The urban area of Porto, which extends beyond the administrative limits of the city, has a population of 2.4 million (2011) in an area of 389 km2(150 sq mi), making it the second-largest urban area in Portugal. It is recognized as a gamma levelglobal city by the Globalization and World Cities (GaWC) Study Group, the only Portuguese city besides Lisbon to be recognised as aglobal city.
Located along the Douro riverestuary in Northern Portugal, Porto is one of the oldest European centres, and its historical core was proclaimed a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in1996. The western part of its urban area extends to the coastline of the Atlantic Ocean. Itssettlement dates back many centuries, when it was an outpost of the Roman Empire. Its combined Celtic-Latin name, Portus Cale, has been referred to as the origin of the name "Portugal", based ontransliteration and oral evolution fromLatin. In Portuguese, the name of the city is spelled with a definite article ("o Porto"; English: the port). Consequently, its English name evolved from a misinterpretation of the oralpronunciation and referred to as Oporto in modernliterature and by many speakers.
One of Portugal's internationally famousexports, port wine, is named after Porto, since the metropolitan area, and in particular the cellars of Vila Nova de Gaia, were responsible for thepackaging,transport and export of thefortified wine. In2014 and2017, Porto was elected The Best European Destination by the Best European Destinations Agency.
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