Rua Santa Catarina

The Rua Santa Catarina

The Porto audio-guided tour has you walk the Rua Santa Catarina, the most commercial thoroughfare of the centre, about one thousand five hundred metres long.

The great commercial street of Porto

The origins of the Rua Santa Catarina go back to 1662, but its length of one thousand five hundred metres was only reached in 1784, after a last extension towards the Praça Marquês de Pombal. Until the first half of the nineteenth century, a large part of the land was only fields belonging to the emblematic Ferreira house, a family business of Port wine since 1751; their sale opened the era of shops and commerce. The street also hides a few anecdotes: it served as a setting, in 1896, for the silent short film "The Exit of the Workers of the Confiança Factory", considered the first Portuguese film, and saw the opening in 1988 of the first Zara store outside Spain.

What there is to see

The Rua Santa Catarina unfolds its shops, its signs and its lively façades, in the lively atmosphere of the centre of Porto. One finds there the famous Majestic Café and, nearby, the Church of Saint Ildefonso and the Chapel of Souls. It is the ideal place to stroll, shop and taste the commercial and convivial atmosphere of the city.

Practical information

The Rua Santa Catarina is in the centre of Porto. A largely pedestrian commercial street, it can be walked freely on foot at all hours; its shops and cafés follow their own hours.

What cinematographic anecdote is linked to the Rua Santa Catarina?

It served as a setting in 1896 for the short film considered the very first Portuguese film.

What is found on the Rua Santa Catarina?

Many shops, the famous Majestic Café, and nearby the Church of Saint Ildefonso and the Chapel of Souls.