Fun

Rua das Flores
14 March, 2017 /

A charming historic street is now in fashion

Newly renovated, this is one of the trendiest streets in the city. Restaurants, traditional shops and historic buildings make Rua das Flores a must see for anyone who wants to get to know the true spirit of the city.

It was in the time of D. Manuel that Rua das Flores appeared in 1521. One of the reasons for its name may be because it had many gardens, and so Rua de Santa Catarina das Flores was created. The objective was to connect the Largo de S. Domingos and the Porta de Carros, a door of the Fernandina (from the reign of D. Fernando) wall located at the top of Almeida Garrett Square.

In the following years some aristocrats of the city settled there. The houses, marked with coats of arms and decorated with beautiful balconies, still exist today and constitute beautiful examples of the civil architecture of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. Also worthy of mention is the Misericórdia Church, by Nicolau Nasoni, which has one of the most emblematic baroque façades of Porto.

This street is a pedestrian zone and therefore ideal for walking slowly, noting small details such as the electricity boxes painted with typical expressions of the Porto residents or the facades and shop windows of traditional shops. In addition to the shopping facilities, there are cafes and restaurants, ideal for a short break.

Curiosities:

Much of the area where the Rua das Flores was opened belonged to the Church and in the older houses it is still possible to see symbols which were attributed to the property of the bishop and the cathedral chapter: the spiked wheel of the martyrdom of Santa Catarina (in the property of the Bishop) or the figure of the archangel S. Miguel (symbol of belonging to the cathedral chapter).

This street was also famous for a crime that occurred in the 19th century: the physician Urbino de Freitas was accused of killing a nephew with poisoned almonds in order to inherit his father-in-law’s fortune. The poisoned gifts were delivered to Rua das Flores and were also destined for two other nieces who lived there, but who eventually survived.

Cinema returns to Downtown
13 March, 2017 / ,

Cinema Trindade, in the center of Oporto, receives spectators again after the closure 16 years ago.

With the appearance of the large cinemas in shopping centers, downtown traditional cinemas lost audiences and eventually had to close their doors. A trend that has reversed now, with the reopening of Cinema Trindade and other ongoing projects.

This imposing cinema was inaugurated in 1916, with the designation “Salão Jardim Trindade”. In addition to a room with more than a thousand seats, it had an outdoor cinema terrace. This now reopened space, has adapted to modern times, with two cinema rooms separated by a foyer: one with 183 seats, the other with 168 seats. The former focuses on the cinema of authors and the latter will be a space for festivals, programmers or independent filmmakers.

The return of the cinema to the city centre will have its high point when Cinema Batalha begins to welcome the future House of the Cinema, a place that, besides showing movies, will also have a space for research. The opening is expected to take place in 2018. The Cinema Passos Manuel, next to the Coliseum, will also be modernized.

Rua do Almada 412, Porto

fotos: Miguel Nogueira/CM Porto

 

Rua de Santa Catarina
19 February, 2017 /

Shopping and fun

It is the ideal street for shopping. With hundreds of shops and constant animation, it has many places not to be missed.

Rua de Santa Catarina has a length of 1500 meters in downtown Porto; it is the favorite place for Porto locals and tourists to shop. Part of this street is pedestrian, which makes it the perfect place to do window-shopping, buying from clothing to traditional Portuguese products or even handicrafts in stalls placed along the sidewalks. It has also become a place of permanent animation, thanks to the many street artists who perform every day for those who pass by.

From the more traditional shops to the international brands, it provides the consumer with a variety to satisfy all tastes. The cafes, restaurants and terraces allow you to rest from your walk or feel an increasingly cosmopolitan atmosphere.

Due to its central location, it is also the ideal starting point to discover Porto.

Points of interest

Café Majestic – Opened in 1921, it is the most famous café in Porto. An exquisite space full of glamour, with a unique decoration where the mirrors, the imposing entrance and the interior patio stand out.

Capela das Almas/Chapel of the Souls – Built at the beginning of the 18th century, this chapel stands out for its façade covered with tiles, representing steps of the life of St. Francis of Assisi and St. Catherine.

Decoração Arte Nova – the facades of Ourivesaria Reis & Filhos (Jeweller) and the Latin Library Bookstore, both next to the Church of Santo Ildefonso, are decorated with cast iron sculptures in Art Nouveau style

Via Catarina – housed in a building that once served as headquarters for a newspaper, this shopping center, in addition to numerous shops, it has a restaurant area that resembles a typical street in the city

Pérola Negra: vintage nights in the heart of Baixa
19 February, 2017 / ,

Pérola Negra regains the spirit of the 80s and 90s nights in a space that has an aesthetic “retro”, burlesque and where fun is guaranteed.

It is one of the latest nightlife venues in the city of Porto. Pérola Negra, which for more than 40 years served as a nightclub for male audiences, and has maintained the decoration where dark wood predominates, the walls with mirrors and red-lined benches around a dance floor with stage and crystal ball.

Today it is a place of diversion for several generations, located downtown and, therefore, ideal for a well-spent night. In addition to this new concept of “a space for everyone”, Pérola Negra also focuses on recovering the spirit of the nights of the 80’s and 90’s, when the night began with the opening of the dance floor, with smoke effects and a specific song. Then, as the hours pass, the music changes to more recent songs and the dance floor is overrun with the latest dance music hits.

Rua de Gonçalo Cristóvão 284, Porto

Information / Booking  tel:-935200913

Fantasporto: fantastic cinema at the Rivoli
19 February, 2017 / ,

Between February 20 and March 4, the Porto-Fantasporto International Film Festival will be showing 132 films from 35 countries, including world premieres.

Ranked among the top 10 independent festivals in the world, Fantasporto is part of the city’s cultural tradition. The 37th edition presents the best selection of fantastic and contemporary cinema in the form of long and short films, animation and experimental cinema.

The official opening will begin with The Age of Shadows by Jee-woon Kim. The world premiere will be “TheEvilWithin” (USA), the only film directed by the late Andrew Getty. Award-winning films were also selected from Cannes, Locarno, Venice and Toronto.  Retrospectively, the Taiwanese Action Cinema and a selection of modern Argentine cinema are highlighted.

One of the novelties of this year will be the “Mini Me” section, dedicated to children and pre-adolescent audiences. Apart from all this, the program also includes conferences, workshops and an exhibition.

Teatro Municipal Rivoli, Porto

Tickets: 5 euros (except for the opening and closing sessions)