Palácio da Bolsa

Next door to the church you’ll see another temple – this one dedicated unabashedly to Mammon. The Palácio da Bolsa is a splendid neoclassical monument (built from 1842 to 1910) honouring Porto’s past and present money merchants. Just past the entrance hall is the glass-domed Pátio das Nações (Hall of Nations), where the exchange once operated. But this pales in comparison with rooms deeper inside, and to visit these you must join one of the €5 guided tours, which set off every 30 minutes and last for 30 minutes. You can usually join any group; tours are given in any two of Portuguese, English and French. The highlight is a stupendous ballroom called the Salão Árabe (Arabian Hall), with stucco walls that have been teased into complex Moorish designs, then gilded with some 18kg of gold. There’s also a restaurant and wine bar (the appropriately named ‘O Comercial’) for lingering amid the elegance.