Ninth International Workshop on Non-Crystalline Solids

Social Program


Half day tour (April 30th):

In this half day guided tour, you will explore step by step the Porto historical center, classified as World Heritage by Unesco in December 1996. These tours include a panoramic visit through the Historic Centre, the Stock Exchange Palace, the São Francisco Church, the Sé Cathedral, Foz, Boavista and finally the Port Wine Cellars. You will visit the Clerigos Tower, then descending towards Praça da Liberdade and taking a look at the S. Bento Railway Station. At the top of D. Afonso Henriques Avenue you will find the Cathedral. After visiting that wonderful monument you will arrive at Rua do Infante D. Henrique, where you will visit the Stock Exchange Palace and S. Francisco Church. The tour will then take you through Foz and Boavista and will end at one of the Port Wine Cellars. The estimated price for the tour is 25€ including sales tax. Please make a reservation by email. The minimum number of participants is 30. 

One day tour (April 29th):

In this one day guided tour, you will explore some of Porto contemporary highlights, like the House of Music, the Serralves Foundation, the City Park and the Boa Nova Tea House. The tour will end at the Santa Catarina Street in the Porto center. Our visit starts in the Boavista area, where there is a building which calls for attention: the House of Music, by Rem Koolhass. Polyhedron-shaped, with 12 floors, it is the first place specifically built to house musical events and which will work as a new cultural centre in the city. Afterwards, you will visit the Serralves Foundation, where lunch will take place. The Serralves Foundation is a renowned cultural institution strengthening Porto's European scope. It houses the Serralves House, the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Serralves Park, which spans 18 hectares of varied landscape, including gardens, pasture fields and woodland. From there, you will walk to the City Park, projected by the landscape architect Sidónio Pardal. It is the biggest urban park in Portugal with more than 80 hectares. It is connected to the sea front, where you can admire, among other interesting spots, the S. Francisco Xavier Fort, also known as Castelo do Queijo (Cheese Castle). From there you will go to the Boa Nova Tea House. This restaurant is boldly positioned on the rocks that form the coast of Matosinhos, on the outskirts of Porto. Forming a butterfly in plan, the two primary spaces open gently around the sea cove, their exterior walls following the natural topography of the site. The tea room has large windows above an exposed concrete base, while the dining room is fully glassed, leading to an outdoor plateau. In both rooms, the window frames can slide down beneath the floor, leaving the long projecting roof eaves in continuum with the ceiling. This creates an amazing effect in the summer, when it is possible to walk out from the dining room directly to the sea, as the building seems to disappear. The tour will end at Santa Catarina Street in the Porto center. The estimated price for the tour is 60€ including sales tax. Lunch and tickets are also included. Please, make a reservation by email. The minimum number of participants is 30.