Here is a description of the four famous bridges in Porto.

Porto Portugal attractions: Ponte da Arrábida
Porto Portugal attractions Arrábida Bridge: Arrábida Bridge domestically known as Ponte da Arrábida is an architectural wonder. Ponte da Arrábida is the first bridge in Portugal that was built with pure Portuguese architectural technology. The arch bridge was inaugurated in 1963 and connects Porto city to Vila Nova de Gaia across the river Douro. Ponte da Arrábida is located just some kilometers away from the sea. Arrabida bridge was one of the biggest concrete bridge in the world. The bridge was designed and built under the supervision of Prof. Edgar Cardoso. Other technical details about the Arrábida bridge are as follows: total length: 493m, total height 70m, Main span 270m. For visitors, this Porto bridge can access easily by bus and Tram. Arrábida Porto bridge is located at A1 Autoestrada do Norte.

Porto Portugal attractions Dom Luís I Bridge: Dom Luís I Porto bridge, domestically known as Ponte de D. Luís is the photographic icon of Porto. This bridge was built in 1886 and was one of the longest iron arch bridges in the world. Ponte de D. Luís connects the city of Porto to Vila Nova de Gaia over the River Douro. This bridge was designed and supervised by Teófilo Seyrig, a partner of Eiffel tower in Paris. One can easily notice the similarity in the construction of Eiffel tower and this iron arch bridge. Nowadays, metro uses the upper part of the bridge and lower part is used by cars. This bridge offers a wonderful view of Porto city and Douro river. Technical features of the Ponte de D. Luís are as follows: Double deck two hinged arch bridge with road bridge, metro and tram rail, total length: 385.25m, weight 3 045t, arch span 172 m and cost of construction in dollars: $369 000. The bridge is situated at Avendia de vímara Peres Porto.

Porto Portugal attractions Freixo Bridge: Freixo is a modern built bridge that connects Porto and Vila nova de gaia over river Douro. This bridge shares all the common nature of modern bridges in the world. The bridge was suggested to built because the margins of the river are lower. Freixo is not a single bridge, it is actually an incorporation of two bridges separated by ten centimeters. This bridge currently works as a link between Porto and Lisbon. Freixo bridge was built using balanced cantilever method and has 8 spans. The bridge is located at Via de Cintura Interna.
Porto Portugal attractions: five briges in Porto

Porto Portugal attractions Maria Pia Bridge: Maria Pia bridge, domestically famous as Ponte Dona Maria was built in 1877. This is another amazing iron arch building designed and supervised by Gustave Eiffel. This iron arch bridge was used for railway transportation. Currently, the bridge is closed for transportation, but visitors can visit the bridge through different means. Some of the technical features of the building are: three frame spans of 125, 250 and 125m. The bridge can access by local and sightseeing Porto tour bus. The bridge is situated at Avenida de Gustavo Eiffel.

There are six main bridges in Porto. Description of the Porto bridges such as Infante D.Henrique and São João bridge are not listed here. They are newly built bridges.


If you are intending to spend your holidays in Portugal, then please don´t search for cheap hotels in Portugal. The first reason behind this is that your will never find a cheap hotel in Portugal. What actually you need is a standard hotel with low price. Cheap hotels in Portugal is actually a business trick and unfortunately some people believe that this business trick  is true. However, when it comes to tourism in Portugal, the traveler can take several measures to cut the price of hotels highly.


Internet is of course the best place to look for hotel prices. So, it is a better idea to begin your search for good hotels in Portugal with the help of price comparison websites. Fortunately, there are several different websites that can do this work for you. You cannot do this job all in a hurry. You will need to spend considerable amount of time to search through one or two different hotels in Portugal price comparison websites. When you are done, then you will come up with different hotel prices. In order to reduce the price of hotels in Portugal, you will need to book your hotels as early as possible. Early bird catches the prey.

Price is not only the matter of concern, you will also need to concern the facilities and service of the hotel in Portugal. While comparing the prices of hotels in Portugal, you can also check the guest reviews to know about the service conditions of the website. However don´t trust any official hotel website completely for guest reviews. Official hotel website is monitored by their own officials and can remove all the unfair comments about the hotel. At the same time there are hotels in Portugal they consider customer reviews and fix the complaints as soon as possible.

The location of your hotel in Portugal will influence the price. However you cannot choose your hotel far away from the touristic center. At the same time, you can consider a hotel in Portugal bit far away with transportation facility. When it comes to tourism in Portugal, the public transport system works good and one can rely upon them. So, to cut the price of hotels in Portugal try to book your hotel bit far away from the commercialized area. Tourism in Portugal also provides residential accommodation facilities. While considering this option you will receive all the basic service including clean room, clean bed, towels and bathroom. People on budget can really consider this option. These are just some tips to book your hotels in Portugal.

