Portugal

Quick Facts

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Capital

Lisbon

Population

10,102,000

Government

Parliamentary Democracy

Religions

Christianity (Catholic, Protestant)

Languages

Portuguese

Calling Code

+351

Nationality

Local name

Introduction

São Jorge

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Squeezed between Spain and the Atlantic Ocean, Portugal revolves around the sea. Through it, the nation began to build up its empire in the 15th century, claiming territory in South America, Africa and Asia. While this empire has dwindled over the centuries, cutting Portugal's global power down substantially, the sea remains important to Portugal. Today, the preponderence of the sea to Portugese way of life translates into long beaches and some of Europe's best seaside resorts. Fishing and watersports draw thousands of Portugese and international visitors to Algarve, Portugal's southernmost province and home to its best beaches.

Add to this a handful of traditional towns, an energetic night life in Lisbon and a culture infused with Moorish and Brazilian influences, and Portugal's winning combination is becoming quite tempting. Consider then that Portugal is less expensive than neighbouring Spain (and also not as popular) and it's becoming simply irresistible.

Brief History

Geography

Regions

Portugal is divided into 18 districts and two autonomous regions, being the Azores Islands and Madeira.

• North: Viana do Costelo, Braga, Vila Real, Porto, Bragança, Aveiro, Viseu, Guarda.
• Centre: Coimbra, Castelo Branco, Leiria, Lisboa (Lisbon), Santarém, Portalegre,Batalha
• South: Évora, Setúbal, Beja, Faro.

Cities

• Lisbon
• Porto
• Coimbra, a true student city, is best known for having one of Europe's oldest universities.
• Fatima
• Setubal
• Faro
• Braga
• Batalha

Sights and Activities

• Sintra is a small village outside Lisbon that was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list for its Romantic architecture.
• Obidos is a village surrounded by castle walls. Nearby you will find Alcobaça, a UNESCO listed cathedral renowned for its gothic architecture.
• Tomar was once the capital of the Templars in Portugal and still features a castle-monastery built during that time.
• Lagos is a charming town on Portugal's southern coast, known for distinctively architecture with Moorish influences.

Events and Festivals

Weather

Getting There

By Plane

The national airline of Portugal is TAP, which uses Lisbon as the main gateway to and from the country. Apart from many European countries, TAP also has flights to destinations in Brazil, like Rio de Janeiro, Recife and Salvador among others. Other former colonies to serve from Portugal are Angola, Mozambique, Guinee Bissau, as well as other African cities like Dakar, Johannesburg and Algiers.

TAP and several other airlines have international flights to and from Porto in the north and Faro in the south as well, the latter being served by charter flights to the Algarve.

By Train

By Car

By Bus

By Boat

Getting Around

By Plane

By Train

By Car

By Bus

By Boat

Red Tape

If you are a European Union (EU) citizen, you may enter without any restriction as per your EU citizenship rights. If you are not an EU citizen, you will need to obtain a Schengen Visa. This visa is valid for any country in the Schengen zone.

Money

See also: Money Matters

Portugal has adopted the Euro (ISO code: EUR, symbol: €) as its official currency. One Euro is divided into 100 cents, which is sometimes referred to as eurocents, especially when distinguishing them with the US cents.

Euro banknotes come in denominations of €5, €10, €20, €50, €100, €200, €500. The highest three denominations are rarely used in everyday transactions. All Euro banknotes have a common design for each denomination on both sides throughout the Eurozone.

The Euro coins are 1 cent, 2 cents, 5 cents, 10 cents, 20 cents, 50 cents, €1 and €2. Some countries in the Eurozone have law which requires cash transactions to be rounded to the nearest 5 cents. All Euro coins have a common design on the denomination (value) side, while the opposite side may have a different image from one country to another. Although the image side may be different, all Euro coins remain legal tender throughout the Eurozone.

Work

Study

Language

Eat

Sleep

Drink

Health

Safety

Keep Connected

Internet

Phone

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