Invicta: The City That Refused to Surrender - Porto History Tour

Porto has been invaded, besieged, bombarded and starved — and never taken by choice. This tour follows a single narrative from beginning to end: how a merchant town on the wrong side of the river earned the title "Unconquered."

You will hear how the citizens of 1415 gave their meat to the fleet and kept the tripe, earning a nickname they still carry with pride. How the French broke through the medieval walls in 1809 and drove thousands onto a collapsing bridge of boats — and where the memorial to the drowned still stands. How the city survived nine months of siege in 1832–33, eating cats and sawdust bread rather than open its gates, and why that year is carved into its coat of arms. And how, in 1891, Porto rose for the republic twenty years before Lisbon dared.

The route runs from Aliados through Clérigos, Rua das Flores, the Cathedral and the old walls, down to Ribeira, ending at Praça do Infante. Around 2.5 km at an easy pace.

This is not a list of buildings with dates. It is one story, told in order, in the places where it happened.