Porto is Portugal's second-largest town after Lisbon and one of the Iberian Peninsula's main metropolitan regions. The town itself has a population of 287,591 and Porto's metro area, which stretches beyond the city's administrative boundaries, has a population of 2.3 million in a region of 2,395 kilometers square, making it the second largest urban area in Portugal. The Globalization and World Cities (GaWC) Study Group, the only Portuguese town in addition to Lisbon to be recognized as a global city, recognizes it as a Gamma-level global city. Located along the Douro River estuary in northern Portugal, Porto is one of the oldest European centers and was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1996. The western portion of its urban area stretches to the Atlantic Ocean shoreline. Its settlement dates back many centuries when it was a Roman Empire outpost. Its mixed Celtic-Latin name, Portus Cale, was referred to as the origin of the name Portugal, based on Latin transliteration and verbal evolution. Consequently, its English name, Porto, developed from a misinterpretation of the Portuguese pronunciation.

Airports in Porto

Porto Airport (OPO)

Porto Airport (OPO) is the second largest airport in Portugal. You can fly to 101 destinations with 36 airlines in scheduled passenger traffic. The route with the most departures is the route to Lisbon (LIS) with an average of 91 flights from Porto every week, which is 12% of all weekly departures. The top international destinations from here are Madrid (MAD) and Paris (ORY). The two longest flights are Porto (OPO) to Campinas (VCP) that takes around 10 hours and 45 minutes and Porto (OPO) to Sao Paulo (GRU) with a flight time of 10 hours and 45 minutes. Ryanair is the largest airline here by counting the number of departures with around 230 scheduled take-offs every week. The second largest operator from Porto is TAP Portugal. Larger aircraft on this airport are Boeing 777, Airbus A330 and the Boeing 767. The aircraft types with most scheduled flights are the Airbus A31X/32X and the Boeing 737.

How to Get Cheap Flights to Porto?

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When is the Best Time to Fly to Porto?

The busiest month for tourism in Porto, Portugal in May, followed by August and July. Prices for hotels and flights will be most expensive during these months, though you can save if you purchase well in advance. Tourists are unlikely to visit Porto in November. Those willing to visit at these times will likely find it the least expensive month.

Average temperatures in Porto vary somewhat. Considering humidity, temperatures feel nice most of the year, excluding some cold weeks in the winter, with a fair chance of precipitation about half of the year. If you are looking for the very warmest time to visit Porto, the hottest months are August, July, and then September. If dry weather is what you are after, the months with the lowest chance of significant precipitation in Porto are July, August, and then June. Porto has some very humid months, and above average humidity throughout the year. The least humid month is March and the most humid month is January. Wind in Porto is usually calm. The windiest month is February, followed by December and March. The best times to visit Porto for ideal weather are from 2 April to 4 November.

Festival of St. Jon of Porto is one of the festivals that celebrated in Porto. Festival of St. John of Porto is a festival that takes place every year in mid-summer, on the night of 23 June (St. John's Eve), in the city of Porto, in the north of Portugal, thousands of people come to the city center and more traditional neighborhoods to pay tribute to St. John the Baptist, in a party that mixes sacred and profane traditions.

What are the Top 3 Things to Do in Porto?

Porto is one of the best towns in Portugal that have a lot of beautiful places to be visited. You cannot miss Porto when traveling around Portugal!

Clerigos Tower – This ornate 75-meter bell tower, lovingly watching over Porto City, is probably the most iconic silhouette of the town. It was launched in 1763 and, thanks to its Italian designer Nicolau Nasoni, it is blessed with a lovely barrage of baroque patterns. Because of its prominent position, you can get some amazing 360 views of the town from the top, but you will have to climb 225 steps to get there.

Serra do Pillar – The Serra do Pilar is a jagged ridge on the Gaia side above the Douro River. The perspective is fantastic, particularly at sunset. Visit the 13th-century monastery to learn more about the four World Heritage sites in the northern region of Portugal: the historic centers of Porto and Guimarães, the Douro wine region and the Côa Archeological Park.

Porto Wine Cellars – Porto’s sister city Gaia has beaches and those famous Port wine cellars. They’re gorgeous, with guided tours to teach you the history of the stuff and the distinguishing features of each variety (there are many varieties of the port).