Portugal

Overview

Portugal is a modern country with strong links to its past and people of a friendly and hospitable nature. It has become an acclaimed international tourist and vacation destination due to its many beautiful beaches and long warm summers, a rich gastronomy, historical and cultural heritage. Its fabulous golf courses, giant surf waves at Nazaré , and religious pilgrimage to Fátima are very popular with visitors. Surprisingly, in winter several ski resorts are open for business in the Serra da Estrela region.

Portugal has plenty of prehistoric sites along with remnants from the Roman Empire and the Age of Discovery , when Portuguese explorers found the Cape Route around Africa, and completed the world's first circumnavigation . While Portugal is modern and developed, it maintains much traditional culture with handicrafts, cuisine, music, and dance. Portugal is home to 17 UNESCO World Heritage Sites .

Portugal sits on the western edge of the Iberian peninsula , with two archipelagos in the Atlantic Ocean. Despite its small land area, it has many landforms and climates between the Atlantic coast and the mountains.

Sights and landscapes

Once a mighty colonial nation, many of Portugal's lively cities still have an atmosphere reminding of those Old World times. They're packed with remarkable monuments and with just a little bit of effort, you'll discover traditional cafés and craftsmen whose families have run their businesses for generations. When visiting cities in Portugal and former Portuguese colonies, look out for the distinctive Portuguese pavement , which consists of small flat pieces of stones arranged to form a pattern or image, and the distinctive blue and white ceramic tiles on the walls and facades of buildings known as azulejos .

Although Portugal is blessed from North to South with beautiful and well maintained beaches, the most popular beaches are in the Algarve , which has stunning coastlines and gobs of natural beauty. For decades it's been a major holiday destination. The water along the southern coast tends to be warmer and calmer than the water along the west coast, which is definitely Atlantic and doesn't benefit from the Gulf Stream. For surfing, or just playing in the surf there are great beaches all along the west coast, near Lisbon and Peniche . Don't forget also some of the almost deserted Alentejo beaches on the Costa Vicentina .

If you want to spend your holidays in the countryside , you might want to visit Viana do Castelo, Chaves, Miranda do Douro, Douro Valley, Lamego, Viseu, Tomar, Leiria, Castelo Branco, Guarda, Portalegre, Marvão, Évora or Elvas.

Experiences

18 clubs play in Primeira Liga the top tier, which is usually won by one of the "Big Three" – Benfica and Sporting CP both in Lisbon , and FC Porto . 18 play in Liga 2 and 20 in Liga 3. 10 women's clubs play in their top tier. The league structure encompasses Portugal's islands, and both Madeira and São Miguel in the Azores have top-tier clubs.

Indeed the country's star player Cristiano Ronaldo was born in Funchal on Madeira in 1985. Often dubbed CR7 from his shirt number, he's had spells at Manchester United, Juventus and Real Madrid. The CR7 Museum in Funchal is a shrine to his achievements, which have made him a billionaire.

Surrounded by the Atlantic sea in almost its entirety, the Portuguese beaches are well worth visiting. A lot of activities are offered, from surfing, to kite-surfing, and during the summer months the most frequented beaches offer sand based activities such as aerobics. If you're not the type of breaking into a sweat during holidays, almost every single public beach will have a bar where locals sit. Some of the most popular beaches are (from north to south):

Culture and food

Portuguese cuisine evolved from hearty peasant food drawn from the land and abundant seafood found in the country's lengthy coast with the cows, pigs and goats raised on the limited grazing land of its interior. From these humble origins, spices and condiments brought back to the country during the exploration and colonisation of South America, Africa, the East Indies and the Far East, contributed to the development of what become regarded as 'typical' Portuguese cuisine which inherently, also helped shape the cuisine in the regions under Portuguese influence, from Brazil and Cape Verde to Thailand and Japan. Today, traditional Portuguese cuisine is served alongside the latest trendy and fusion cuisine styles. Several establishments have been awarded Michelin stars.

Soup is an essential first course of a Portuguese meal. The most popular is the Minho speciality, caldo verde , made from kale, potatoes and spiced smoked sausage.

Planning your route

While not the most popular way to travel within Continental Portugal, you can consider flying TAP Air Portugal between Lisbon ( LIS IATA ), Porto ( OPO IATA ), and Faro ( FAO IATA ). Sevenair provides service to smaller airports at Bragança ( BGC IATA ), Cascais ( CAT IATA ), Portimão ( PRM IATA ), Vila Real ( VRL IATA ), and Viseu ( VSE IATA ). Ryanair fly Porto-Faro and Porto-Madeira.

Airplane is the main and fastest way to reach Madeira and the Azores . It's also the best way to travel within the archipelagos. In addition to TAP, island service is provided by Azores Airlines & SATA Air Açores . Island airports include:

Travel guide text compiled and adapted from Wikivoyage article (contributors). Sections were selected and reordered for this guide. Text is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Check current arrangements with your travel consultant.