Because of its numerous baroque churches, Porto is also known as the “baroque city”. Nicolau Nasoni, architect of Italian origin, is responsible for the city's important baroque buildings. The image of the historic old town is shaped less by special individual buildings than by the overall structure of a preserved inner city. The numerous granite buildings are characteristic. The oldest existing hotel is the Grande Hotel do Porto, which opened in 1880. The oldest concrete skyscraper in the city is the Hotel Dom Henrique.
Narrow, winding streets with dense houses starting from the banks of the Douro on a slope form the terraced structure of the old town Ribeira, which has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996. Due to the brisk trade in the shops, the hilly old town looks very lively during the day.
Foz Velha, Porto's historic waterfront district, with its characteristic narrow, winding streets, was listed as a historical monument by the Portuguese Institute for Architectural Heritage in 2002.
However, this area is problematic as most of the listed houses are empty or only have shops on the ground floor. The rents and maintenance costs for the partially dilapidated buildings are high. As many residents therefore prefer apartments on the outskirts, the old town quarter - with the exception of the banks near the Douro - is hardly lively in the evening.