PS: Readers can also share new and personal hotel booking tips using the comment box.


As per different web reports, more and more people are looking for information, to know the best time to go to Portugal. Some people say spring is the best time to go to Portugal, some others say spring and summer. But the truth is that tourism in Portugal is good to do at any time of the year. However, the Portuguese tourism activities differ from season to season. For smart holiday planers, before setting out, it is a good idea to know the geographical and climate conditions of Portugal. This will help them to know the best time to go to Portugal.

Portugal belongs to Iberian Peninsula and share political border with Spain in the north and east. The coastal region of mainland and archipelagos is famous for its beach tourism and extends up to 943 km along the coast with some breath taking cliff coastlines in Algarve and Alentejo. Beach tourism in Portugal is famous during Spring and Summer. However because of the strong sun during Summer, people prefer to have their beach holidays in Portugal during Spring and in the beginning of Summer. But, if you have special sun protector then you can enjoy beach holidays both in Spring and Summer. Spring and Summer is the best time to do water sports and rural tourism in Portugal. People who prefer to surf, swim and fish or to do any other kind of water sport can visit any of the beaches in Portugal. So, Spring and Summer is the best time to go to Portugal for beach tourism.
Spring and the beginning of Summer is the right time for rural tourism in Portugal. Adventure Portuguese tourism include mountain climbing, tracking, biking upon the mountains rope climbing is good to do in Spring. Because of the Mediterranean climate condition, Summer will be so hot and dry. In terms of out door activities the best time to go to Portugal is Spring (May) and the beginning of summer (June - July).
There are people who love to visit historical sites and Museums. Historical tourism in Portugal can be done at any time of the year. Throughout Portugal one can visit several distinct type of Museums. So, it is a better travel plan to visit Museums during winter and can know more about culture and architecture in Portugal. Considering other European countries the winter is Portugal is too mild. Average low temperature in Winter is about 12ºC – 17º C. However, some people consider the best time to go to Portugal is Winter. Winter is considered as Off season and the hotel prices normally go down a lot than in Summer. Tourism in Portugal is for all seasons with different activities, so a travel don´t need to bother about the best time to go to Portugal. What one should do is to plan his holidays in Portugal in accord to the seasonal activities.



It is not fair to tie tourism in Portugal on the tail of Algarve and Alentejo. What Portuguese tourism package sellers are trying to do is to curtail the freedom of travels to some specific events. Tourists should know the various touristic options that are accessible for them throughout Portugal and that is actually their right. Holidays in Portugal is actually one of the flexible option and what a tourist should do is to plan his own holiday program. Portugal is one of the smallest country in Europe, where a tourist can travel throughout the country with the help of public transport system.

When it comes to travel expenses, you will come to know that tourism in Portugal is one of the affordable travel option in Europe. Actually the money you spend to buy holiday packages in Portugal is enough to visit several different places around Portugal. If you are a practical traveler, then what you should do is to compare the prices of hotels and flights by changing dates. Another advantage of holiday in Portugal is that hotels as well as transports always keep a European standard. This means that, it is not the “Star” of the hotel that provides quality of service.

For limited budget people, however, it is a better idea to move away from the commercialized touristic centers. For instance, if you want to visit the beaches in Algarve, you can search a hotel to stay some distance away from Algarve. This will highly cut the price of hotels and you can depend on public transport to reach there. Officially there are more than one hundred and fifty beaches that are scattered around Algarve. So you will find your resort somewhere around. At the same time you will find good and sunny beaches in the central and northern part of Portugal. You will have the same intense of sunlight and can do all the water sports in these beaches.

If you are interested in history then you can try the various possibilities of historical tourism in Portugal. Portugal is famous for its rich culture and architecture. You will find Pre-Roman, Roman, Gothic and Moorish architecture throughout Portugal. Historical tourism in Portugal will also flash the light to European culture and history.

Rural tourism in Portugal is something you can´t miss. Rural tourism in Portugal will provide you the opportunity to fall in love with nature and let you know more about wine and vineyards. Portugal is one of the biggest wine producer in Europe. For people who are looking to do some kind of adventure can also benefit from rural tourism. Tourism in Portugal especially in the remote villages is actually an incorporation of adventure and natural beauty. So, called holidays in Portugal packages are not enough to explore the country. Portuguese tourism provides various cheap means for tourists to know the country deeply.


Tourism In Portugal

Tourism In Portugal

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