All you need to know about Porto from a local - 3 days in town
A bit of context
Porto is a very ancient town, dating back from the 1st Century AD as a Roman settlement - the first organized population an area than has served, due to its stratic geographic location at the mouth of the Douro River to the Atlantic Ocean as a trading hub - named as Portus Cale, meaning "warm port". To me, this designation will always be funny and misterious, due to the fact that the sea temperature in the area around Porto is actually one of the coldest in the Iberian Peninsula, and even of continental Europe during summer months!
Despite the initial success at creating a permanent town, the Roman Empire's decline and subsequent invasions by Germanic tribes led to a period of instability and decline for Porto.
Beign almost forgotten for centuries and surviving as not more than a small city at the area than today hosts the Cathedral complex, during the Middle Ages, Porto gradually recovered from its earlier setbacks and emerged as a significant city within the Kingdom of Portugal. The city's strategic location on the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela in Spain contributed to its growth and prosperity. In the 12th century, King Afonso Henriques granted Porto a charter, establishing it as a municipality and granting it certain privileges.
