Fast Facts

Banks Most banks and currency-exchange offices are open Monday through Friday from 8:30 to noon and 1 to 4:30pm. Two central ones are the Banco Espírito Santo & Comercial de Lisboa, Av. dos Aliados 45 (tel. 22/209-00-00), and the Banco de Portugal, Rua da Firmeza 588 (tel. 22/206-00-00).

Consulates The United States and Canada don't maintain consulates in the north. There's a British Consulate at Praça da Liberdade (tel. 22/618-47-89; http://ukinportugal.fco.gov.uk/en).

Drugstores Porto has many pharmacies. A centrally located one is the Farmácia Central do Porto, Rua do 31 Janeiro 203 (tel. 22/200-16-84). If you don't speak Portuguese, ask someone at your hotel to call for you, or dial tel. 118 for a recording of pharmacies that remain open throughout the night.

Emergencies Emergency numbers include police (tel. 112), fire (tel. 112 or 22/507-37-00), Red Cross (tel. 22/600-63-53), and Hospital de Santo António, Rua Prof. Abel Salazar (tel. 22/207-75-00). Otherwise, phone tel. 112 for an ambulance.

Hospital The major one is Hospital de Santo António, along Rua Alberto Aires de Gouveia (tel. 22/207-75-00).

Internet Access Sid@Internet, at Rua Santa Catarina 72, is open Monday to Friday 10am to 1am, Saturday and Sunday 2pm to midnight. It charges .90€ per hour for use of its services.

Post Office The main post office is at Praça General Humberto Delgado (tel. 22/340-02-00), near the tourist office. It sells stamps Monday to Friday 8am to 9pm and Saturday and Sunday 9am to 6pm. You can send telegrams and faxes during those hours.

Telephone It's possible to place long-distance calls at the post office . Otherwise, go to the phone office, Praça de Liberdade 62. It's open daily from 8am to 11:30pm. By placing your calls at these public institutions, you avoid hotel surcharges, which can be as much as 40%. Porto's city code is tel. 022.