The Miradouro Building stands at the junction of Rua da Alegria and Rua D. João IV. At the top of a hill, and projecting into the sky without competition from the buildings around it, it is a defining feature of Porto's landscape. Built between 1962 and 1969 by the century-old Cooperativa dos Pedreiros Portuenses, which still owns the building, and designed by architects Maria José Marques da Silva and David Moreira da Silva, it had a social aspect in mind: the proceeds from the rents would be used to provide pensions for the workers, which in the event of illness or death would be given to the widows.

The Miradouro building, which also houses a hotel, was exquisitely carved from polished granite and the iconic façade is covered in yellow tiles with a pattern of stone-working tools - the mallet and the chisel. At the top of the tower, on the 14th floor, stands the Portucale, a classic restaurant that was once awarded a Michelin star (between 1974 and 1980) and has one of the best panoramic views of the city. The ground floors are reserved for commercial spaces, and in the surrounding area, in the former workshops of the Cooperativa dos Pedreiros, the Nuno Centeno Gallery has been open since 2018.

A living example of the modernist and post-modernist era in Portugal, a visit to the Miradouro Building is a real journey back in time. With finishes and details from a golden age of design - including space age lamps, wooden furniture and vibrantly coloured materials - the hotel's interiors (where you can still find telephone boxes, for example) have made it a highly coveted location for shooting music videos and fashion editorials.