XIIIth OPORTO MEETING on 
GEOMETRY, TOPOLOGY & PHYSICS

July 16th to July 19th, 2004
    Phone Information

  1. Note that calling from hotels in Portugal is frequently very expensive (see information on public phones below).
  2. The country code for Portugal is 351, the outgoing code for international calls is 00. All phone numbers in Portugal are 9 digits long e.g. 226004747, for the Hotel Tuela, from anywhere in Portugal including Porto.
  3. The national emergency phone number is 112
  4. Phone calls: Public call boxes take coins or credit cards, as well as prepaid cards with 50, 100 etc. units, which can be bought e.g. from post offices and many stationers.
    Practicalities

  1. Currency: The Portuguese currency is the Euro.
  2. Bank services: Bank opening hours are normally 8.30 - 15.00, Monday- Friday, though some banks operating in shopping centres or large supermarkets have longer opening hours. Cash dispensing machines take many major credit cards.
  3. Shopping: Shopping hours in ordinary shops are normally until 19.00, frequently with a lunch break, except in shopping centres, which usually have longer hours, staying open until 23.00 or 24.00.
  4. Electricity: The electricity supply is 220 V, 50 Hz, with the type of sockets which are standard in most European countries.
  5. Drinking water: Water from the taps is safe to drink. Mineral water may be bought very inexpensively from supermarkets. In restaurants you must specify what type of água (water) you want: com gás (fizzy/with gas) or sem gás (still/without gas), and natural (room temperature) or fresca (chilled).
  6. Time zone: The time zone is Greenwich Mean Time, the same as the UK and one hour earlier than European central time.
    Various Tips

  1. Coffee primer: A café is an expresso coffee, meia de leite is expresso with some milk in a bigger cup, galão (or galão de máquina if you want it freshly made) is expresso coffee with a lot of milk in a glass, café cheio is the same amount of ground coffee as café, but with more water (less concentrated), café curto is with less water (more concentrated). Then there are also the decaffeinated varieties which you get by adding the word descafeinado/a at the end.
  2. Safety: Beware of dangerous and inconsiderate driving, especially when crossing roads. Even if you are on a pedestrian crossing, look carefully before crossing. Portugal is a comparatively safe country as far as crime is concerned, but it is best to take reasonable precautions against pickpockets in crowded areas. When walking to or from the Ribeira area by the river, it is best to stick to the main roads.
  3. Tipping: A simple rule of thumb for foreigners is between 5 and 10 %. (For Portuguese the rule of thumb is 0% to 5%.) For instance, in cafes add on 15 to 20 cents for bills of up to 3 Euros. For a meal of 5 to 10 Euros, round up to the nearest multiple of 50 cents and add an extra 25 to 50 cents if that doesn't seem very much. In a group, if the tip comes to about 50 cents a head that is ok. In taxis tip about 5%. It is advisable to enquire in advance roughly how much the taxi fare will be.
  4. Portuguese pronunciation: More or less regular, but there are many rules and some surprising vowel shifts. Ask a Portuguese fellow-participant for a crash course, and don't be surprised if some of the syllables seem to be missing.
  5. Getting on in Portugal: Be friendly and relaxed, not in a hurry, and people will be very helpful. If written information is scarce (it usually is), ask someone for advice, and if possible get a second and third opinion. Service in restaurants can be slow, especially when it comes to calling for the bill (conta). Avoid praising Lisbon when conversing with people from Porto.
We hope you will have a really enjoyable stay.