The cultural heritage finds its greatest abundance in Porto and North of Portugal. Did you know that we have 4 cultural heritages classified by UNESCO and that it is in this destination that the largest number of monuments are classified in Portugal? The landscape also have unique attributes of high diversity that meet at its Atlantic coast, mountains, transmontano highlands, vineyards, and belvederes, allied to a high quality road network, provide an immersive experience of high intensity. Did you know that the World Economic Forum classified the quality of Portugal's roads as very good, having awarded 6.34 points out of a total of 7 points? Our roads will help you discover the region.

The destination Porto and North of Portugal has unique and special landscapes. It is not us that affirm this. The National Geographic Society ranked the Douro as the 7th most iconic destination in an international ranking that evaluated more than 133 destinations. The city of Porto was voted the "Best European Destination" by European Consumers Choice and highlighted by the New York Times as the destination to visit.

But there's more ... so much more! The whole region is full of elements of cultural and symbolic importance.

The folk dances, the Caretos de Podence, the masks of Lazarim, the Cabeçudos in Minho, the Pauliteiros de Miranda, the New Fairs of Ponte de Lima with concertinas and ethnographic processions and the pagan celebrations of Halloween - Friday 13th, in Montalegre, who purge the evil eye are elements of a powerful illustrations that distinguish Porto and North of Portugal from any other. But Porto and North of Portugal is also different from the rest of the country for the second official Portuguese language, Mirandese!

Do not forget to include in your cultural tour our (your) music festivals. It was in this region that the first outdoor music festival was held in Portugal in 1965, the Vilar de Mouros Festival. But there is also Paredes de Coura, which takes place in one of the most unlikely places in the interior, but of high beauty, the natural stadium of the fluvial beach of Taboão; the Millions Festivity that takes place near Barcelos; and Primavera Sound in Porto. Throughout their existence they have had enviable posters and brought in renowned artists such as Amália Rodrigues, José Afonso, Carlos Paredes, Rui Veloso, Jorge Palma, GNR, Elton John, Manfred Mann, Alanis Morissette, Robert Plant, Stone Temple Pilots among many others 

Still on the show side, do not miss the MIMO festival that started in Olinda, Brazil and is now in S. Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. It is a Brazilian festival that connects to Portugal through the North and the city of Amarante. Important musical artists such as Pat Metheny, Pedro Burmester or Mário Laginha pass here.

There is also classical music in the area. The Orquestra do Norte, based in Amarante, is a pride for Porto and North of Portugal. Some of the most prominent Portuguese and foreign vocal soloists and instrumentalists performed at the Orquestra do Norte concerts, including António Rosado, Eva Maria Zuk, Avri Levitan, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Kirill Troussov, Michel Lethiec, Robert Kabara, Placido Domingo, José Carreras, Ileana Cotrubas, Julia Hamari, Fiorenza Cossoto and Svetla Vassileva.

Do not forget our network of theaters that boasts a fabulous programming and an interesting architecture, referring as examples the Theatro Circo, inaugurated in 1915 in Braga, Teatro Ribeiro Conceição, with its original façade in Lamego and the Teatro de S. João in Porto from the 18th century.  We highlight the programming of the Vila Real Theater and in particular the quality of the International Douro Jazz Festival.

Establishing a bridge with the architecture in the North of Portugal, we highlight the House of Music, which besides an important stage of concerts of the most varied types, from light music, to jazz, to classical music is a work of fabulous architecture of a Prestigious Dutch architect, Rem Koulhaas. But Porto and North of Portugal have also owed their internationalization to the contribution of the Faculty of Architecture of Porto, which gave the region, the country and the world two of the most creative and influential architects - Álvaro Siza Vieira and Souto Moura, both laureates with the Pritzker prize.

Arts and painting also have important figures in the North. We highlight Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso in Amarante, whose painting combines cubism, futurism or expressionism, and can be admired in the Amarante Museum. Also Graça Morais originates in the North region of Vila Flor. His painting can be admired at the Contemporary Art Center in Bragança. Do not forget Nadir Afonso, an architect from Chaves, who worked with Le Corbusier and Oscar Niemeyer and who also excelled in painting, and can admire some of his most fascinating works in the Museum of Contemporary Art Nadir Afonso, a space by Álvaro Siza Vieira in Chaves and the Nadir Afonso Arts Center in Boticas.

Still with paintings, Porto and North of Portugal can boast of owning 85 works by the Catalan painter Joan Miró in Porto, at the Contemporary Art Museum of Serralves. The estate relies on the work of the author of the year 1924 to 1981, forming an invaluable cultural triangle (in the Iberian Peninsula) with the Joan Miró Foundation in Barcelona and the Pilar and Joan Miró Foundation in Palma de Mallorca. Robert Lubar, 2016).

Still in the arts we highlight important events that cannot be missed, such as the Cerveira Biennial, an art exhibition that takes place in Vila Nova de Cerveira and dates back to 1978. In arts, there is a vibrant urban art. Did you know that in Lionesa Street, in Leça do Balio, in the Porto area, there is a 1400m2 mural painted by 10 of the most respected urban artists in Portugal?

Its cultural tour cannot put aside the Soares dos Reis National Museum, a museum of fine arts, decorative arts and archaeology founded in 1833 and the Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art, which building was designed by Álvaro Siza Vieira. The literature also finds sources of inspiration and guides. We point out Camilo Castelo Branco, one of the most prolific Portuguese authors, who, although born in Lisbon, spent his life in the North of Portugal and created notable romantic novels, among them the "Amor de Perdição", adapted to cinema on different occasions; Eça de Queiroz, born in Póvoa do Varzim and considered one of the most important Portuguese novelists of the 19th century; Aquilino Ribeiro, considered by many to be "the greatest prose writer of the 20th century" (Regional Directorate of Culture of the North) who immortalized with his novel "The Great House of Romarigães" in Paredes de Coura; Ferreira de Castro who, as a result of his experience of emigration to Brazil, wrote the emblematic work "Emigrants"; Graça Pina de Morais, author of "A Origem", in 1958, under the pseudonym of Bárbara Gomes; The poet Guerra Junqueiro that Eça de Queiroz described as "the greatest modern poet of the Peninsula"; José Régio, from Vila do Conde; Lisa Pina de Morais, born in Porto; Miguel Torga, born in Sabrosa. (De)scribed and travelled) abundantly (above) the Douro; João Pina de Morais, born in Lamego and consecrated in the literature with one of the most popular books of war memories, "To the Parapet" of 1919; and not forgetting Agustina Bessa-Luís, born in Amarante and author of the novel "A Sibila", written in 1954.

In the patrimonial aspect there is still to suggest the Route of the Romanesque that is anchored in 58 monuments of high value. Also worth noting is the Cold Land Route of the Nordeste Transmontano, which offers great escapades to discover this region.

There are plenty of reasons to linger in the area!