Perto de means "near" and longe de "far from", and de merges with the article: perto da estação, longe do centro. With no place after them they stand alone: moro perto, é longe? To say where a building is, Portuguese often uses ficar: a escola fica perto.
Examples
- O banco fica perto dos correios.
- The bank is near the post office.
- Moro longe do centro.
- I live far from the centre.
- O parque é longe?
- Is the park far?
The mistake to avoid
It is perto do, never "perto de o": de + o always becomes do.
Where this fits in
Home & neighbourhood, Portuguese A1: Describe your home and its rooms, say where things are, and talk about the places near where you live.