The second half of the 19th century confirmed the urban sprawl of Porto to the West, towards the Douro river’s mouth, highlighting the bourgeois character of a new city that definitively turns to face the sea. Three fundamental elements emphasize this new area: the opening of the Boavista Avenue (1850-1917), the inauguration of Dock no. 1 at the Leixões Port (1940) and the construction of the Arrábida Bridge (inaugurated in 1963). The Virtudes Promenade is the definite element that allows this to be perceived from the Historic Centre of the city of Porto.