SIXT Car Rental at Porto Airport

Porto Airport has its own car rental area, close to the terminal, where several car hire companies have their offices. A shuttle takes customers to these offices free of charge, and picks them up again at the end of their rental contracts, when they come back to drop off their hired vehicles. Signposting in the baggage reclaim area in Porto Airport terminal alerts customers to the route they need to take to the shuttle bus stop. Sixt car rental at Porto Airport is open from 7.00 am to midnight every day. The team of Sixt Porto Airport car hire can be contacted on +351 255 788 199. Car hire with Sixt at Porto Airport includes unlimited kilometers.

Sixt is just one of several car hire companies in or near Porto Airport.

Porto's Crystal Palace Gardens in Massarelos is open from 8.00 am to 9.00 pm every day. This beautiful 19th century park is located in R. de Dom Manuel II overlooks the Douro River, and is a small paradise in a maze of busy streets. Ordered, formal flower beds, fountains, a huge domed building at the center, Crystal Palace Gardens showcase the best 19th century landscape designers had to offer. In this case, the gardening was by German landscaping architect Emile David, who came to Porto in 1865 and must have been blown away by the rich plant life in this part of Portugal, when he first arrived from Berlin.

Quinta da Macieirinha Romantic Museum in R. de Entre-Quintas 220 also offers beautiful river views from its gardens, because it is part of the Crystal Palace complex. The mansion is filled with period furniture and art from Portugal and other European countries. Opened in 1972 to the public, the museum belongs to the City Museum and aims to display the past life of the city's aristocracy. The building was for a while the home of the exiled King Charles Albert of Piedmont.

A short 10-km drive south via the A1 and A29 over to the district of Vila Nova de Gaia will bring you to Miramar, a small seaside village with a lovely chapel dedicated to Senhor da Pedra. This historic chapel is unusual in that it sits on a small mount directly at the seafront, overlooking waves. Praia de Miramar is fairly uncrowded even in summer, and popular with surfers in winter. Golfers will know the small seaside resort for its 9-hole golf course, designed by Philip Mackenzie Ross shortly after the Miramara Golf Club was founded in 1932.

Some 25 km to the north of Porto lies the charmingly old-fashioned resort of Vila do Conde, with beautiful beaches. Situated at the mouth of the Ave River, the town's heritage includes shipbuilding and fishing, rather than tourism. Today, the resort makes the most of its natural treasures, which includes excellent food grown and produced locally, and historic sights like the Aqueduto de Santa Clara, the church of São João Baptista and the Convent of Santa Clara, which dominates the skyline. Founded in 1319, the convent's church and cloister are still preserved today, while the rest of the buildings are constructed in various styles, including 18th century design. With 999 arches, the Aqueduto de Santa Clara is one of Portugal's largest aqueducts, stretching for some 4 km. It starts at the spring of Terroso in Póvoa de Varzim and ends near the Convent of Santa Clara.