Porto is a city in northern Portugal and is the second largest city in Portugal. One of Portugal's most internationally famous products, Port wine, was named after the city because it was originally shipped from the area. Porto is well known for its enterprising spirit, characteristic culture, people, and local cuisine. The city proper is sometimes referred to as Capital do Norte, or Capital of the North.
Ribeira, the historic Centre of Porto, has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO (1996). Among the architectural highlights of the city, the Oporto Cathedral is the oldest surviving structure, together with the small Romanesque Church of Cedofeita, the Gothic Igreja de São Francisco (Church of Saint Francis), the remnants of the city walls and a few 15th-century houses. The baroque style is well represented in the city in the elaborate gilt work interior decoration of the churches of St. Francis and St. Claire (Santa Clara), the churches of Mercy (Misericórida) and of the Clerics (Igreja dos Clérigos), the Palace of the Archbishop, and others.
A guided visit to the Palácio da Bolsa, and in particular the Arab Room, is a major tourist attraction.
Porto has several museums, concert halls, theaters, cinemas, art galleries, libraries and book shops. The best-known museums of Oporto are the Soares dos Reis National Museum (Museu Nacional de Soares dos Reis), which is dedicated especially to the Portuguese artistic movements from the 16th to the 20th century, and the Museum of Contemporary Art of the Serralves Foundation (Museu de Arte Contemporânea).
