albuquerque Square (Rotunda da Boavista). Here is also more entertainment for all ages.

And on December 31, as usual, the New Year’s Eve party is centered around the Aliados but spreads all over the city.

Rua Sá da Bandeira
7 November, 2017 / , , ,

From the little farms and alleys a cosmopolitan street was born.

Today it is one of the most central and busiest streets of Porto, but it was a place formerly occupied by agricultural land, alleys and even stalls.

The name of the street itself has a curious story: Bernardo Sá Nogueira de Figueiredo was a marshal loyal to the Liberals troops. During the Siege of Porto, in the war between Liberals and Absolutists, the arm that carried the liberal flag was severed by the enemy. It would be known as Sá da Bandeira. Later he took up important political positions, even becoming a minister. He was also distinguished with the titles of Baron, Viscount and Marquis.

Rua Sá da Bandeira only appeared in the 19th century: until then, it was still an area with small  farms and farmland, many of them belonging to D. Antónia Adelaide Ferreira (A Ferreirinha), one of the most important names in the history of Port Wine. The area also had small alleys, which were almost completely demolished.

The street began to be constructed in 1836, but the first houses would only appear seven years later. In 1875 it was extended to Rua Formosa and the continuation until Rua de Fernandes Tomás (1904) which forced the demolition of the stables where the horses, which pulled the public transport, were at the time. Later, the street would be extended to the South and later to the North, until it gained its present form.

 

Points of interest

 

Sá da Bandeira Theater

It opened in 1870, but earlier there had been more rudimentary structures for spectacles. It was here that in 1895, Sarah Bernhardt performed, and it was also here that the first films which were made in Portugal were shown. It is said to have been the first theater in Porto to use electric lighting.

 

 

 

Bolhão Market

O mercado mais tradicional da cidade foi construído em cima de uma bolha de água (daí o seu nome). Datado de 1850, é um belo exemplo da arquitetura neoclássica, mas é o seu interior, onde a alma Porto está mais presente. Os produtos frescos, a simpatia dos vendedores e a frescura dos produtos tradicionais portugueses merecem uma visita.

 

 

Palácio do Comércio

A residential building, with commerce and offices, which surprises by its magnificence. It is worth beholding the sculptures of horses that are at the top, as well as all its architecture. It was built in the 1940s by the couple of architects David Moreira da Silva and Maria José Marques da Silva, daughter of José Marques da Silva, one of the most important architects of the city.

 

 

 

A Brasileira Café

It is currently under construction to become a hotel, but this is a building with history. In 1903, Adriano Teles, who had been an emigrant in Brazil, opened this cafe to make known his own brand of coffee. During the decades of 50 and 60 was habitual place of get-togethers and gatherings.

Erasmus
6 November, 2017 /

ESN Porto helps students discover the city

Founded in 1991, the Erasmus Student Network Porto (ESN Porto) introduces foreign students to Portugal and its culture.

ESN Porto currently receives approximately 3,000 foreign students, making them take full advantage of not only the time they are in another country, but also the culture of the place where they are studying and living.

ESN’s activity is organized in eight departments, promoting, for example, weekly events, which can be sports tournaments, night outs or even traditional cooking workshops. Trips are also organized so that foreign students can get to know some of the most beautiful places in Portugal.

Thematic parties are another form of integration and convivial association, which also works with a wide network of partners, so that ESNCard holders can enjoy discounts on travel, dental treatment, restaurants, etc.

ESN Porto also promotes volunteering among its members, covering three areas: social solidarity, environment and education.

Contacts:

Praça Gomes Teixeira SN

Rector of the University of Porto

Room 500 – Porto

facebook.com/ErasmusStudentNetworkPorto/

http://www.esnporto.org/

VO.U. – Associação de Voluntariado Universitário
6 November, 2017 /

VO.U. – Associação de Voluntariado Universitário is a non-profit organization which was founded in 2008, as an offspring of a group of students’ strong convictions in changing the world.

We believe in the concept of Solidary Superior Education, working for the promotion of tolerance, equality and reciprocity between each and every member of our society. Therefore, our volunteers act in a multidisciplinary way: form the children to the elderly; from the animals to their natural habitat; from dancing to public health.

Curious? Join us in this big adventure, and aim to fly higher! Deep down you may be a warrior, a genius, a nature lover, a peaceful soul or even a compulsive kisser. All of that is amazing, and what matters is your courage to help make this change real!

Eu VO.U. (I’m going), what about You?

The old municipal prison to become a National Monument
13 March, 2017 /

The old municipal prison to become a National Monument

The historic building, which since 2001 has housed the Center of Portuguese Photography, will be classified as a National Monument.

The building was completed in 1796 and since then, this imposing building, situated in the Historic Center, very close to the Torre dos Clérigos, has had several uses, having been a court, as well as a prison.

It was in this prison that the famous Portuguese writer Camilo Castelo Branco wrote his most famous work, “Amor de Perdição”, in 1861. The writer had been sentenced for adultery and based on the story about his uncle, Simão Botelho, who had also been imprisoned there, and like the characters in the book, he had lived a tragic and forbidden love story that would lead him to his death.

Zé do Telhado, a nineteenth-century type Robin Hood who according to legend robbed the rich to give to the poor had also been in this prison.

The old municipal prison was restored by the architects Eduardo Souto Moura and Humberto Vieira.

Porto.
3 March, 2017 /

Porto is one of Europe’s oldest tourist destinations. Its wealth of monumental and artistic heritage, Port Wine, open-air leisure spaces and cultural life are just some of the reasons to visit this city.

At any time of the day, 365 days of the year, Porto has a special charm for anyone visiting the city for the first time, as it does for those coming back for a second visit, to discover a city that is simultaneously modern and authentic. In 1996, the historical centre of Porto was classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

The city unfolds along the river bank and the sea shore, to reveal charming vistas, inviting esplanades and all the pleasures of the outdoors, framed by its green spaces.

Setting out to discover Porto means bumping into surprise after surprise. Whilst maintaining its welcoming and conservative nature, the city is, at the same time, contemporary and creative. This can be seen in its streets, its architectures and its monuments, its museums, its leisure spaces, its esplanades and its shopping areas which run from the traditional to the modern and exclusive.

Events enliven the annual cultural and sporting calendars, culminating in ‘São João’, the city’s very own Feast.