RHODIUM Car Rental at Porto Airport

Rhodium's car rental at Porto Airport is handled via Goldcar's service station. Customers with a booking are taken to the office via a shuttle service to pick up their vehicle. Rhodium/Goldcar staff can be contacted in advance of pick-up or drop-off via tel +351 961 192 943. The office is open from 7.30 am to 11.00 pm every day. The Rhodium/Goldcar fleet at Porto Airport includes vehicles like the Ford Fiesta and Fiat 500, Seat Ibiza and Opel Adam. Rhodium contracts for Porto Airport car hire include unlimited mileage, pick-up at terminals and free cancellation. A customer service team can be contacted for all other concerns between 7.00 am and 1.00 pm on tel +351 211 451 595.

Porto's beautiful Palácio da Bolsa in Rua Ferreira Borges is the city's former stock exchange. Built between 1842 and 1910, the neoclassical palace offers visitors guided tours in Portuguese, English, Spanish and French. Tours last about 45 minutes. On occasion the Palace also allows tourists to participate in workshops, for example goldsmithing, making gold or silver jewelry or ornaments. The former stock exchange is open from November to March from 9.00 am to 1.00 pm and again from 2.00 pm to 5.30 pm every day. Between April and October the Bolsa Paluácio is open from 9.00 am to 6.30 pm daily. Entrance fee is 10.00 euros per person (tel +351 223 399 000, correio@cciporto.pt).

Day trips from Porto, Portugal's second largest city, take tourists to some of the most beautiful historic cities in Europe. One of them is the university town Aveiro, on the west coast, at the mouth of the Ria de Aveiro lagoon. It's about a 50-minute drive via the A1 motorway from Porto to Aveiro. Famous as the Venice of northwest Portugal, Aveiro is a picturesque place with mostly Art Nouveau buildings painted in colourful hues. Gondola-type boats, called barcos moliceiros, lie along the quay sides, waiting for custom. Taking a 45-minute tour by boat is perhaps the best way to get an impression of just how beautiful Aveiro is.

One of the town's treasures is the Museu de Aveiro, a former convent, where all things are devoted to the Art Nouveau style. Be sure to visit the tea house on the ground floor, especially if you're visiting on weekends. Live music and a young clientele make for a great ambience. The museum and tea house, Casa de Chá, are at the Rua Dr Barbosa de Magalhães 10. The museum's shop sells arts and crafts made by local artists, and gourmet foods produced locally.